​This workshop will provide steps and examples to help your company, community organization, business accelerator or philanthropic foundation develop creative collaborations that could attract more funding for climate progress.

​We will connect and delve into three main questions developing steps you can take with you to help create new funding strategies.

1. ​How do I identify additional collaborators who would benefit from the climate initiatives, businesses and products we want to advance? Explore how to find additional funding by working with others across impact areas like environmental health, human health, workforce development, agriculture, the arts, economic mobility, affordability and access, built environment, academia, and more.

2. ​Once I find those collaborators, how can we work together to unlock previously untapped funding sources? Through collaboration, we can often find new sources of funding that can provide incremental amounts which add up to what we need.

3. ​How do we attract additional funding to facilitate growth and impact? We will discuss models that stitch together philanthropic and public funding to attract private capital that can help our impact grow.

​Once we go through some steps related to these questions, we will discuss how to test your creative ideas this year.

​Speaker

​Jeff Mittelstadt teaches courses in sustainable enterprise. Previously, he founded the documentary multimedia non-profit WildSides and was Davidson College’s first director of sustainability. Jeff worked at the U.S. EPA’s OIG and was a VP at Bank of America working on green building. He was also the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing's VP for sustainable manufacturing and appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce to OECD's Advisory Expert Group on Sustainable Manufacturing & Eco-Innovation.

​​About NC Climate Week

​This event is part of NC Climate Week 2026, a statewide series of workshops, community events, and conversations designed to accelerate North Carolina forward from climate concern to climate action.

​Hosted by EarthShare North Carolina, the week brings together the people, businesses, and organizations shaping our environmental future. Free virtual Climate Action Workshops and partner-led events offer practical tools and opportunities to learn, connect, volunteer, and take action.

​​Join Us at the NC Climate Week Summit

​NC Climate Week culminates with the NC Climate Week Summit on Friday, October 2, 2026, in Durham.

​This one-day, in-person event features interactive sessions, cross-sector conversations, and leaders from Trane Technologies, NASCAR, ICF, NC Department of Environmental Quality, Clean Energy Fund of the Carolinas, MountainTrue, Xylem, NC Sustainable Energy Association, UNC Humanities, NC Wildlife Federation, NC Coastal Federation, NC League of Conservation Voters Foundation, and more.

​Explore the full program and register at ncclimateweek.org/summit.

​Let’s meet the moment, together. 🌎

​​Sponsor

​The Climate Action Workshops at NC Climate Week are supported by Xylem.