1.5°Climate Strategies Group Projects - Member View

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: c4c3

Contact: Grecia Lima, Executive Director

Presentation Date: 07/09/2024

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

Northern Plains Resource Council

$70,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC) organizes a multi-generational mix of farmers, ranchers, environmentalists and rural people in some of the toughest parts of Montana to advocate for clean air, clean water, and progressive natural resource policies. We use face-to-face organizing to develop trust, win strategic campaigns, develop new leaders, and build power. Northern Plains is talking to hundreds of Montanans about the Biden Administrations investments in home energy rebates, LIHEAP, and REAP, to provide immediate financial relief to hundreds of economically stressed Montanans. NPRC’s educational campaign triages interested parties to WorkMoney’s resource center to streamline each individual’s enrollment process.

Geography: Montana

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Maggie Gordon, Executive Director

Presentation Date: 04/16/2024

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

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

Nevada Clean Energy Fund

$32,000 Raised

The Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) is dedicated to fostering a thriving, affordable, and accessible clean energy economy in Nevada, with a primary emphasis on supporting frontline and underserved communities. With roughly $350 million in pending federal grant applications and the anticipated arrival of federal grants in July 2024, NCEF recognizes the pressing need to bolster its capacity. Presently staffed with four essential operations employees, the addition of one program staff offers the potential to double the project pipeline's readiness to deploy resources following the receipt of federal funds from the EPA. This additional staff member would enable us to have a more rapid and significant impact towards advancing clean energy initiatives in Nevada during the 2024 calendar year.

Geography: Nevada

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Kirsten Stasio, CEO

Presentation Date: 11/07/2023

| Climate Finance

Somos Votantes

$206,500 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

Somos Votantes has initiated a field program with seven canvassers dedicated to Nevada and another seven in Arizona, with a focus on educating Latino communities about the opportunities provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Through a comprehensive approach involving canvassing, community events, mail programs, digital advertising, and local radio, Somos Votantes casts a wide net to inform Latinos about the economic opportunities brought to them by the Biden administration's IRA. Those who they encourage to access these financial benefits are seamlessly connected with WorkMoney, which takes the lead in facilitating their enrollment in IRA programs.

Geography: Arizona, Nevada

Funding Type: c4c3

Contact: Melissa Morales, Founder & President

Presentation Date: 11/07/2023

UndauntedK12

$500,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!

UndauntedK12 is committed to assisting K-12 academic institutions in optimizing their access to IRA and federal resources. Their mission is to accelerate the transition to zero-carbon schools while enhancing institutional and student awareness of the health benefits of clean buildings. UndauntedK12 is actively seeking resources to expand their successful initiatives in California and Massachusetts to school districts nationwide; with a focus on purple States. This expansion includes a program to track the allocation and utilization of IRA funding within school districts, creating a valuable resource for showcasing how IRA resources have improved children's health and well-being.

Geography: National

Funding Type: c3

Contact: Jonathan Klein, Co-Founder

Presentation Date: 10/24/2023

| Coordination, Collaboration, and Technical Assistance

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

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