Good afternoon fellow climate activists,

Last Thursday, 350.org publicly announced the drawdown in their U.S. operations due to a fiscal shortfall and changing contexts. They didn’t sugarcoat it and neither will we. 350 Chicago has been strategically and financially independent from 350.org for 5 years. In other words, we are not going anywhere! While we are saddened by this announcement, we are forging ahead with our relentless efforts to fight the climate crisis!

In 2020, 350 Chicago successfully achieved our own 501c3 status; since then, we have developed our own funding streams. To strengthen our local organization, 350 Chicago joined the 350 Network Council in 2023. The Network Council consists of the 16 largest 350 chapters in the nation. We work together on campaigns and develop funding streams as a cooperative. The 350 Network Council’s members stand in solidarity to keep fighting the climate crisis!

Locally, 350 Chicago has developed and implemented our own campaigns, such as our successful campaign to get the city of Chicago to divest from fossil fuels. We will continue to work with our partners on our ongoing campaigns, including fossil fuel divestment in Illinois with our partners in the Climate Safe Pensions Illinois Coalition, as well as utility transparency with the Citizens Utility Board. We will continue to advance local climate solutions as members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, advocate for climate justice, and support public education on the climate crisis.

350 Chicago is still in the fight, and we will continue to build our organization. The physics of the climate crisis have not changed, and neither has our commitment or ability to fight it. Indeed, there has never been a more important time for sustained local climate action in the US.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.

Onward!

In solidarity,

Larry Coble