Help Climate Action Now Have an Even Bigger Impact
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Help Climate Action Now Have an Even Bigger Impact
Hi, I'm Brett Walter, founder and CEO of Climate Action Now (CAN), publisher of the leading app for citizen advocacy on climate.
I started this GoFundMe because we are running out of time to reverse global warming, and Climate Action Now has a proven solution for amplifying the voices of people who want real change. With your help, we can put this solution in the hands of many more people and help create an unstoppable demand for climate action.
The hour is short, climate disasters are occurring even sooner than scientists predicted, yet society has not mobilized to confront the desperate reality of climate change because the fossil fuel industry and its supporters in government are fighting meaningful action every step of the way.
PUBLIC OPINION IS THE KEY
Public opinion is the only effective counterweight to the immense power of the fossil fuel industry. The industry knows this, which is why it spends hundreds of millions of dollars trying to shape public opinion with disinformation. The industry is terrified of public opinion. Public opinion can sweep everything in its path.
So, your opinion really does matter. Your opinion is your superpower. But it doesn't count for anything if you don't express it. The CAN app is your opinion multiplier; it is your megaphone.
CLIMATE ACTION NOW MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Since we launched the app on Earth Day 2021, just a few thousand users have taken over 1,528,000 actions, sent over 1,310,000 messages to political and business leaders urging climate action, and planted over 160,000 trees.
We helped pass the historic Inflation Reduction Act which is accelerating the clean energy revolution not only in this country but around the world. We helped protect New York’s landmark legislation, the CLCPA, and helped pass other critical state climate legislation as well. We are working hard to get crucial climate-friendly provisions included in the 2023 U.S. Farm Bill. And, while these successes belong to the climate movement as a whole, CAN app users punched well above their weight by sending and making hundreds of thousands of letters and phone calls in support of those legislative victories.
Our Climate Action Parties have attracted A-List speakers and drawn thousands of people to online events where they have helped stop pipelines, pass critical legislation, reform our agricultural system, and get out the environmental vote. Check out our past Action Parties (touch the "Past" button).
And we have had untold, immeasurable “ripple” impacts — such as inspiring people to install solar panels, buy EVs, change their diets, and influence others to do the same.
THE SECRET SAUCE
Our secret sauce is that the Climate Action Now app makes it super easy and rewarding to take climate action on your phone. With just a few touches, you can send well-researched, well-written, and individualized messages to political, business, and regulatory leaders demanding action on climate.
Take Action With a Few Touches
And it works! In a pilot study shortly after launching on Earth Day 2021, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project documented that supporters with the app recorded 29 times more actions than those using conventional advocacy tools. The average CAN app user takes 10 actions per day in less than 5 minutes, and 15% of our users take 500 actions in their first 100 days. Touch the Community button at the bottom of the app screen and you’ll see people taking action after action after action.
Imagine what we could do if we had tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of users!
Action After Action After Action
This contrasts with other climate organizations whose supporters might take one action per week in response to a single call to action in a weekly email or on social media.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
And people have noticed! Read the rave reviews on our website, in the Apple App Store, and in the Google Play Store.
Check out video testimonials for Climate Action Now from politicians, celebrities, and other climate activists here, and here.
Video Testimonials
HOW WE WORK
Here are some things you should know about us and how we operate:
- We are positioned for maximum impact. As a Public Benefit Corporation, like Change.org, Ecosia, and Patagonia, Climate Action Now is not constrained by the government in the type and amount of advocacy it can do on behalf of the planet. It was our conscious choice to forgo tax-exempt status in order to give ourselves maximum freedom to achieve the greatest possible impact. That’s why we are a Public Benefit Corporation.
- We are not doing this for money. We have only one paid staffer, who supervises the creation of actions that our community takes with the app. Everyone else, myself included, are volunteers. Most of the actions have been created by over 100 volunteers. Every penny we take in through memberships, planet-saving subscriptions, sales of planet-friendly gifts, or donations goes to make an impact or provide the promised services.
- We are transparent. Our books are audited every three months by GreenCircle Certified, which verifies and then certifies that we have made the promised purchases on behalf of our Planet-Saving subscribers and tree earners.
All this costs money, of course. In addition to our staffer's salary and our purchases on behalf of our planet-saving subscribers, we have significant expenses. For example, we pay $2,000 per month to cover server costs, and $8,000 per year for the software license that allows the CAN app to automatically connect users with their federal and state representatives. We also pay thousands of dollars every year to plant the trees that CAN app users were promised for taking action with the app.
Your non-deductible contribution will help us accelerate this important work at this critical juncture in history.
SCALING IT UP
- DONE! Thanks to your support, we have hit our first goal of $10,000, which allows us to continue our work through 2023, keep the app free, and keep creating new planet-saving actions and features. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
- A NEW GOAL: With an additional $20,000, we will purchase a software license and create actions to scale up citizen advocacy at the city and county levels. This is very important and urgent. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction, it is critical that local communities use the funds to accelerate the energy transition before they can be eliminated by a future President and Congress. We can help them with information and advocacy.
- And, if we can raise an additional $50,000, we will create versions of the CAN app for Canada and Australia, assuming we can find partner organizations in those countries to create actions for their countries.
CAN YOU -- CAN WE -- REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Yes!
The main question I get asked by CAN app users is, "Can I really make a difference? Does anyone actually read the messages I send to political and business leaders?" Faced with a problem as overwhelming as climate change, many people are understandably skeptical that they can really make a difference.
We have lots of documented evidence that citizen advocacy makes a difference. Plus, if you ask political leaders whether your messages make a difference, they'll tell you "Yes!" And research by the Congressional Management Foundation shows that constituent interactions are very effective in influencing members of Congress. (Check out the table on page 13 .) Staffers tally every message and report it to legislators. Quantity matters!
We've seen it before. When elected officials think their constituents have their backs, they can summon the courage to stand up to the fossil fuel industry. And if business leaders think they can attract new customers or prevent the loss of existing customers if they take climate action, then they'll do it.
As constituents and customers, we possess awesome power, but only if we speak up, express our opinions, and demand action. Let’s use our power!
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We've got the tools and the know-how to scale up citizen advocacy for the planet, but we can't do it without your help.
Will you help us? Please make a contribution to this GoFundMe. And if you would like to ensure that we keep going month after month, please consider becoming a Climate Action Now Member or a Planet-Saving subscriber.
THE LAST WORD
“I think I may have mentioned to you that recently when I have met my local Congressman (Mullin) and my California State Senator (Josh Becker) each one very quickly recognized me as soon as I said my name ("Harry Moody") out loud to them-- as well they should recognize me since I send 4 or 5 different messages to each one every day. The CAN is working as it should! You can use this as a story to emphasize how effective the CAN app is. It's a fantastic innovation, and I'm proud to use it and to know you personally. Let's make it used by the whole world!” - Harry Moody, San Mateo, CA
With gratitude,
Brett
Brett Walter
Founder & CEO
Climate Action Now
Contact Us: [email redacted]
Organizer
Climate Action Now care of Brett Walter, CEO
Organizer
Corvallis, OR