FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CCE receives grant from MacArthur Foundation

Coronado, California — January 7, 2016 — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded a 2-year, $500,000 grant to Citizens’ Climate Education (CCE), Mark Reynolds, Executive Director of CCE and Citizens’ Climate Lobby, announced today.

“We’re grateful, not only for the generous funding the MacArthur Foundation is providing, but also for their acknowledgement that CCE’s work to educate and empower citizens about climate solutions is vital to the mission of preserving a livable world for future generations,” Mr. Reynolds said.

Since 2007, Citizens’ Climate Education has trained ordinary citizens to educate political, business, and community leaders, along with members of the general public, about climate change and climate change solutions.  To date it has enrolled more than 25,000 supporters to build bipartisan consensus for national climate action.  In 2015, volunteers with CCE’s sister organization, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, held more than 1,200 meetings with congressional offices, published over 4,000 letters to the editor, articles, and op-eds, and wrote nearly 15,000 letters to Congress.

The MacArthur Foundation’s commitment to Citizens’ Climate Education follows its August 2015 announcement of a “big bet” on its Climate Solutions program. During the announcement, Foundation President Julia Stasch described such big bets as large commitments that would, she said, “strive toward transformative change in areas of profound concern. This is not a search for quick fixes or easy wins, but an all-in, timely commitment – of talent, resources, time, and reputation – to real change that matters for many, many people.”

The Foundation’s climate strategy proceeds from the understanding that “no climate change solution can reasonably be achieved without the U.S. taking significant steps,” which might include “placing a price on carbon.”  This avenue for American climate leadership is consistent with CCE’s preferred national, revenue-neutral, carbon fee-and-dividend climate solution, which CCE views as the fairest and most effective means of reducing greenhouse gases while stimulating the American economy.

Contact: Andrew Beahrs, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator
Citizens’ Climate Education
, (510) 710-7567