Citizens Climate Lobby

Join CCL's virtual party Thursday evening; Big month for local government endorsements of Energy Innovation Act

	CCL Newsletter, June 2020

Table of Contents:
	Thousands join virtual conference
	Take action this week
	Foundation connections
	Grasstops: Local endorsements
	Training topics

Thousands of climate

advocates participate in CCL's virtual conference

As the theme of our virtual conference put it, we were indeed “a community stronger than COVID” last weekend, as a record number of climate advocates — 4,685 to be precise — were able to participate online with us for an amazing conference.

The opening plenary featured remarks from Senators Mike Braun and Chris Coons (shown above), former Congressman Carlos Curbelo and former World Bank official Rachel Kyte. Participants were then able to choose among 32 breakout sessions arranged in eight tracks — diversity, conservative, youth, faith, allies, key issues, business, and those new to CCL.

CCL VP for Government Affairs Danny Richter closed out the Saturday conference with the perfect message in a challenging time: “We need to appeal to what is best and most noble in those who do not yet wish to act on climate.”

On Sunday, four seminars took a deeper dive into diversity, the Energy Innovation Act, international climate policies, and depolarizing the political climate.

If you couldn’t make it on Saturday or Sunday — or if there were sessions you couldn’t get to — recordings and accompanying slides are now available on CCL Community.

This week, our volunteers have scheduled at least 402 online meetings with congressional offices. Then, everyone’s invited to attend our Virtual Lobby Party on Thursday evening! We’ll hear CCL volunteers who lobbied their legislators for the first time describe how it felt to exercise their political power. Plus, we’ll mingle with old and new CCL friends, dance, play trivia, and have fun. The party starts at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.

RSVP TO THE PARTY

Other news:

Environmental Justice group relaunches: With racial justice in America currently in the forefront, activists have relaunched the National Black Environmental Justice Network to provide a platform for EJ groups throughout the nation and facilitate collaboration among those groups. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if you’d like to learn more about environmental justice.

Climate Justice Symposium: CCL’s VP for Government Affairs Danny Richter and CCE Governing Board member Dr. Natasha DeJarnett will be featured speakers at a symposium about climate justice on June 26. The event — From Concept to Action: A Pathway to Climate Justice — is being presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The symposium will be held online. Register here to attend.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Take this survey from the United Nations. What are the problems the world should focus its attention on? If you think climate change should be a high priority, you can let them know by taking the survey. Results will be presented to world leaders when they gather for the 75th General Assembly in September.

If you have more time: Tune into our June 22 webinar with author and Skeptical Science founder Dr. John Cook. Dr. Cook will examine the science and arguments of global warming skepticism. Dr. Cook is a professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University and is the author of the new book “Cranky Uncle and Climate Change.” This webinar is hosted by CCL’s Health Action Team.

You can also connect with your nearest CCL chapter to take action in your community, or join one of CCL’s national online Action Teams to take action on specific topics like agriculture, health, faith, and more.

Browse CCL Community’s Event Calendar to find upcoming events, trainings, and calls you can join.

Do you have a foundation connection?

Approximately 27% of our annual budget comes from foundation support, making grants a vital funding source for our climate solutions work. Most foundations operate on an invitation-only basis, however, and do not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Meaning if you're not personally invited to apply by a staff or board member, you cannot apply at all. In fact, only a mere 22% of non-government grantmaking institutions in the United States offer an open process for organizations like ours to apply for funding.

Under these circumstances, an introduction from a mutual party can be the most powerful tool we have. So we’re asking for your help. We’re hoping to leverage the power of our vast network to cultivate new relationships with some of these hard-to-reach foundations.

We’ve identified three prospects in particular whose priorities and mission closely align with our own. Could you take 5 minutes to see if you know anyone on their staff or board?

Bernard and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation

Bauman Foundation

Schmidt Family Foundation

If you have a connection and would like to introduce them to our work, please contact Senior Development Director, Lynate Pettengill, at [email protected].

Grasstops: Big month for endorsements

As we generate political will to move the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act through Congress, resolutions and endorsements from local governments carry significant influence with members of Congress. The month of May was big, as our volunteers reported five resolutions of support passed by city and county governments, among them Broward County, FL, San Mateo County, CA, and New Haven, CT. Our volunteers have also secured 15 local government endorsements, where a mayor or city clerk filled out the “Endorse the Bill” form on the bill’s website. Some of the big-name cities which have endorsed to date are San Jose, CA, Jackson, MS, and Syracuse, NY. The bill now has the support of 113 local governments and six tribal entities.

CCL volunteers are regularly activating the “five levers” of political will in their communities. If you’d like to learn more about how to pull the grasstops outreach lever like these volunteers did, watch or read this training on Engaging City & Local Governments for Resolutions.

CHECK OUT THE TRAINING

Training topics

CCL offers two ongoing learning series: Citizens' Climate University for existing volunteers, and Core Volunteer Training for new volunteers. Here are the next few sessions you can join:

6/23 Core Volunteer Training: Communicating With Progressives - As we gather support for the Energy Innovation Act, outreach to progressive organizations is very important. Learn what to say to create allies with these groups. Learn More.

Citizens’ Climate University is on summer break for a week and will resume on July 2.

To see upcoming topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.

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