Our message that giving now can have higher impacts is gaining momentum:
So far people we like to call “Can’t Waiters” have donated over $250K to their top causes and groups and organizations have donated $200K. We’re inviting more people to join as Pledgers and Donors.
We’re announcing our We Can’t Wait Advisors & Advisors on Partnering; additional members soon.
We’re recruiting a We Can’t Wait Organizer/Manager and possibly a project and Silicon Valley liaison.
Climate advocates & activists are responding to democracy challenges:
Failure to pass voting rights or social infrastructure/climate bills;
Growing momentum of forces for intolerance and strategic polarization;
Effective legalization of voter suppression and election subversion.
These challenges are prompting many in the climate movement to shift their focus, in ways that match with the urgency we feel at We Can’t Wait. We describe our priorities:
DE + CE 2022: Our Democracy Emergency + Our Climate Emergency
We have many urgent issues and crises, especially around injustice and inequality.
But we have two time bombs; one has a months-long fuse; the other has some years:
Our Democracy Emergency is growing as we approach Election Day, November 8, 2022.
Our Climate Emergency requires unprecedented global actions and transformations ASAP.
Both crises also offer opportunities. If we respond with hope and determination, we can inspire people to act together for a just world and a better future for our children and grandchildren.
We Can’t Wait Initiatives: 1) Democracy 2) Climate 3) Philanthropy
1) Our Democracy Emergency motivates us to develop and seek support for:
Which 2 Senators will courageously protect voting rights? We’re exploring with partners rapidly organizing actions and discussions in the hometowns of retiring Republican Senators from Pennsylvania and Ohio.
We hope to rapidly add House and Senate rankings to a Climate Scorecard, which continues Felix’s & Mike Mielke’s work in 2016-2018 with the ClimatePolitics.info wiki.
Worried about the ‘22 Elections? Youth & Truth to the Rescue! We explore how massive organizing and intervention campaigns everywhere in the U.S. can energize voters everywhere.
2) Climate Initiatives (where “climate” is the hub on a wheel of related issues):
Working with the Anthropocene Institute: advancing companies and projects for SAFE — Solid State Fusion Energy. What’s also called LENR — Low Energy Nuclear Reactions — could deliver clean energy at 1 cent/kiloWatt-hour in time to significantly scale key climate solutions.
Bay Area innovation ideas are emerging from conversations with Silicon Valley's amazing new powerhouse State Senator, Josh Becker. (He and others starred at an exciting Acterra event, Code Red for Humanity: What Municipalities Can Do; see Felix’s post on LinkedIn.)
Felix’s wife, Rochelle Lefkowitz, organized a January kick-off event for Third Act, Bill McKibben’s new organization. Over 400 attended virtually and as many have viewed the recording, with multiple watch parties. More at Engaging Elders in Climate Action.
3) Philanthropy Initiatives:
We’ve held Zoom peer-to-peer fundraising events with groups we support to invite current donors to 10X their contributions from their previous level.
We aim to organize Can’t Waiters at key watering holes where many many thousands of SF Bay Area entrepreneurs focus on climate, including Airminers, ClimateBase, ClimateLink, My Climate Journey, and Work On Climate, plus other communities including Pachamama Alliance Global Commons.
Let’s Create a New Spot in Berkeley for Fun & Inspiration! As we attract people who want to have a large impact in their communities, this could help electrify parts of the East Bay’s infrastructure.
We hope to raise funds to hire the galvanizing team at We Make the Future to improve messaging and organizing about both emergencies. See Catch Some Rays of Hope: David Roberts & Anat Shenker-Osario Talk about Messaging & Movements. This could be paired with a media project.
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