Ten years ago, zero states had truly bold climate policies. Today, nearly half have 100% clean energy, carbon neutrality, or cap and invest laws. This was made possible primarily by strategic peer-to-peer organizing between state legislators around the country, driven by key champions through the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, a network of 1,200 legislators across 50 states. For over 25 years, NCEL’s proven model of legislators empowering legislators has enabled a myriad of environmental victories, including the boldest climate laws. Funds raised will support a tactical pivot to overcome federal opposition and push the boundaries of state climate action.
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$20,000 Raised | $40,000 Match Remaining
NYLCV fights climate change, protects clean air and water, and safeguards open space through advocacy and political action. NYLCV is a nonpartisan organization that is pragmatic and has a track record of achieving results both locally and statewide that have advanced New York’s clean energy economy. NYLCV will coordinate a coalition to advance New York’s Cap and Invest (NYCI) program. We will advocate for a robust program that cuts emissions, returns revenue back to New Yorkers, and benefits environmental justice areas. Near-term, we will wrap up polling and launch a campaign focused on first demonstrating public support for NYCI to the Governor and mobilizing supportive state legislators. The second phase will include a scalable digital campaign to win over persuadable New Yorkers.
Geography: New York
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Julie Tighe, President
Presentation Date: 11/19/2024
$25,000 Match Remaining
Geography: Washington, DC
Funding Type: c3
Contact:
Dylan McDowell, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 11/19/2024
$66,000 Raised | $17,000 Match Remaining
Climate Cabinet helps state and local candidates run, win, and legislate on climate. In 2024, they supported over 170 top priority climate champions running with the highest "ROI" on climate. So far, 52% of those candidates have been victorious in their tough election battles this year. Now, Climate Cabinet will connect winning candidates with experts across the field to advance a range of climate policies in states across the country. This project is focused on raising funds to hire lobbyists to strategically support Climate Policy action efforts in key States.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Caroline Spears, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 11/12/2024
$39,000 Raised | $5,500 Match Remaining
The States Project (TSP) wins and defends governing majorities in states across the country and provides state lawmakers with tools, resources, and training to advance policies that improve their constituents' lives. To prepare for the Trump Administration's radical Project 2025 undoing of government protections, including climate and environmental, TSP is looking to rapidly scale up their lawmaker engagement and policy programs to prepare more states to protect their communities. They will bring their wealth of experience in helping lawmakers coalesce around shared policy values while simultaneously providing policy ideas, research, and messaging guidance to ensure that lawmakers are prepared to make good clean air, water, and energy policies into winning issues that they can successfully deliver to constituents across the country.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Daniel Squadron, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 11/12/2024
$1,171,600 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
The Rural Youth Voter Fund (RYVF) supports and expands civic engagement and power-building efforts that nurture the extraordinary promise of young rural voters to protect and strengthen democracy. Launched in 2023 by the Rural Democracy Initiative (RDI), Movement Voter Project, and Clean and Prosperous America, RYVF is building a network of grassroots organizations working to mobilize the 30 million ambivalent young voters living in rural areas and small cities in key battleground states. RYVF aims to deploy at least $10 million to effective efforts focused on voter participation, leadership development, persuasive communications, and rural issues affecting young people. Camille Thompson with Collective Renaissance Georgia, a recipient of RYVF support, spoke on the call as a representative of the types of orgs supported by the RYVF.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Sarah Jaynes, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 08/06/2024
$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
$63,300 Raised
Jane Fonda Climate PAC is on a mission to reshape the political landscape, ensuring that leaders are not only aware of the urgent climate crisis but are also committed to taking decisive action. Through strategic campaigns, direct candidate support, and relentless grassroots organizing, Jane Fonda Climate PAC is holding the fossil fuel industry accountable and pushing for a sustainable future. And now, in 2024, they’re taking their efforts to the next level with the launch of a groundbreaking relational field organizing program. This initiative aims to empower communities and amplify their voices in electing climate champions to state legislative seats. These are the individuals who will shape policy, drive innovation, and lead us toward a cleaner, greener tomorrow. Join to learn more about the critical climate fights at the down ballot level and how JanePAC is building a bench of climate champions to lead us to a clean energy future.
Geography: National, California, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada.
Contact:
Jane Fonda, Principal
Presentation Date: 05/28/2024
$31,500 Raised
Sister District mobilizes their national network of grassroots volunteers around the most strategic opportunities to win elections and build power in state legislatures. In 2024, they are driving make-or-break field and fundraising capacity to state legislative races in battlegrounds ― AZ, GA, MI, NC, NV, PA, WI. Sister District is closing narrow vote margins, helping Democrats win key seats, shifting the balance of power in entire chambers, and advancing policies on climate change, democracy, and more. Funding will allow Sister District to implement their proven volunteer-powered field strategies and tactics in these seven target states, and expand their work into MN and NH.
Geography: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Lala Wu, Co-Founder & Executive Director
Presentation Date: 05/14/2024
$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
$112,100 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Climate Cabinet is Moneyball for Climate. To combat the climate crisis fast, we need to activate the levers of power that have the biggest impact. Please join this presentation by Climate Cabinet which will explore state and local candidates whose elections hold outsized impact on climate policies and infrastructure. Nested within key 2024 congressional battlegrounds, these pre-vetted candidates also run strong field and media campaigns, unlocking additional benefits all the way up the ballot. Join us to learn how small investments can equal big climate wins, and boost voter turnout in key geographies.
Geography: National
Contact:
Caroline Spears, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 03/12/2024
$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
$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
$100,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
WP is a project development and financing company collaborating with NGOs, small businesses, and labor unions to co-develop community solar projects for racial and economic justice while utilizing IRA resources. With a current pipeline of 50 projects involving 16 partners, totaling 50 MW of clean energy, these initiatives aim to reduce CO2 emissions by over 42 metric tons and generate $115M in community benefits. 1.5°CSG funds will help the Ecological Citizen’s Project (ECP)'s 1.1 MW solar installation on 10 city properties in Peekskill, NY which is within competitive Congressional District-17. The $2M in community economic benefits this project generates will provide free food through an innovative food sovereignty program.
Geography: New York
Funding Type: c3
Contact:
Bracken Hendricks, Chair of the Climate Justice Investment Committee
Presentation Date: 11/28/2023
$100,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Greenlight America is focused on leveraging local grassroots support with the goal of winning local clean energy siting and permitting fights. The U.S. needs to build 6,000 clean energy facilities over the next decade, almost 2 per day, as well as more than 10,000 miles of transmission lines to hit emission reduction goals. Local opposition is the biggest obstacle to these projects, and there are few coordinated efforts to engage supporters as advocates for these projects. Greenlight is building a scalable, nationwide clean energy campaign hub to work with partner organizations, engage and mobilize local residents, and win project approvals.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c3
Contact:
Matt Traldi, Founder and CEO
Presentation Date: 10/10/2023
$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
$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
$205,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
NASEO, at the request of 1.5°CSG, is launching a $100k project to develop a suite of educational materials about the various federal funding opportunities, with a focus on the economic development opportunities and the need for states to allocate funds for new dedicated federal funding-focused state employees and provide matching funds to enhance grant proposals. These materials will be distributed to state energy offices, governor's offices, and other agencies and related associations across the country.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c3
Contact:
David Terry, President
Presentation Date: 02/21/2023
$15,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Future Now is looking to raise funding to elevate climate action within their seven policy priorities. They leverage their network of legislators in purple states to advance policies. In particular, they will take a c4 approach to advocate directly for additional appropriations for new state-funded staff dedicated to capturing federal funds, creating state matching funds for federal grant proposals, and ensuring the funds are deployed towards projects that achieve positive climate outcomes.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4
Contact:
Mandara Meyers, Chief Program Officer
Presentation Date: 02/21/2023
$2,194,410 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
A pooled resource grant maker historically focused on supporting state level and sub-state level grassroots groups using field tactics to engage young voters of color outside urban centers. CaPA provided a wide variety of grants, and coordinated direct contributions, to over 70 organizations for the Hold the House for Climate project. CaPA's support for this project as a pooled resource grant giver expanded beyond CaPA's traditional focus on young voters of color.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Greg Rock, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 09/27/2022
$375,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
An independent expenditure effort to boost resources and support for state legislative races with a focus on majority making competitive races.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
David Cohen, Co-CEO & Founder
Presentation Date: 09/16/2022
$50,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
A hard-side effort to boost resources and support for state legislative races that prioritizes majority making competitive races.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4
Contact:
Leslie Martes, VP of Political & Strategic Initiatives
Presentation Date: 09/16/2022
$220,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Pooled resource grant giver that supports grassroots groups organizing in small towns and rural areas. This presentation highlighted two sub-grantee of RDI: Black Male Voter Project and Progress North.
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Sara Jaynes, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 09/06/2022
$161,400 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Elect climate leaders through direct candidate support
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Caroline Spears, Executive Director
Presentation Date: 05/30/2022
$135,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Elect climate leaders through grant giving and direct engagement
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Whit Jones, Campaign Director
Presentation Date: 04/12/2022
$141,000 Raised | Fundraising Goal Achieved!
Elect climate leaders through grant giving
Geography: National
Funding Type: c4c3
Contact:
Matt Ewing, Co-Founder & CEO
Presentation Date: 04/12/2022