2007 Program Priorities

Opinion Polling and Research

CLCV Ed Fund conducts opinion polling and research to produce data to strengthen and sharpen the advocacy and outreach efforts of the environmental community. The data enables organizations to develop audience-specific messages, provide targeted services and strengthen mobilization efforts. CLCV Ed Fund research findings are also disseminated to policymakers, corporate leaders, and philanthropic leaders for use in creating programs and policies that address environmental concerns.

In 2007, CLCV Ed Fund will initiate two polls:

• Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs): APIs make up 12.5 percent of California’s population and are the fastest growing major racial or ethnic group. Little is known about API environmental attitudes and concerns, resulting in the exclusion of API needs in policy decisions. CLCV Ed Fund plans to conduct the first-ever API opinion poll to: 1) help policymakers develop policies that addresses the needs of APIs; 2) help environmental and API organizations better serve the needs of APIs; and 3) increase API civic participation, including voter registration and issue advocacy.
• Baseline: CLCV Ed Fund will conduct a survey to provide the environmental community with “baseline” data on the environmental attitudes of California voters. This data will help inform CLCV Ed Fund in setting priorities for its environmental education and outreach programs. Further, this baseline data will help the environmental community measure its progress in gaining support for environmental protection.

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Green California

Green California builds the efficacy of the environmental movement by developing and providing tools and resources that help environmental organizations achieve their goals. Green California facilitates the enactment of large-scale policies that address significant issues, such as global warming. In its first year (2006), it has already shown impressive results: 19 out of 28 priority bills reached the Governor’s desk and 10 were signed into law – a significant improvement from the previous year when 12 out of 27 bills passed the legislature and only 7 were signed into law.

In 2007, CLCV Ed Fund will work with Green California participants, consisting of over 50 organizations from around the state, to advance a strong environmental policy agenda. To meet this goal, we will:

• Develop advocacy tools, such as compiling dossiers of regional and legislator-specific information, providing organizations with and educating them on how to use demographic information about their members, and creating an environmental Website for advocates to share and store information and support letters;
• Conduct relationship-building activities, such as arranging and coordinating meetings with legislators, hosting events with legislators, organizing an environmental advocacy day, and convening a statewide environmental summit;
• Organize regular meetings of environmental advocates to identify priority legislation, develop advocacy strategies, and share intelligence and resources; and
• Structure committee meetings based on issue areas to evaluate environmental legislation, strengthen environmental policies, and increase strategic communication.

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Civic Engagement

Residents in local communities play a critical role in advancing environmental changes through the democratic process. Unfortunately, many residents ignore civic affairs. To engage these residents and inform our efforts, CLCV Ed Fund will utilize the findings from the opinion polling and research – which will provide a powerful message development tool – to develop civic engagement programs in these communities. We will identify and communicate with potential supporters, partner with local organizations, implement outreach and education strategies, register citizens to vote, and involve them in the democratic process. For example, in 2000, using the results of our groundbreaking Latino environmental polls, we registered Latinos to vote, mobilized the Latino community to participate in civic affairs and advocate for seminal environmental health bills that were signed into law, and involved their communities in policy discussions and decisions, which led to their needs being incorporated in policies.

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The Heat is On: Making Global Warming a Presidential Priority

The 2008 presidential primary represents a tremendous opportunity to make global warming a key issue in the national debate. The next president must have a thoughtful plan to address climate change, one that addresses important environmental and economic concerns and shows that the federal government is ready to take responsibility and act! California presents an ideal stage from which to elevate global warming as the main issue in the presidential debate. CLCV Ed Fund is partnering with LCV and other state leagues to put the heat on presidential candidates. We will use media outreach and education to get candidates on the record on global warming, raise the visibility of global warming among voters and the media, and provide up-to-date materials with the candidates’ positions and statements on global warming, videos of speeches, event calendars and sample letters to the editors.

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List Enhancement Program

A list enhancement project takes the membership of participating organizations, matches them with the public state voter file and returns the lists to the groups “enhanced” with new data, including member age, gender, phone number, congressional and state legislative districts, county, voting precinct, how many other participating organizations they belong to, and frequency of voting.

Using this data, participating organizations will be able to increase the effectiveness of their organizing strategy, activist and volunteer recruitment, voter education, and fundraising programs, among others.

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For More Information:

, Assistant Executive Director
10780 Santa Monica, Suite 210, Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 441-4162 x 304

© 2008 California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.