At the beginning of this year, I shared the strategic priorities that would guide RAN in 2026. We knew the road ahead would be challenging. We also knew that meaningful change would require focus, persistence, and a willingness to confront some of the most powerful institutions on Earth.
Six months later, those priorities remain as relevant as ever.
Across our campaigns, we are continuing to challenge the financial systems driving climate destruction, deepen our partnerships with frontline communities, expand our work in regions where forests and communities face increasing threats, and push corporations to uphold human rights and environmental commitments.
Just as importantly, we are seeing proof that together, we are making an impact.
Over the past several months, sustained public pressure helped drive a significant policy shift from Mondelēz, maker of Oreo, strengthening protections for Human Rights Defenders throughout its global supply chain. Communities on the frontlines of fossil fuel expansion have continued to organize and win recognition for their rights. Our investigative reports have equipped movements around the world with new tools to hold banks, insurers, and corporations accountable for the impacts of their business practices.
None of these victories happened overnight.
They happened because people organized. Because communities persisted. Because supporters like you continued showing up, again and again, even when the challenges felt enormous.
Meeting this moment requires more than urgency. It requires courage, solidarity, strategy, and staying power.
There are moments in history when the stakes become impossible to ignore.
As the systems driving global injustice become more emboldened, aggressive and entrenched, the challenges of our time — natural disasters, displacement of people, political instability, and corporate greed — stop feeling like isolated crises, and begin to reveal themselves as part of the same story.
And yet, amid so much uncertainty, I remain deeply hopeful. Because I also see people everywhere refusing to give up on each other, on democracy, or on the possibility of a livable future.
As the summer season unfolds, I hope you’re able to spend time in the places and ecosystems that inspire you and remind you of all there is left to protect. I also hope you’ll stay engaged and connected, because this moment calls for all of us.
Thank you for being part of this network. Thank you for believing that another future is possible. And thank you for continuing to meet this moment with us.
In solidarity,
Ginger Cassady
Executive Director
Rainforest Action Network