1.5°Climate Strategies Group Projects - Member View

Investing in Elections for Climate (2024)

Community Change Voters

$114,000 Raised

All data points show that hard-to-find & reach Black, Latino, Native, AAPI, women, and young voters will need additional engagement to turn out for values-aligned candidates. One way to motivate turnout is through layered canvas mail: a personalized mail touch will increase voter turnout, influence voter behavior, and decrease canvas decay. Through a partnership with WorkMoney we will be adding QR codes and pathways to connect voters to government resources that put money directly in their pockets. We know these voters feel economic anxiety and believe no one cares about their pain. The care and IRA benefits framework is an antidote to apathy so that voters can make a direct connection between their power at the voting booth and governing process. This is our opportunity to shift the political calculus -- and ensure voters aren’t isolated from the safety net.

Geography: Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin

Funding Type: PACc4c3

Contact: Grecia Lima, Executive Director

Presentation Date: 07/09/2024

| Powering Up the Deployment Decade (2023/2024)

Citizens' Climate Education

$50,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Citizens’ Climate Lobby's c3 affiliate Citizens’ Climate Education (“CCE”) is a nonpartisan grassroots network with 220,000+ supporters and 380 active chapters across the United States. For this project, CCE is partnering with WorkMoney to raise awareness about their resource center which helps consumers capture electrification and weatherization credits. CCE volunteers will deploy educational resources nationally, including in every key battleground state and district generating an economically efficient cost-per-acquisition. In these battleground areas alone, the expected impact of this $50k project is direct exposure to 57,000 supporters and the promotion of educational materials via 1,250+ tabling events and volunteer-organized presentations.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Topher Anderson, Acting Director of Development

Presentation Date: 04/16/2024

| Investing in Elections for Climate (2024)

WorkMoney

$127,000 Raised

WorkMoney is a large-scale membership organization providing nonpartisan, trustworthy information, resources, and community to assist 6+ million members raise incomes and lower costs by helping them to take action in their economic self-interest. Building upon a successful pilot that delivered $663 million to 477,000 members, WorkMoney officially launched their Resource Center last month. The Resource Center is a multilingual “one-stop shop” for helping navigate the complex maze of 75 government programs to access benefits. The resource center provides direct assistance for consumers seeking opt-in IRA benefits. The Resource Center is not only about putting hard-earned dollars back in working people’s pockets; it’s also about reframing the role of government in their lives by making cost-saving programs visible, tangible, and accessible.1.5°CSG is raising funds to expand access to the resource center to a number of grassroots organizations launching IRA enrollment education programs in their communities.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c4c3

Contact: Evan Kost, Chief Partnerships Officer

Presentation Date: 03/26/2024

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

Student PIRGs

$154,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

The Student PIRGs are a national network of student-run non-profits that have recruited, trained, and mobilized college and university students to win on public interest issues since 1971. The organization helped pass the first GHG reduction bills in the 2000s, won commitments for 100% renewable energy at the campus, city, and state level accomplished with a Boards of Directors made up entirely of current college students. This spring, the Student PIRGs aim to leverage their year-round infrastructure on campuses in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia to educate young people about how their network and families can save money and save the environment through new programs and tax incentives created by the Inflation Reduction Act. StudentPIRGs IRA education program triages interested parties to WorkMoney's resource center to streamline each individuals enrollment process.

Geography: Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia

Funding Type: c4c3

Contact: Dan Xie, Political Director

Presentation Date: 02/20/2024

| Investing in Elections for Climate (2024)

Climate Bond Initiative

$20,000 Raised

Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) is a UK-based nonprofit, deeply engaged with policymakers and financial firms around the world as the top certifier of green bonds, but has limited presence in the US. Carbon Washington, founded to promote the first carbon pricing ballot initiative in the US, is now focused on mobilizing the trillions of dollars in public and private investment needed to meet climate goals and is partnering with CBI to facilitate its U.S. expansion.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Sean Kidney, CEO and Founder

Presentation Date: 01/09/2024

Inclusive Prosperity Capital

$117,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Inclusive Prosperity Capital (IPC), a mission-driven 501(c)3 national clean energy financing platform spun out of the Connecticut Green Bank, focuses on bridging the gap in clean energy financing for traditionally underserved communities and market segments. IPC has invested over $50 million in clean energy and resilience projects across the U.S. and Territories, with a near-term pipeline of over $100 million of additional investment opportunities. Approximately 50% of IPC's investments benefit low to moderate income communities, with approximately 60% directed towards communities of color IPC's unique business model leverages a blended capital stack to ensure sustainable operations and capital reinvestment. As a lead coalition partner with the Justice Climate Fund, IPC is well-positioned to access Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) capital facilitating the potential to exponentially scale its impact during the coming years. Currently, IPC is spearheading the creation of a secondary market platform, collaborating with organizations like Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusive, Carsey School of Public Policy, and Natural Resource Defense Council, to standardize clean energy financing, making it easier for small community lenders to issue clean energy loans to subprime applicants with the risk reduced by philanthropic dollars.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Kerry O'Neil, Chief Executive Officer

Presentation Date: 11/28/2023

| Climate Finance

Land & Liberty

$105,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Land & Liberty, part of the Clean Grid Alliance, boasts a highly experienced team with a two-decade track record of effectively navigating utility-scale siting conflicts across several states, including Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Their renewable energy siting efforts are distinctly concentrated on the more conservative, rural regions within these states, acknowledging that these areas hold the greatest technical potential for renewable energy projects while concurrently harboring the lowest levels of public support for the fundamental reasons behind transitioning to carbon-free sources of electricity.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Beth Soholt, Executive Director

Presentation Date: 10/10/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

| Messaging & Paid Media

Forward Together WI

$100,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Forward Together Wisconsin (FTW) was founded to educate Wisconsinites about resources made available to them by the Biden-Harris Administration, to immediately connect community members to these resources, and to direct additional charitable dollars to aid in the implementation of these resources to make them as accessible as possible. Not only does FTW help tell the story of the positive impact progressive policy has on communities and community members, but we are a part of making this story a reality. We especially focus on engaging underserved groups, including communities of color, working class families, rural communities, and tribal communities. FTW's education program triages interested parties to WorkMoney's resource center to streamline each individuals enrollment process.

Geography: Wisconsin

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Peter Drummond, Executive Director

Presentation Date: 09/26/2023

| Investing in Elections for Climate (2024)

Lawyers for Good Government

$100,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Lawyers for Good Government organizes a robust network of 125,000 volunteer legal advocates across all fifty states. This dedicated community offers pro-bono legal services to protect human and civil rights while creating the social and economic conditions that lead to true equity. Their Climate Change and Environmental Justice program provides essential legal support to marginalized communities empowering them to effectively navigate federal funding opportunities. This initiative plays a crucial role in promoting equitable access to benefits, including those established by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Jillian Blanchard, Director of Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program

Presentation Date: 09/05/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

Center for Planning Excellence

$200,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

The Center for Planning Excellence is taking an NGO leadership role in building out state collaborative efforts around accessing federal funds, including the IRA, and deploying those funds well. In particular, they are working to establish a strong state energy office through legislative and other advocacy efforts.

Geography: Louisiana

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Camille Manning-Broome, President & CEO

Presentation Date: 08/08/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

Harambee House

$155,500 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Harambee house is organizing the Southeast Environmental Justice Summit on June 7-11th in Atlanta, Georgia. This summit will bring together front-line community organizers with utilities, businesses, energy service companies, and federal agency representatives to prepare them to apply for new federal funding opportunities under IRA and other federal programs. An output of this summit will be a draft 10 year environmental justice plan for the 8 states in EPA Region 4 including: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Geography: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Dr. Mildred McCain, Founder

Presentation Date: 05/02/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

United Today Stronger Tomorrow

$300,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

UTST is developing and expanding NGO-led state coordinating tables focused on procuring federal funding in UT, MT, and IA. This work is critically important for making IRA a climate success in these states and will have additional political significance in Montana because of its competitive U.S. Senate race in 2024.

Geography: Utah, Montana, Ohio

Funding Type: c4c3

Contact: Paul Gestos, Special Project Director

Presentation Date: 03/07/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

Rural Democracy Initiative

$240,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Rural Democracy Initiative is launching a new $20-$40m Regional Rural Focused IRA Coordinating Hubs Project over the next four years. It will focus on setting up regional hubs which can offer coordinating, collaboration, and technical assistance to rural communities and small towns particularly in red and purple states. That's where the difference between the probable and the possible for climate action with IRA funds would be the greatest. 1.5°CSG is kickstarting this project with an aim to get he first $200k in the door.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Sara Jaynes, Executive Director

Presentation Date: 02/07/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance