Supporting Positive Tipping Points: What charities and funders can do next

Tipping points are often talked about in the context of climate breakdown. They are moments when things shift rapidly, often with irreversible consequences. But there’s another kind of tipping point, the positive kind.

Positive tipping points are when good change becomes self-sustaining. Think of a moment where enough people adopt a new behaviour, a policy gains widespread support, or an innovation becomes the new normal – and then change accelerates rapidly, often irreversibly. These shifts often happen because many small efforts align to create something much bigger than the sum of their parts.

In the context of social and environmental change, social tipping points are the moments when hope of a better future gains momentum. And the good news is that charities and funders across the UK are already playing a role in creating the conditions for change.

Charities and funders are already supporting the conditions for change

Whether or not we use the language of systems change or tipping points, much of the work already happening on the ground is laying the foundations for major, positive shifts.

Think of a food bank that doesn’t just hand out emergency parcels but also campaigns to fix the broken systems that lead people into hardship. Or a housing project that shows how home retrofit can cut emissions, reduce energy bills, and improve people’s health. Or youth programmes building the confidence and leadership of the next generation. Or community groups bringing people’s life experience directly into policy conversations.

All of this and more contributes to what researchers call “enabling conditions” for positive tipping points. These can include changes in policy, shifts in social norms, the spread of new technologies, long-term funding commitments, or grassroots innovations that catch on. More often, it’s a combination of these things working together.

It’s messy, relational, and often hard to measure – but it matters. Social tipping points are evidenced and many have been experienced by our society before from women’s suffrage and same-sex marriage, to the adoption of digital cameras or renewable energy.

We’re already nudging systems – now we need to do it more deliberately

Even when we’re working in silos, we’re influencing tipping points. But we could do so much more by joining up our efforts, resisting binary thinking and siloed working.

For example, if a housing body is protesting the cost of retrofitting homes, we need to be clear that the issue isn’t whether retrofitting is necessary – it is. The issue is fairness: Who pays? Who benefits first? Whose needs are being heard?

Social and environmental issues are not separate. Climate action that doesn’t consider justice and equity won’t stick. Social justice that ignores environmental breakdown will be short-lived.

That’s why we need more multisolving – initiatives that address social and environmental challenges together finding win-win-wins for social, environmental and (in)equity issues. This is where many of our much needed positive tipping points will be found.

Charities and funders have a huge role to play in this, not just through what they do, but how they talk about it. Every time we speak, act, or fund, we’re helping to shape public understanding and social norms. We’re influencing what feels possible.

Great examples are already underway

Look at the work of the Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, where over 1300 organisations are working together to create a fairer, carbon-neutral, nature-rich city. Or Envirolution festivals, born in Manchester, which bring diverse groups of people together in community festivals to have fun, share environmental information, and engage people in local action that decreases loneliness, social isolation, and build skills. Or the work of Greener and Cleaner building a blue print for replicable community hub integrated into the heart of local areas that equip communities with inspiration, resources and skills for the social change required to combat the climate crisis.

These aren’t just “projects” – they’re platforms for systemic change. They bring people together, create momentum, and invite communities to shape the future. They shift what’s expected, what’s normal, and what’s possible.

What charities can do next

You can be more deliberate about the role you’re playing in shaping the future. One powerful starting point? Ask the people you work with about their hopes for the future. What would a better life look like? What’s worth working toward together?

Make it engaging and fun. Research shows that creative, playful approaches help people connect more deeply with the future and are more likely to lead to meaningful action.

These conversations don’t just spark new ideas. They help people see themselves as part of the solution. And they help organisations focus on long-term impact, not just short-term survival.

What funders must do

If you're a funder reading this, here's the bottom line: we need you to go long. Really long. Ten years plus.

Unrestricted, long-term funding has been a rallying cry for years, and while we’ve seen progress, most of what’s called “long-term” still means two or three years of breathing room. That’s simply not enough to transform the systems that underpin both the climate crisis and social injustice.

Systemic change takes time. It’s unpredictable, relational, and non-linear. And it’s also urgent. We can’t tinker around the edges anymore. Change is already happening – the only question is how well we shape the transition.

So funders must ask: Do we want measurable, incremental shifts that are likely to fail to deliver, or delivery quickly enough? Or do we want to fix root causes (as well as respond to the symptoms of our failed systems) – even if it means entering the messy, uncertain terrain of system change to support positive tipping points to emerge?

If it’s the latter, you’ll need to let go of some control. You’ll need to trust in the leadership of frontline groups and communities. You’ll need to invest in relationships, learning, and shared vision – not just outcomes. In fact, you'll likely be funding uncertain outcomes. And yes, you’ll need to fund through that uncertainty for the long haul. Tipping points don’t follow your fiscal calendar.

A future worth tipping towards

We’re living through the long dark tunnel of polycrises, but we already know what is needed to get to the light at the end of the tunnel. The solutions to social and environmental breakdown are well established. Change is coming, one way or another. What we do now will shape whether we tip toward breakdown or breakthrough. And how fair the whole process and the end results will be.

Charities and funders in the UK have a real opportunity to tip the balance in favour of a fairer, more sustainable future – not by doing it all, but by seeing how our work fits into the bigger picture and collectively supporting enabling conditions for positive change.

By backing people, communities, and the ideas that make active hope go viral, we can accelerate the kind of change that lasts. Together.