Community Environmental Council's “Protect Our Climate Campaign” Raises $16.97 Million, Surpassing Goal

May 17

After hosting more than 22,000 community members back to Alameda Park for the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival in late April—the first time since 2019—today, we announced the success of CEC’s 50th Anniversary Protect Our Climate Campaign. Over $16.97 million was pledged to immediately tackle the urgent threat of climate change on the Central Coast, exceeding the $15 million goal.

Inspired by the organization’s proven reputation for developing and scaling innovative local solutions to complex problems, over 300 donors pledged $16.97 million to tackle climate change in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. Of this, roughly $10.25 million is dedicated to funding the current growth of CEC’s climate programs and the build-out of an innovative Environmental Hub for the community in downtown Santa Barbara. The remaining pledges—about $6.75 million—will be fulfilled in coming decades through long-term legacy gifts, ensuring the future sustainability of the organization. The unexpectedly strong support shown by donors making legacy commitments in their estate plans led to the campaign surpassing its goal.

Thank you to our Donors

We are incredibly inspired by our community, which understands the pivotal moment we are in and sees CEC as a beacon of hope for protecting the Central Coast. By investing the funds as we’ve raised them, we’ve been able to double down on some incredibly bold goals—doubling our staff, expanding and deepening programming, and broadening our geographic reach.

Jon Clark, President, James S. Bower Foundation and Co-chair of the campaign steering committee shared this, “Central Coast donors made it clear that they are deeply concerned about climate change and resonated with CEC’s message of hopeful action. CEC thinks big and thinks long-term, and the organization demonstrates results over and over again.”

We are especially grateful to the foundations and individuals who stepped up to make significant $1 million-plus campaign contributions: James S. Bower Foundation, Patricia & Paul Bragg Foundation, Karen and John Jostes, and the Zegar Family Foundation.

We are also thankful for the following investors who made donations over $250,000: Sheila and Tom Cullen, Katie Davis, Hutton Parker Foundation, Jean Kaplan, Dorothy Largay and Wayne Rosing, Natalie Orfalea Foundation, Paul Relis and Fanny Pearce, Sea Forward Fund, Judy Stapelmann, Michel Saint-Sulpice, Suzanne and John Steed, Yardi Systems, and Anonymous.

A cornerstone of the campaign was the creation of the first-of-its kind Environmental Hub—centrally located on Santa Barbara's State Street. CEC’s Environmental Hub is a 10,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility designed to be an epicenter for community activism, education, entrepreneurship, media, and art.

We invite you to the Grand Opening community celebration of CEC’s Environmental Hub on Thursday, July 6, at 5:30 p.m. as a part of downtown Santa Barbara's 1st Thursday Art Walk.

In addition, the campaign which launched in 2021, kickstarted CEC’s five-year effort to accelerate regional climate solutions through climate justice, regional and state policy, climate resilience, climate-smart agriculture, a new Climate Stewards certification program, and other programs.

We are especially grateful to our volunteers who led our fundraising efforts, including the Campaign Steering Committee chaired by Jon Clark, President, James S. Bower Foundation, and Merryl & Chuck Zegar of the Zegar Family Foundation. Committee members included: Dennis Allen, Mary Becker, Leslie Bhutani, Emily Engel, Laura Francis, Carolyn Fitzgerald, Karl Hutterer, David Jackson, Pat McElroy, Maryanne Mott, Charles Newman, Matt Riley, Lisa Murphy Rivas, and Ken Saxon.

Gratefully,