Evergreen Collaborative
< BEST CHARITIES

Evergreen Collaborative

Evergreen Collaborative is creating the blueprint to defeat the climate crisis and build a clean energy future through actionable, ambitious policy proposals. Evergreen Collaborative seeks to influence Congress, the Executive Branch, and federal agencies through direct work with Hill offices and by coordinating with a wide coalition of other environmental groups. The organization was founded by former staffers of Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Please select your country & currency. Donations are tax-deductible in the country selected.

download page as pdf

Other ways to donate

We recommend that gifts up to $1,000 be made online by credit card. If you are giving more than $1,000, please consider one of these alternatives.

Check Bank Transfer Donor Advised Fund Cryptocurrencies Stocks or Shares Bequests Corporate Matching Program

The problem: Climate Change

Climate change is the burning issue of our times and is already affecting every inhabited region across the planet.[1] However, while climate change is poised to have devastating impacts everywhere, those in global extreme poverty will be hardest hit. Climate change will both push more people into extreme poverty and catastrophically affect the lives of people already in extreme poverty. 

According to the World Bank, “up to 132 million people may fall into poverty by 2030 due to the manifold effects of climate change.”[2]  The effects of climate change on the world’s poor include forced displacement, destruction of homes and property, health effects from extreme weather events (droughts, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, exposure to extreme temperatures), impacts on crop yields, food prices and food insecurity.[3] For example, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Regions with weak health infrastructure – mostly in developing countries – will be the least able to cope.[4]

Climate change and extreme poverty are inextricably linked, and addressing climate change is an essential component of fighting extreme poverty. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the global community must cut greenhouse gas pollution approximately in half by 2030, and achieve global net-zero pollution by mid-century.[5]

The solution: Policy Advocacy

As the world’s largest historical emitter of climate pollution, and the global leader in technology innovation, the United States  should be among the first to achieve that net-zero target, as fast as possible and well before mid-century. The federal government has the opportunity to lead the charge to defeat the climate crisis and build a thriving and just clean energy future. 

However, to realize this opportunity, effective policy development and savvy advocacy are required. 

How Evergreen Collaborative works

Evergreen Collaborative believes that President Biden  and Congress must make defeating the climate crisis and building a just, inclusive clean energy economy the nation’s top priority. Evergreen Collaborative has created a blueprint for policymakers to create such actionable, ambitious climate policies. Their “Evergreen Action Plan” offers a roadmap for national mobilization to defeat the climate crisis and build a just and thriving clean energy economy. This plan is built upon 5 key principles:

  • Powering the Economy with 100% Clean Energy
  • Investing in Good Jobs, Infrastructure, Industries & Innovation
  • Building Greater Justice & Economic Inclusion
  • Ending Fossil Fuel Giveaways
  • Mobilizing Global Action [6]
Lena Moffitt, Evergreen Campaigns Director, and Wes Gobar, Evergreen Coalitions Lead, at the People vs. Fossil Fuels rally in October 2021 in Washington, DC

Evergreen Collaborative pushes bold climate policies forward by using this blueprint to design other proposals, strategically communicate its work, and coordinate advocacy efforts. Evergreen Collaborative’s policy work includes writing policy proposals and model bills, as well as creating strong press, digital, and campaign  strategies to advance those  proposals into legislation. 

Moreover, Evergreen Collaborative uses specific tactics to remain effective: 

  • Timing policies to the political climate: Evergreen Collaborative’s strategy is to carefully time its policy communication to the political climate and is adept in identifying and seizing overlooked opportunities for advancing progressive climate policy.
  • Collaborating with efforts with other climate change organizations: Evergreen Collaborative coordinates it’s efforts with like-minded environmental organizations, such as The Sunrise Movement and the Big Greens. Such collaboration enables different organizations to share their expertise with each other and work together to achieve shared policy development and advocacy goals. [7]

Ultimately, Evergreen Collaborative uses its advocacy and the advocacy of its partner organizations to apply pressure on Congress, the Executive Branch, and federal agencies to take bold climate action.

Evergreen staff with advocates from the Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, and Mom’s Clean Air Force with Senator Ed Markey at a rally they hosted in support of the Civilian Climate Corps at the US Capitol

What makes the Evergreen Collaborative so effective

Proven results

Evergreen Collaborative has developed blueprints and fact sheets for policy proposals such as the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), vehicle electrification, housing retrofits, and the Civilian Climate Corps. Many of these policy proposals have been in discussion for the Build Back Better Act. For example, the House Committee on Energy & Commerce has proposed and advanced the CEPP for the Build Back Better Act.[8]

Collaborative approach

Evergreen Collaborative coordinates it’s efforts with like-minded environmental organizations. Such a collaborative approach enables different organizations to share their expertise with each other and work together to achieve shared policy development and advocacy goals. For example, it has worked on the big picture of climate policy with the Big Greens and developed a Civilian Climate Corps with the Sunrise Movement. It is also involved in an electrification coalition alongside other groups such as RMI, Rewiring America, and various environmental justice groups. Evergreen has led weekly calls on the CEPP with approximately 50 attendees from various groups.[9]

Cost–Effectiveness

According to a cost–effectiveness model developed by Giving Green, Evergreen Collaborative’s work on federal legislation is highly cost-effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Based on how much CO2-equivalent (CO2e) it could potentially reduce between 2022 and 2030, Evergreen is predicted to reduce emissions at a cost of about $0.54 per metric ton of CO2e .[10]

Experienced staff with policy focus

Evergreen’s staff and advisory board have prior experience in US policy, climate policy, state policy, and environmental justice. For example, the co-founders of Evergreen were previously staffers for Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s presidential campaign, which ran on a platform of fighting the climate crisis. Its advisory board includes members of well-known environmental organizations such as the BlueGreen Alliance, the US Climate Action Network, and Fridays for Future.[11]

Strategic Approach

Evergreen Collaborative carefully times its policy development and communication to the political climate. For example, when President Joseph Biden won the White House and it seemed likely that Democrats would lose the Senate, Evergreen Collaborative released a list of President Biden’s proposed executive orders for combating climate change within days of the final election results. Evergreen Collaborative compiled these executive orders as a means to advocate for climate action outside of legislation. Additionally, Evergreen Collaborative developed lists of five key action items 21 different government agencies should each take on climate as the names of each agency’s potential appointees were released to the public. This was a gap in climate advocacy that other environmental groups had not filled. Finally, Evergreen Collaborative converted its original plan for a “100% Clean Energy by 2035” Clean Energy Standard (CES) into the CEPP when it became clear that, given the Democrat’s very narrow control of the Senate, Evergreen Collaborative’s most impactful plan for driving down emissions would need to be passed through budget reconciliation, which is not possible for a CES.[12]

Note on organizations within Evergreen

Evergreen Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and primarily conducts policy development, though it is associated with a sister 501(c)(4) organization.

We are only providing a recommendation of the 501(c)3 Evergreen Collaborative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Evergreen Collaborative is leading the fight to put bold climate action at the top of America’s agenda. Your support will empower climate and community leaders to work together to defeat the climate crisis and build a thriving, just clean energy future. 

Evergreen Collaborative has focused its work on influencing Congress and the Executive Branch. Looking forward, Evergreen Collaborative is planning to work on regulation, bill implementation, and state-level policy; and will continue influencing Congress and the Executive Branch.

Evergreen Collaborative is a young organization with a limited budget and room to grow. Besides meeting current budgetary needs, raising additional funds can help a small organization such as Evergreen concentrate on its mission and not spend large amounts of leadership resources constantly fundraising. 

Evergreen’s portfolio of work for the future includes working on bill implementation and pushing for aggressive executive action on climate change, especially in the US’s most polluting sectors (e.g. buildings and electricity). Evergreen may also conduct work in the regulatory environment, such as driving down emissions from transportation by working through the US Environmental Protection Agency and other authorities. 

Fighting the climate crisis requires systemic change and we believe that the most effective giving opportunities are organizations working to enact such systemic policy change. Such work can have an outsized potential impact in helping people in extreme poverty. 

The US is amongst the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters in total volume and also has one of the world’s highest rates of greenhouse gas emissions per capita. Furthermore, to date the US has not adopted strong, nation-wide climate policy under a comprehensive framework. Finally, the US is the world’s largest funder of research and development and could therefore play a crucial role in developing key technologies needed to fight climate change. [13] For these reasons, successful efforts in shifting US climate policy could potentially move the needle on climate change. This, we hope, will ultimately protect millions of the world’s poorest people who are disproportionately affected by the devastating impacts of climate change. Click here to learn more about the relationship between climate change and extreme poverty and The Life You Can Save’s process for selecting effective climate change recommendations. 

We recommend Evergreen Collaborative because they are recommended by Giving Green, our partner evaluator that is equipped to look into numerous climate change charities in-depth and is constantly assessing work being done in the world of climate change. We used their findings to inform our list of highly impactful, cost-effective climate change recommendations. 

Donors in the United States can make tax-deductible gifts to The Life You Can Save and our recommended charities by clicking on the donate buttons across our website.

Online donations are processed through our partner Network for Good, which is the name that will be displayed on your emailed tax receipt. For other ways to donate, see the yellow buttons at the top of this page or go here.

For information about tax-effective giving in other countries, please visit our Tax Deductibility page.