2021 USCAN Annual Report

US CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK Annual Report 2021

Front Cover: Mural by Scottish art students at COP26 capturing the key themes, commitments, and ideas that were discussed at the conference.

Photo credit: Natalie Lucas.

US CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK ANNUAL REPORT 2021 METRO OFFICES, 700 12TH STREET NW, STE 700, WASHINGTON, DC 20005 P: 202-255-2322 | operations@usclimatenetwork.org www.usclimatenetwork.org

MISSION, VISION, AND THEORY OF CHANGE

USCAN’S MISSION Our mission is to build trust and alignments among members to fight climate change in a just and equitable way.

USCAN’S VISION We envision a powerful, inclusive, and trusting network of US organizations which work together to meet the global goals in the Paris Climate Agreement and exceed the US targets outlined in that agreement.

USCAN’S THEORY OF CHANGE If we work together, we will successfully impact climate change.

This theory is rooted in the belief that our network members must double down on democracy and relationships in order to pursue our shared goals. Our inside game and our outside game members must be in relationships with each other and coordinate in areas where members decide that working together will enable us to meet the network’s vision.

Our Vision. Artwork by Courtenay Lewis.

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MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR USCAN continues to operate at the center of those driven to bear witness and take action. Our membership, the beating heart of our network, has expanded significantly and is leveraging the power of collaboration, relationships, and speaking with one voice more than ever. This year, our Member Catalyzing Grants program supported 19 proposals for a range of collaborative projects including, but not limited to, developing leadership in frontline organizations, building power to support tribally-led climate justice efforts, and increasing engagement and activism within faith communities. From joining strikes across the US to developing and implementing our own Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion checklist across all our work, I am proud to see the centering of shared strategies lift up all voices and perspectives. This aim of our 2017–22 strategic plan has truly been brought to life.

USCAN Board Chair Kyle Ash

Dear Friends, Allies, and USCAN Family, 2021 started with a historic assault on American democracy, not just symbolically but with an actual attack on the US Capitol aimed at overturning the election. Much of 2021 was characterized by the tumult in the halls of power and a continuation of the uphill struggle American democracy has faced since the previous president came to power. Trump’s climate antagonism went hand in hand with his sympathy for racists and tyrants. These challenges galvanized our understanding that a weak democracy will not respond to the climate crisis, and a strong democracy requires engaged people advocating for justice and equity across all issues.

Last year was also full of highlights, both for the climate movement broadly and for USCAN. Every day, people in the US and around the world are standing up and saying “enough!”—just a few examples of which include the meteoric rise of a cohort of inspirational young activists led by Greta Thunberg and the proliferation of civil society actions like Fire Drill Fridays and Shut Down DC.

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Looking ahead to 2022 and beyond, I am energized by our community’s clarity of purpose and solidarity. The challenge is significant, but our network has risen to meet it and will overcome it. The release of the Vision for Equitable Climate Action (VECA) policy platform, which focuses on a just socio-economic transition that bridges the rural-urban divide, is underway and will be ready for implementation by the next presidential term. Arm in Arm—a movement designed to invoke a transition to climate conscious behaviors across society—is gathering steam as it heads into its second phase. With a new administration in office, we have been able to pivot from defending what we’ve gained to ratcheting up policy in favor of equitable climate solutions. We have the tools we need to win!

Onward!

Kyle Ash

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Thanks to vaccination and testing, 2021 was a year in which we finally were able to see each other again for fleeting periods and stand together against oppression and the greed and filth of fossil fuel billionaires. USCAN members stood up together against the Line 3 pipeline violating Indigenous rights and fueling the climate crisis, following leadership from the Giniw Collective and Tara Houska. We did it again by taking a stand against the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Southern Company, working with Appalachians Against Pipelines. We fought hard for climate legislation to pass before the UN climate meetings, and when it did not, we called out the US government for failing us again and for failing to meet the standards we must hold ourselves accountable to on human rights and our responsibility to take care of each other in a world dominated by US hegemony.

2021 was a year when we saw our power to stand together with the CAN community around the world and secure health and vaccine fairness from the UN and UK hosts of the climate meetings, but it was insufficient to achieve vaccine equity.

2021 was a year when we saw that our power was building to the point of getting legislation introduced that would set us on a path to end the climate crisis by putting racial and economic justice at the heart of the efforts. However, it was a year when we saw the power to pass something in the House of Representatives did not equal the power to pass something in the Senate, where the popular vote and popular sentiment do not weigh as strongly as the corporate financial flows from fossil fuel corporations.

2021 was a year when we exposed that in the US Senate you can, and Joe Manchin does, receive more money annually from a coal company than he does in salary from the Senate.

The corruption on display in 2021 was a stark reminder of why it is so important that we build our power not just to the point of getting great policy proposed, but to the point of getting it passed.

The challenge is enormous as evidenced by the fact that 2021 started with a violent attack on our democracy on January 6, 2021 and ended with yet another COVID variant gone rampant due to vaccine apartheid and our failure to treat a global health crisis as global.

USCAN Executive Director Keya Chatterjee.

Photo Credit: Erica Flock.

The good news as always is that we have each other, and we continue to grow in numbers and in political understanding.

For the first time, the majority of our members have been through anti-racism training, and we are beginning to form a common understanding of the systems of oppression that have prevented us from achieving a stable climate for too long and have prevented liberation for even longer.

As we look ahead, we can be glad that we have a plan and that it matches the difficulty of the moment. We enter 2022 with a Supreme Court appointed by people who failed to win the majority vote and a public that stands with us. Our work ahead looms large, but it is in focus and must be done with the joy and friendship that we can only find in each other.

Thank you for being a part of our network and our community.

Keya Chatterjee

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

USCAN Board Members: Alden Meyer, Colette Pichon Battle, Rev. Dallas Conyers, Daniel Sosland, David Turnbull, Kyle Ash, Bishop Marcia Dinkins, Marnese Krishana Jackson, Rachel Potter, William J. Snape, III , Basav Sen, Brandon Wu, Dyanna Jaye, Elizabeth Chun Hye (Liz) Lee , Jacob Harold, James C. “JC” Woodley, Jana Merkelbac, Joe Goldman, Joe Uehlein, Rachel Cleetus, Rev. Leo Woodbery and Mikhiela Sherrod, Esq.

Our board members are critical leaders both within and outside of the network. They selflessly devote their time to weaving strong relationships amongst our members, participating in various USCAN committees, and making sure we have the resources necessary to achieve our shared vision. Last year, every board member made a financial contribution to USCAN.

TERM ENDING JULY 2022 Alden Meyer Principal Performance Partners Colette Pichon Battle, Esq. Director Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy Rev. Dallas Conyers (JEDI Committee Chair) Director Southeast Climate & Energy Network Daniel Sosland President Acadia Center David Turnbull (Secretary) Strategic Communications Director Oil Change International

Kyle Ash (Chair) Policy Director Bank Information Center Bishop Marcia Dinkins (Catalyzing Grants Review Team) Director Ohio Interfaith Power & Light Marnese Krishana Jackson (Catalyzing Grants Review Team) Director Mothers Out Front Rachel Potter (Nomination Committee) Projects Director Climate Nexus William J. Snape, III Legal Counsel & USMUST Board Chair Senior Counsel, Center for Biological Diversity Professor, American University Law School

TERM ENDING JULY 2023 Basav Sen Director, Climate Policy Project Institute for Policy Studies

Jana Merkelbach Head of Network Development and Outreach Climate Action Network International

Brandon Wu Director of Policy and Campaigns ActionAid USA

Joe Goldman (Development Committee Chair) President Democracy Fund

Dyanna Jaye Movement Coach & Trainer PowerLabs

Joe Uehlein President and Executive Director Labor Network for Sustainability

Elizabeth Chun Hye Lee (Liz) Executive for Economic and Environmental Justice and Climate Justice Lead United Women in Faith

Rachel Cleetus Policy Director Union of Concerned Scientists

Jacob Harold (Board Treasurer) Executive Vice President Candid James (Jc) Woodley Executive Director JAPRI Community Programs

Rev. Leo Woodbery Pastor, Consultant Kingdom Living Temple Mikhiela Sherrod (Vice-Chair) Executive Director Agricultural Missions, Inc

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OUR NETWORK — NEW MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

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ORGANIZATION

LOCATION

350 New Hampshire

Dover, New Hampshire

American Society for Adaptation Professionals

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Bank Information Center

Washington, District of Columbia

Climate Health Now

San Pablo, California

Environmental Protection Network

Washington, District of Columbia

Evergreen Action

Washington, District of Columbia

Faith in Place

Chicago, Illinois

Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action

Atlanta, Georgia

Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment

Spokane, Washington

Hometown Organizing Project

Montevallo, Alabama

International Fund for Animal Welfare

Washington, District of Columbia

Methane Action

Calabasas, California

Mothers and Others for Clean Air

Atlanta, Georgia

New Alpha CDC

Florence, South Carolina

Newark Water Coalition

Newark, New Jersey

Remineralize the Earth

Northampton, Massachusetts

The Chisholm Legacy Project

Burtonsville, Maryland

www.usclimatenetwork.org

USCAN Daily Meeting at COP26: Michael Hansen, Alex Easdale, Sarah Deifendorf, Mel Caraway, Katherine Quaid, Mara Dolan, Sandy Ovalle, Alden Meyer, Natalia Gomez,Knellee Bisram, Amanda Rodriguez PC: Katherine Quaid. Photo Credit: Natalie Lucas.

STRATEGIC PLAN We are currently in the fifth year of our 2017–2022 Strategic Plan. This year, we continued to focus on meeting our core goals and beginning to strategize for our next strategic plan.

In the Spring of 2022, USCAN will begin our strategic planning process to create a plan for the period of June 2023 to June 2028 that leverages the network infrastructure that we built in the current strategic plan and the progress USCAN has made in putting Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the forefront of our work. Building on our commitment to transparency and democracy, USCAN will formulate a strategic plan that is responsive to our members but also starts with the core question of “do we need to exist?” and if so, then we ask “why?” We ask these questions so we can design a plan that serves the highest and best purpose of ending the climate crisis by putting racial and economic justice at the heart of our work.

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GOALS Our goals are: Facilitate Democratic Participation, Build Trust, Foster Alignments, Enhance Network Effectiveness.

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2021 USCAN Virtual Annual Meeting

FACILITATE DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION Moving together in alignment has been a historic challenge in the climate movement that we are ameliorating, and the COVID-19 Pandemic has brought its own unique and difficult challenges as well. During the June 2021 Annual Meeting, members voted on priorities for the 2021–2022 year using a digital ranked-choice voting process. USCAN invested in the supporting technology OpaVote after a consultative process with both staff and members. We are pleased that the result ensured a transparent and democratic process of voting not just for the 2021 USCAN Annual Meeting that decided the new Action Teams and priorities for the Network Catalyzing Grants, but also in subsequent member-led voting processes including selecting Action Team priorities and voting for the new USCAN liaison to CAN-International.

Voting, democracy, and member-led governance remain our top priorities for member engagement. We consistently look to members for input, guidance, and decision-making across the network's activities. And over the past year, this ethos has influenced USCAN’s endorsement of policy proposals such as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Clean Electricity Standard. It has enabled more shared leadership and flexibility within our Action Teams with the support from members for multiple co-chair configurations, and it has determined the direction of Action Team priorities that are all centered on enabling systemic change that advances racial and economic justice

BUILD TRUST Annual Meeting This was the second year that we had to hold our Annual Meeting virtually. The purpose of the USCAN 2021 Annual Meeting was to continue building our ambitious vision of climate justice and equity by creating a space that builds on prior meetings and advances collective work, repairs, and deepens relationships that have been fractured by the impact of the pandemic, and builds trust among members.

Members also had the opportunity to learn from and share with non-member allies in the climate movement. This was the theme for the meeting: “As a community in the midst of intersecting crises (climate, COVID-19, racism, economy, erosion of democratic principles and protections), we will not relent in centering equity, justice, transparency, and accountability as we address these issues. We will leverage our collective strength and expertise to deepen capacity across the network and strengthen our coalition of partners and allies to meet the urgency of the moment.”

The member-led Steering Committee established the following four goals for the 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting: +

Goal 1: We will organize and align around achieving ambitious targets in any/all legislation that passes under the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better agenda and deploy members’ capacity in three specific areas: advocacy and lobbying; communications; grassroots organizing and mobilizing.

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Goal 2: We will continue to collaborate across the network on educating political actors (legislators at all levels of government) and creating/strengthening allies for climate justice.

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Goal 3: We will continue to prioritize tending to the USCAN community, including creating the space for healing and wholeness; being intentional about rebuilding trust and relationships between our members; and embodying our values of justice, equity, democracy, inclusion, trust, relationships, optimism, wisdom, and perseverance.

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Goal 4: We will continue to commit to truth and reconciliation by continuing to name and address the history of white supremacy in USCAN, as a microcosm of the larger environmental movement in the US and beyond.

On the first day of the five-day meeting, USCAN members who self-identify as Black convened for a powerful, reflective, and cathartic session focused on a shared understanding of trauma and experience in the broader climate movement and how those experiences manifest at both the local and global level. Out of this session came the identification of the need to equip our network and individuals with the tools and a skillset to transcend the trauma to create individual and collective opportunities for healing and transformation within the network.

The second day focused on "Building Global Solidarity" and solicited powerful reflections on the moral imperative of the US to fulfill its obligations not just on climate justice but also racial and economic justice. Members leaned into identifying opportunities to strengthen partnerships across Climate Action Network International (CAN-International) nodes that would catalyze the power of the grassroots to call on the US to do what is necessary for climate action.

This conversation also included identifying opportunities in the domestic US political space to advance this global framework by integrating the principles and policy options of the Vision for Equitable Climate Action (VECA) into existing or proposed legislation. Members present in this second session identified the proposals in VECA that had the most support from them to mobilize around in the coming year at USCAN to create this global impact.

Members closed the second day with a reflection on the key issues that would be up for discussion and deliberation at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP26) hosted in Glasgow, Scotland. Members specifically deliberated on which policy proposals the USCAN contingent would actively support and advocate for, to build solidarity with grassroots and frontline communities globally.

The third day of the Annual Meeting was dedicated to elevating and celebrating our grassroots power. We began with a celebration of the arc of progress by our Arm in Arm

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(AiA) strategy, which is grounded in mobilizing 3.5% of the US population in direct action to combat the climate crisis.

Building upon that session, members then heard from three amazing organizations—Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate, and Health Organization (EEECHO); Anthropocene Alliance; and Black Voters Matter Fund— on their experiences over the past year in mobilizing resources through mutual aid and opportunities at the federal, state, and local level that directed funding and resources to their frontline communities. Best-in-class examples of this community’s ingenuity, resilience, and solidarity were shared, including leveraging community capital to mobilize politically to successfully challenge the onerous conditionalities of a federal grant program for frontline communities, and getting the necessary revisions to ensure accessibility. Another experience one of these groups had was successfully mobilizing partners to provide technological resources that addressed the digital divide that several frontline communities were facing, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fourth day of the Annual Meeting was opened with a Healing Circle, facilitated by Huda Alkaff (Wisconsin Green Muslims), Rev. Brendolyn Boseman (The Imani Group), and Gloria Ricks (Mt. Zion Community Outreach, Inc.). It was a powerfully restorative moment for members to receive affirmation and recognition from each other, and it set the tone well for a day dedicated to learning the outcomes from member collaborations over the past year.

The session following the Healing Circle was focused on a dialogue between a diverse group of leaders on the Intersection of International Climate Finance and Global Climate Justice. Patriciah Roy Akullo of ACT Alliance provided an international and Global South perspective as she spoke to promises that were made by developed countries on increasing the allocation of international finance for climate mitigation and adaptation. She highlighted the strong preference of countries in the Global South for an equitable 50/50 split dedicated to mitigation and adaptation rather than the status quo in which the majority of funds go to mitigation. Mitigation funding is a double burden for countries, especially those managing debts, because much of it is structured as climate loans instead of more equitable climate grants. She closed with a specific request of USCAN members to actively support and advocate for a commitment/formal pledges on Loss and Damage at COP26.

For a perspective from our Indigenous leadership on the frontlines, we heard from Ann Marie Chischilly with the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals. Ann Marie spoke to the just transition future that tribal nations are looking for that is beyond just clean energy, addressing a full spectrum of issues including investments in healthcare, elder and youth care, teaching, education, and the arts. Many tribes are dependent on fossil fuel extraction and use—including coal, gas, and uranium—as legacy drivers of their economies.

She also emphasized the importance of recognizing tribal sovereignty; the history and legacy of treaties made with the US government, most of which have never been honored; and how critical it is to exercise and honor the principle of free and prior informed consent when partnering with or engaging with tribes to ensure that they are at the forefront of considering their transition.

Other important contributions were shared by Sydney Welter (Care about Climate), Harjeet Singh (Action Aid International), Tom Athanasiou (EcoEquity), and James Woodley (JAPRI), who amplified the importance of advocating for an expansion in financing models for climate adaptation and mitigation beyond market-based mechanisms; assuring a level of financing for mitigation and adaptation that meets the scale of the need in developing countries that are making hard choices between diverting funds from other pressing developmental needs like education and infrastructure to addressing climate disasters; ensuring that there is progress on the US domestic political side on just and equitable climate policy; and identifying the opportunities to advance nature-based solutions that do not include false solutions like biomass energy.

The fourth day concluded with an overview and lessons learned from the eight grants that were awarded to clusters of USCAN members. (See full list in the Member Catalyzing Grants section) More details on the grant recipients, the scope of their work and collaboration together, and the outcomes will be covered in another section of this report.

The last day of the annual meeting began with a powerful welcome and grounding from Rabbi Jennie Rosenn (Dayenu), who shared the long Jewish tradition of passionate disagreement and debate that culminates in solidarity and community. She reminded us that as a climate justice community, our legitimate disagreements must serve a bigger purpose and a brighter future. We must hold steadfastly together to a bigger picture grounded in relationships and community because the climate crisis is too big and too complex to do otherwise.

The welcome was followed by two sessions that focused on grassroots mobilization by USCAN members. The first featured a conversation between two climate justice leaders, Marsha Gosier (Partnership for Southern Equity) and Lindsay Harper (Arm in Arm), focused on innovations that are happening at the grassroots to challenge and overcome an acceleration and deepening of voter suppression across the US. Some of these innovations include leveraging the relationships and trust that faith communities built over generations that supported voter registration drives and provided the social service infrastructure that was necessary for people to participate.

The second session was an opportunity for USCAN members to assess how they want to organize and mobilize politically over the summer and fall to support the passage of critical

climate legislation. Members heard from James Woodley (JAPRI), Kelly Stone (Action Aid), Lindsay Harper (Arm in Arm), and Harjeet Singh (Action Aid), who gave updates on various pieces of legislation moving through Congress that are most closely aligned with our Vision for Equitable Climate Action (VECA). Then members shared the campaigns, organizing events or actions that they were hosting over the summer and into the fall that others could plug into to build power.

Following that, participants went into breakout groups based on where they had energy, bandwidth, and expertise to contribute to a grassroots, bottom-up organizing effort over the summer and into the fall.

The day closed with the all-important voting process by members to determine the priorities of the network over the next year and the new Action Teams to drive progress on those priorities forward.

FOSTER ALIGNMENTS Implementing Shared Strategies through Action Teams and Member-led Committees Over the past year, members transitioned and evolved key bodies of work across Action Team cycles. Here are some of the highlights.

The permanent Building Power from the Grassroots Up Action Team completed the production of the “Navigating the Moment” document. This document is a resource not only for USCAN members but also for the wider climate justice movement. The document identifies the intersectionality of issues that impact BIPOC and frontline communities. It also provides a historical marker and lessons learned to help address these continual assaults in communities and concludes with a summary of the information presented

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in the Justice40 Initiative and any other enabling federal legislation that passes so that there is accountability for the Biden Administration.

The Coordinating Policy to Affect Broader Change 2021 Action Team accomplished the herculean task of updating the Vision for Equitable Climate Action, including: 1) incorporating all the policy recommendations in the US Climate Fair Share. The updates were made through a consultative process with USCAN members over the spring and early summer that included a series of informational webinars called “VECA and Beverages” sessions that were open to all members, as well as deep dive consultations held with each Action Team.

and self-care suggestions. This resource, alongside another USCAN publication developed by the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee, called the Organizational Stages of Accountability, will be incorporated into a case study developed by the Action Team in 2022 that outlines how to demonstrate equity in the implementation of climate justice. The case study will be based on stories and narratives from USCAN members’ own experiences, including in their communities. It will be presented to USCAN members at the June 2022 Annual Meeting.

Additionally, the Action Team seeded the idea of investing in learning about trauma-informed approaches to movement organizing. This idea was developed further and presented to USCAN members at the 2021 Annual Meeting, at which it was the topic of focus for the first day of the Annual Meeting: ”Shifting the Perspective; a convening for members who self identify as 50 shades of Black.” It was so well received by members who participated that a proposal was presented jointly by the Action Team and the JEDI Committee to all the incoming 2022 Action Team co-chairs to have this learning and skill-building incorporated in the work of all the Action Teams, and this proposal was unanimously adopted.

The Action Team closed its 2021 term with a broad socialization campaign across USCAN membership on the Building Power Asset Map. This map is a repository of information from all USCAN members, including the Southeast Climate and Energy Network, detailing the resources and specializations of individual members.

Finally, in addition to all the aforementioned contributions, in 2022 the Action Team will also focus on creating an information and resource hub for USCAN members and the broader frontline and grassroots communities to explain and track the actual allocation of funding commitments made

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The topline recommendations from the updated VECA platform were then shared and discussed at the June 2021 Annual Meeting and influenced the decision by USCAN members to vote up Mobilizing around Vision for Equitable Climate Action (VECA)/Equity policies that support communities adversely impacted (including climate change, fossil fuels, just transition) as one of the priorities for the network and a new Action Team in 2022.

In this Action Team members are focused on two priorities: 1) marketing VECA better but also having people trust that VECA will be put into practice, and 2) building grassroots political power for VECA. The team will accomplish this by developing public facing materials and fostering relationships to spread the word about VECA and Arm in Arm through the Annual Meeting in June 2022, starting with materials that were created by the Building Power team and producing a range of fact sheets, infographics, memes, and other multimedia. The Coordinating Policy to Affect Broader Change Action Team before its expiry also held a series of meetings with the US Department of State and Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff to advocate for CAN and VECA priorities and influence the US delegation’s positions at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. The international policy focus of USCAN members has moved forward in the creation of an International Crosscutting Action Team Committee that is covered in more detail in the committee section.

Additionally, the Mobilizing Around VECA Action Team contributed to the creation of the Equity Scorecard for states and territories that have passed 100% renewable energy legislation. This scorecard is a comprehensive guide for advancing equity-centered renewable energy policy passed by states or territories by reinforcing the importance of passing 100% renewable energy laws as a prerequisite for the transition to a just, holistic and regenerative economy; providing a consistent tool for comparison between laws since they vary greatly; and defining the critical elements that ensure equity for advocates and policymakers to adopt in any meaningful piece of legislation. This important body of work moves forward in 2022 with the vote by members to prioritize Advancing 100% Clean and Renewable Energy Policies for All. In this Action Team members are focused on two priorities: 1) Addressing Utility Barriers to Advancing

The Crosscutting International Committee provides opportunities for network organizations to address climate issues with US elected officials and other global decision makers that they may not otherwise be able to.

The scope of global issues that this committee addresses is incredible.

Therefore, to be more impactful globally, this committee intentionally works to help build the necessary capacity within this space and leverage the many available resources that this network provides.

JC Woodley, Co-Chair of the International Committee

Energy Democracy and a Just Transition, and 2) Addressing False Solutions to Energy Democracy and Just Transition.

The team will accomplish both priorities by participating in CAN-International’s Platform for Action on Renewable Energy, including attending meetings and giving input on emerging policy positions by the Climate Action Network; hosting a series of webinars that feature subject matter experts in energy democracy who can share best practices and case studies of successful efforts to democratize utilities and expand clean and renewable energy infrastructure in their communities that can be replicated; collaborating with two other Action Teams (Building Power from the Grassroots Up and Stopping Fossil Fuel Infrastructure) on developing an information and resource hub for USCAN members on the actual versus intended allocations to frontline communities under the Justice40 Initiative, and finally, developing content that can be shared on the social media channels of USCAN members that educates the public/consumer and elected officials/decision makers on counter-strategies to the false solutions (nuclear, clean coal, biomass, carbon capture, etc.) that the fossil fuel industry promotes to protect their profits.

Two of the 2021 Action Teams sunsetted at the end of their term: Socially and Economically Just Response and Recovery (SEJRR) and Mobilizing, Organizing, and Winning

Elections (MOWE). Both accomplished important outcomes for the network. SEJRR produced the “9 Principles for the Creation of Strong and Just Disaster Recovery and Resilience Plans'' resource document, which was fully integrated into the Vision for Equitable Climate Action (VECA) policy platform that is supported by a majority of USCAN members and is now the basis for a grassroots mobilization effort

by USCAN members. Additionally, members who were active participants in the Action Team became familiar with the workings of a community-controlled fund through presentations by members who are actively implementing this model. This enabled the Action Team to fund USCAN members to support the establishment of a communitycontrolled fund(s). Two recipients were selected by USCAN members and received grants: United Parents Against Lead and Anthropocene Alliance.

The Mobilizing, Organizing, and Winning Elections Action Team produced excellent resources for members on voter registration and voter protection that are as relevant and crucial today as when they were first published and distributed. Additionally, the Action Team hosted a very informative session at the June 2021 Annual Meeting focused on innovations at the grassroots level to challenge and overcome an acceleration and deepening of voter suppression across the US. Finally, the Action Team seeded the first

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USCAN Meeting with Senator.

Ed Markey. Mark Magaña, Green Latinos; Sumer Shaikh, Green New Deal Network; Michael Hansen, GASP; John MacKnight Fitzgerald, Methane Action; Jane English, NAACP; Sandy Ovalle, Sojourners; Katherine Quaid, WECAN; Kathy Egland, EEECHO & NAACP; Wisdom Cole, NAACP; Denise AbdulRahman, NAACP. Photo Credit: Hannah Vogel.

The international cross-cutting team, representing the diverse constituencies and perspectives within USCAN, formed just six weeks before COP26. We quickly underwent a participatory process to develop shared COP26 messaging and alignment. This level of collaboration sets a strong foundation for us to build more power as we plan for COP27 in November 2022.

Chloe Noël, Co-Chair of the International Committee

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USCAN Daily Meeting: Tiffany Fant, Michael Hanson, Kathy Egland. Photo Credit: Natalie Lucas.

Senator Ed Markey kicked off the USCAN Side Event, Loss & Damage and Climate Reparations: A Call for Solidarity.

Panel presenters included Kathy Egland, Jacob Johns, and Miriam Talwisa. Natalie Lucas moderated the event.

Photo Credit: Sarah Diefendorf.

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Christian Holtz, Doreen Stabinsky, Jean Su, Erika Lennon host a side event on Climate Justice and Fair Shares- The Unites States’ Moral Obligations in the Climate Emergency.

Photo Credit: United Nations Climate Change COP 26.

investment by the USCAN network in skill-building and learning for white and white-passing members on becoming actively anti-racist and challenging anti-blackness.

The new Action Team that was voted up at the June 2021 Annual Meeting is Stopping Fossil Fuel Infrastructure.

Members participating in this Action Team have prioritized 1) catalyzing the grassroots political power of BIPOC and frontline communities to increase opposition to the fossil fuel and other dirty energy industries in their communities; 2) proactively countering the misinformation campaigns against 100% clean and renewable energy by the fossil fuel/other dirty energy industries and their enablers: and 3) supporting efforts to reverse or eliminate tax breaks and subsidies that support fossil fuel and other dirty energy infrastructure. They will make progress on these priorities by 1) compiling a report of efforts underway in the local communities where Action Team members are actively working to stop the siting or expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, including providing an expose of the companies involved that is then distributed digitally to USCAN members — via a website developed and hosted by one of the Action Team members — and their allies by the June 2022 Annual Meeting; 2) conducting interviews of allies, starting with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Auxiliary, that document and publicize through USCAN members’ social media channels the union membership’s decision to actively support “green jobs” and a just transition; 3) creating a resource document that is a calendar of deadlines for when and how USCAN members should respond to federal agencies’ public comment periods for permitting of fossil fuel and other dirty energy infrastructure, including examples/templates of response letters, between now and June 2022; and 4) creating a

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factsheet with infographics on how fossil fuel companies are buying legislators and a factsheet on fossil fuel subsidies.

Committees Crosscutting International Committee: Members have been increasingly interested in connecting local issues to global systems and institutions that foster the climate crisis through business as usual behavior. This committee is intentionally building global solidarity through USCAN Action Teams and CAN-International to hold the US government and corporations accountable for their historical responsibility for contributing to the climate crisis.

Additionally, this committee is lifting up the impacts of climate change on people around the world to demand more support for adaptation, loss and damage, natural solutions, and appropriate climate financing. This committee allows members to strategize with one another to increase their collective impact in these conversations.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee: As a permanent USCAN member-led committee, the work of the JEDI Committee over the past year has focused on supporting the implementation of the JEDI Checklist review across all the Action Teams in 2021. The committee made substantive edits based on Action Team members’ responses to the survey. All the Action Teams made a further investment in August through December 2021 in deepening the skill of Action Team members in identifying strategic targets for system-level change in their priorities and goals as a team, to address racial and economic injustice. The JEDI Committee conducted follow-up conversations or responses to the accountability letters that were issued to founding USCAN member organizations from the committee. The committee also completed the publication of a resource document on

JEDI Stages of Organizational Accountability as a toolkit for USCAN members to diagnose the effectiveness and maturity or lack thereof of their organizational JEDI strategies.

Building upon this strong foundation, several workstreams initiated by the JEDI Committee will now be integrated and absorbed within the 2021–2022 USCAN Action Teams, including the JEDI Stages of Organizational Accountability that will be taken forward by the Building Power from the Grassroots Up Action Team. All the Action Teams have committed to additional investment in skill and capacitybuilding in trauma-informed approaches to movement organizing, as another element of adopting a systems change approach in the work of our Action Teams. The JEDI Committee will retain the administration, including data gathering and analysis, of the Quarterly JEDI Checklist Reviews by Action Teams and will continue to provide thought leadership to the USCAN Board and staff on ongoing accountability for bad actors in the USCAN network and larger climate movement.

Coalition Tables USCAN members provide input each year on which coalitions or tables USCAN should participate in to build a bigger and more effective movement. In 2021, USCAN members voted to have a USCAN staff or member representative interact with the following coalitions and tables: The Green New Deal Network (GNDN) is made up of a variety of organizations that have come together to help draft policy and coordinate outreach around developing a Green New Deal. USCAN was represented in 2021 in this network by members Bishop Marcia Dinkins and Tim Judson, as

well as Executive Director Keya Chatterjee. The Green New Deal Network launched the Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (THRIVE) Resolution, which was introduced in the Senate by Senator Markey and in the House by Congresswoman (at the time) Deb Haaland.

The network released a detailed 50-page policy document, funded state coalition work in priority states, participated in electoral work via the (c)4 political arms of organizations, and coordinated movement building work. In 2021 the network worked closely with the Congressional Progressive Caucus to keep as many elements as possible of the THRIVE Act in the Build Back Better (BBB) Act and keep the BBB Act as strong as possible. The goals for 2022 are to set local precedents for what a Green New Deal policy looks like, shift the national narrative by supporting campaigns on the front lines of the climate crisis, win as much federal progress on our agenda as we can in this political moment, elect Green New Deal champions (via (c)4 arms of organizations only), and develop a longer-term GNDN vision and state-based power building plan.

The Climate Action Campaign (CAC) is a coalition of national environmental, environmental justice, and public health groups working together to reduce climate pollution and accelerate the transition to clean energy. USCAN participates in the CAC and connects members with opportunities related to the efforts of the campaign. The coalition supported the confirmation of the Biden Administration's key climate nominees. CAC grew support for their legislative climate goals by meeting with key Members of Congress and generating local media and meetings. Finally, CAC mitigated opposition to climate solutions and reduced the virality of online climate misinformation.

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The Build Back Fossil Free coalition was launched when President Biden was inaugurated. As President Biden introduced the Build Back Better policy framework, concerned climate organizations formed this coalition to make sure that the policy efforts that would follow would not contain support for fossil fuels. The coalition is organized by USCAN members such as the Center for Biological Diversity. The coalition has engaged the administration and Congress around the Build Back Better Act and infrastructure bills. They also supported the Line 3 pipeline protests and coordinated an action in Washington, DC with Indigenous leaders from the Indigenous Environmental Network before COP26 in 2021.

In addition to these groups, USCAN members and staff participate in several non-public tables, which include convening climate and labor organizations to discuss needs and places for collaboration; sharing information and coordination around elections (with separated c(3) and c(4) arms), democracy, and progressive intersectional topics such as immigration; and a table that discusses international policy issues and advocacy from a US perspective.

The purpose of participating at all of these tables is to share USCAN priorities and input, report back to USCAN to increase transparency and information-sharing throughout the movement, and push for equity and inclusion in these spaces.

UN Climate Meetings COP26 was a significant moment. It was the first in-person global gathering in nearly two years to discuss climate action.

After missing deadlines for conversations and decisions that were supposed to take place in 2020, this COP felt like a pivotal moment for the movement. It was also an incredibly inequitable gathering. The barriers to attending this COP were astronomical, especially with the vaccine apartheid that the world has experienced in response to this pandemic.

While some countries that had easy access to the vaccine could make plans without fear of bringing Covid-19 back to their communities, folks from developing nations were not sure if they could get the vaccine, had to follow additional quarantine procedures (even if they were vaccinated) and had to endure the financial implications of these burdens. USCAN stood in solidarity with CAN-International to call for the postponement of COP26.

During the COP, USCAN members also discussed with the State Department the inequitable access within the venue, because it was so difficult to have meetings, get into negotiating rooms, and participate generally in this COP. In addition to these activities to address inequities, USCAN members worked together to host actions calling out false solutions; coordinated on positions to bring to the US State Department, Biden Administration, and congressional officials; participated in and organized marches in Scotland; and engaged in various conversations via side events and press conferences around a variety of issues

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Arm In Arm Arm in Arm is organizing our communities to ignite a transformational era that ends the climate crisis by centering racial and economic justice.

In 2019, we brought together a small group of diverse participants from the network to begin a “frontloading” process. During this process, USCAN members struggled together toward a joint political education and plan to get to scale. The frontloading process allowed participating members to create a powerful “DNA” that provides simple principles to enable complex behavior and dynamic activism.

This initiative was named “Arm in Arm” to convey both unity and autonomy among the movement’s participants.

Arm in Arm launched in May 2020 based on a year of research, study, member input, and beta testing in 11 cities across the US with this grand strategic objective: “Arm in arm, our communities ignite a transformational era to end the climate crisis centering racial and economic justice.” We planned to use in-person engagement to launch hubs, but that became impossible due to COVID-19, and we pivoted to virtual training sessions. Nevertheless, we currently have 41 hubs around the US, many in locations that are not known for being strongholds for environmental organizations.

Arm in Arm put dozens of leaders through our train-thetrainer program, received earned media locally where acts of disruptive humanitarianism are occurring, and we were featured in an op-ed in Reuters and an article in Climate Home. We stopped water shut-offs in communities, secured slow streets in cities, and are building movement leaders ready to demand policy change at scale as we do so.

In 2021, Arm in Arm entered its second phase, “Rising Actions and Trigger Events,” and engaged in several successful direct actions.

In June 2021, we completed our first trigger event in Northern Minnesota at the Stop Line 3 fight. Following leadership from frontline Indigenous leaders, Arm in Arm showed up with three buses from the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest ready to support Indigenous opposition to the pipeline. For our second escalation, Arm in Arm worked closely with the Indigenous Environmental Network to

Arm in Arm protesting the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Photo Credit: Sydney Mosier.

Arm in Arm huddle in Bemidji, MN. Photo Credit: Sydney Mosier.

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keep pressure on Biden. Arm in Arm leaders from across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast joined with Indigenous leaders and faith leaders to demand action, blockading the streets around the White House with art representing all of the actions President Biden should be taking and got a question asked in the White House press briefing. Arm in Arm had another action in July 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia for Energy Independence Day. This action organized caravans from throughout the Southeast. In August 2021, we participated in an action in southwest Virginia to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline, again following frontline leadership.

In October 2021, Arm in Arm DC Hub and USCAN members participated in a week-long action alongside The Peoples Watch at the US Capitol to demand the federal legislation we need to secure a win in this critical window of opportunity.

We maintained a presence from 8 am to 8 pm each day, working from our phones and hot spots at the steps of the Capitol, to keep the pressure on Congress to pass the Build Back Better agenda and deliver on their promises of economic recovery. Additionally, folks participated in additional actions like bird dogging members of Congress, doing banner drops at the annual congressional baseball game, and kayaking to Senator Manchin’s yacht to tell him to support the full Build Back Better bill.

2021 saw action small and large, from Transit Equity Day rallies thanking bus drivers and riders, to guerilla gardening, to protesting a pump site in Minnesota to stop Line 3. Arm in Arm has momentum, support, power, and hope to continue fighting for the world we need.

Internally, Arm in Arm made some major developments to begin giving shape to phase three of our 2022 escalation strategy, including developing a ground game strategy to take Arm in Arm out into communities and on the road. For us to mobilize 3.5% of the US population, we want to make sure we are connecting with those who are climate-concerned and alarmed through multiple pathways so that they receive the Arm in Arm message several times through phone and text banking, in-person canvassing, postcards, and brief presentations in smaller community venues. We also held the first of two meetings to bring in aligned partners who were interested in building towards mass escalation and were committed to sending people or making a donation towards our first National Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama. Many of these same groups and others were invited to a subsequent early January meeting to discuss how our collective efforts could have an expanded impact in 2022 and work to identify which strategies we believe will have the greatest impact, including making climate justice a central issue in advance of elections in November 2022.

During this time, we made some adjustments to increase our regional coaches' capacity by providing weekly individual and group coaching. This new configuration allows for coaches to receive support to recruit and grow hubs in their regions.

The regular meetings and added tracking tools helped with accountability and the sharing of best practices and methods that could use improvement.

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All of this internal strengthening of strategy and systems has been propelled by the hiring of incredible staff members to fill out the Arm in Arm team. We had the pleasure of bringing on a data manager, development director, digital engagement manager, and operations and finance manager. With the hard work of this awesome group, we were able to develop and prep for the official #ByDisasterOrDesign campaign launch and video premiere to kick us off in January 2022.

After all of our hard work in 2021, we showed up everywhere it counted: opposing the Line 3 pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, protesting the failure of Senator Manchin to support Build Back Better, and rallying repeatedly at the White House to demand climate action.

Member Catalyzing Grants (formerly known as Member Empowerment Grants) USCAN is in its seventh year of the Member Catalyzing Grants program. Since the start of this program, our members have reported back to us that this program is successfully meeting its purpose, which is to build grassroots power for climate action and increase trust and alignment among our members. One member shared, “We at SACE were a nonfunded partner in a collaborative grant several years back and the work completed via that grant built relationships that have endured for years.”

To ensure this program is equitable, transparent, and broadly supported, key decisions are made by a Review Committee of USCAN members drawn from faith, environmental justice (EJ), youth, and green groups. Every year the Review Committee takes feedback from members and uses that knowledge to make the program better. In 2021, continuing the tradition of embedding trust and relationship-building into the program, the 2021 Review Team made the following changes: proposals are now accepted in varying formats including handwritten, videos, powerpoint, etc.; line-item budgets are no longer needed; the application questions were updated with the goal of the entire application taking less than three hours total; and the Review Team rubric is openly shared with all USCAN members.

Member Catalyzing Grants direct more funding to frontline and traditionally underfunded groups to build long-term grassroots power from the ground up, creating unity and solidarity within USCAN and the climate movement as a whole. In 2021, USCAN was able to support the amazing work of nineteen organizations, giving a total of $650,0000.00 to the following organizations: Agricultural Missions, Inc — Partnering with Kingdom Living Temple, Pee Dee Indian Tribe, The Whitney M Slater Foundation Title of Grant: Implementing a Strategy of Awareness Brief Description: Building on the achievements of the past year, this work will engage additional frontline BIPOC communities/groups in addressing both the impacts and causes of climate change, to build resilience and advocate for policy changes to promote the use of alternative energy

sources. The strategy includes specific emphasis on building locally-controlled food systems through community-based food production and building networks and relationships with local farmers, where appropriate. Participating frontline communities will be engaged in awareness-building and advocacy activities aimed at addressing the root causes of climate change and achieving a just transition. There will be deliberate efforts to engage youth in the planning and implementation of activities.

Agricultural Missions, Inc — Title of Grant: Increasing People of Color (POC) Membership on Boards and Committees of Electric Power Associations (EPAs) in Mississippi Brief Description: In the state of Mississippi, electricity distribution to rural communities is affected through seven EPAs throughout the state. In theory, these EPAs operate as member-owned cooperative associations in which anyone with an electric meter is automatically a member of the specific EPA which provides the service. However, representation on the boards of directors and other committees of these EPAs by POC is not commensurate with their membership numbers. To achieve a just transition to renewable sources of electricity, it is necessary to increase the number of POC in the leadership and decision-making structures of these EPAs, primarily through engaging the 14 Farmers Cooperatives throughout the state.

Creation Justice Ministries — Partnering with: Wisconsin Green Muslims, Interfaith Power and Light-DC, MD, NoVa, United Methodist Women, Dayenu (non-funded), Green Faith (non-funded) Title of Grant: BIPOC Faithful Climate Fellowship Brief Description: Faith partners active in USCAN implemented a second year of the “Faithful BIPOC Climate Action Fellowship” for 25 BIPOC Christian, Jewish, and Muslim 18–26 year olds across the US. Fellows receive training and make a commitment to the following climate justice priorities: to get published, create art, promote climate justice in their communities, engage in public speaking, or develop support resources for BIPOC climate movement emerging leaders.

Organized Uplifting Resources & Strategies (O.U.R.S) — Partnering with: Black Women Rising, Sol Nation, People’s Justice Council, SCEN) Title of Grant: Black Folks Healing Brief Description: This year Black Climate Action Network in partnership with four other Black-led climate organizations (O.U.R.S, Black Women Rising, Sol Nation, and People’s Justice Council) will work together to create space to build the capacity for Black climate leaders and Black-led climate justice organizations to center ourselves in healing and liberation as we build towards climate justice.

Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN) — Partnering with: Imani Group, Power Shift Network (PSN), Organizing Uplifting Resources and Strategies (O.U.R.S), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for American Progress (CAP), Climate Advocacy Lab, Care About Climate) Title of Grant: Beneficial Agreements for Effective JEDI Based Cross Climate Negotiations with Legislators Brief Description: In recognition of the divergent tactics used within the climate community for legislative advocacy, and in recognition that this non-uniform code of advocacy has at times caused harm, leading to the discrediting of other climate movement organizations, Southeast Climate Energy Network (SCEN) and partners propose to meet and align by working out standard agreements around our interactions that are embedded within a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) framework. This climate legislative advocacy strategy will be non-partial due to the use of a third party mediator and a partnership that spans the broad spectrum of climate organizations. It will be effective due to consulting with a political strategist and congressional staff member.

The outcome will be a unified front in which stakeholders do not have to undercut or exclude one another in negotiations, but instead, collectively build momentum and enhance our impact with legislative officials.

Mothers & Others for Clean Air — Partnering with: Elders Climate Action, The People's Justice Council, United Methodist Women, NC Interfaith Power & Light, GA Interfaith Power & Light Title of Grant: Healthy Air is Health Care Trainings Brief Description: Provide in-depth, research-based, virtual trainings with a focus on health effects and health costs of air pollution and climate change for USCAN members with a focus on those working in the Southeast. Training topics include the dire human health impacts and increased healthcare costs from both air pollution and climate change, which are both caused by the same thing: burning fossil fuels.

Indoor air pollution will be one of the focuses to highlight.

As solutions are pushed to reduce air pollution and address climate change, people need to ensure that they are not being sealed into environments with toxic air.

EcoEquity — Partnering with: ActionAid USA, Care About Climate, NC Interfaith Power and Light, Center for Biological Diversity (non-funded), Friends of the Earth (non-funded), The People’s Justice Council (non-funded), Women’s Environmental and Development Organization (WEDO) Title of Grant: US Fair Shares Collaborative Brief Description: The Fair Shares Collaborative, which was spawned at USCAN’s last physical annual meeting (2019), has been pivotal in the global effort of mainstreaming the “fair shares” challenge and in helping put international climate justice onto the movement agenda. Still, the surface has only been scratched. It is crucial now to radically deepen

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Green New Deal for Birmingham Infographic.

the overall movement's understanding of the global climate justice challenge and in particular to link the vision of a fair global climate transition to the Green New Deal vision.

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) — Partnering with: Creation Justice Ministries, North Carolina Council of Churches, North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Sustaining Way, South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Alabama Interfaith Power and Light Title of Grant: 2022 GOTV and Resilience Efforts Across Southeastern Coastal Faith Communities Brief Description: The Southeast Faith Leaders Network (SFLN) is a collaborative effort building long-term grassroots power and capacity among faith communities and vulnerable coastline communities across the southeast region. Through this project, SFLN is building on the successful coastal resilience pilot projects in Georgia and North Carolina, extending these efforts to Alabama and South Carolina, and joining with the power of each of these coastal faith communities to Get Out The Vote (GOTV) throughout the 2022 election cycle. SFLN will use the frame and lived experiences associated with coastal disasters and continued resilience as the primary motivator for these GOTV efforts.

The Imani Group, Inc. — Partnering with: Black Women Rising, First Faith Baptist Church, Mt. Zion Community Outreach Inc, Healthy4Purpose (non-funded) Title of Grant: The Black Church — The Green Movement Brief Description: The Black church has been and continues

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to be the most impactful institutional voice in the Black community. It is not only a place where religious/spiritual practices take place, but it also serves as the gatekeeper of knowledge and participation in larger society. However, far too many churches are unaware of the devastation that climate change and environmental injustice cause in the communities where they are located. We will change that.

Kentucky Conservation — Title of Grant: Just Solar Transition/Clean Energy Reform Brief Description: The Kentucky Conservation Committee works in a nonpartisan manner to ensure that our democracy works for all citizens, particularly those most affected by environmental issues. The vision is for Kentucky to be a responsible steward of the Commonwealth’s land, air, water, and biota, and for Kentuckians to understand that the health of their families, communities, and economy depends on the stewardship of these resources. Kentucky Conservation Committee’s work since 1975 focuses on four primary environmental issue areas: climate change, clean energy, land conservation, and biodiversity. This "Just Solar Transition/ Clean Energy Reform" project is a significant project for our organization and our allies.

United Parents Against Lead and Other Environmental Hazards (UPAL) — Title of Grant: Strengthening Resilient Communities Brief Description: UPAL is building grassroots capacity by creating a Community Controlled Fund and increasing climate resiliency in The Heights community of Petersburg,

A "Climate Revival" launch event for the Mobilizing South Carolina's Faith Community grant.

Virginia through the transformation of a historic USO building, formerly used by "colored" army troops, into a solar-powered Community Resiliency Hub. The Hub, the first of its kind in Virginia, will offer solar panel assembly and installation training and Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) and will serve as the Petersburg Arm in Arm Hub headquarters.

UPAL is implementing and expanding sustainable climate solutions through the advancement of this 100% clean and renewable energy program.

Organized Uplifting Resources & Strategies (O.U.R.S.) — Title of Grant: Rooted Brief Description: In many rural areas there are very few stores and health options for long living. One benefit of living in a rural area is being able to live off the land. Rooted is O.U.R.S.’ gardening program in which we teach people about sustainability through agriculture. The goal of O.U.R.S is to show people how to grow their own food to sustain themselves in a food desert.

committees (outreach, policy, and communications, and art). Phase II of the plan will entail monthly implementation committee meetings, film screenings, art contests, base building, and report drafting.

Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light — Title of Grant: Building Bridges, Building Power Brief Description: Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light (WAIPL) forms relationships, educates people of faith, and builds power in spiritual communities to advocate for climate justice. In this project, Earth Ministry will support tribally-led climate campaigns including halting the spread of fossil fuel infrastructure in the region and restoring salmon in climate-warmed waters. Following the strategies of Northwest Native nations, Earth Ministry/WAIPL will engage religious leaders in response to specific requests from tribal leadership and oppose climate-damaging fossil fuel projects that have imperiled Native fishing areas, treaty rights, and sacred sites.

GASP — Title of Grant: Green New Deal for Birmingham: Phase II

The People’s Justice Council (PJC) — Title of Grant: The People’s Justice Council: Supporting Frontline Fighters

Brief Description: The goal of the campaign is to develop a people-driven, grassroots climate action plan for the City of Birmingham that includes specific, justice-forward legislation and policy recommendations that can be implemented now.

GASP launched the Green New Deal for Birmingham campaign this year (with seed funding from USCAN's 2020 member grants), during which time we have collected data (e.g., laws, policies, reports, plans, etc.) and formed implementation

Brief Description: The People's Justice Council (PJC), including the PJC program Alabama Interfaith Power and Light (ALIPL), is a Black-led organization whose vision is to create a world that is equitable, sustainable, and just. PJC engages and equips communities with tools to build power from the grassroots up for change at the policy level. The major thrust of PJC’s work is related to energy justice; specifically, reducing the energy burden of folks in historically redlined communities

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in our backyard (Birmingham, AL), throughout the South, and beyond, helping our most vulnerable keep their lights on, heat/ AC running, and roofs over their heads (i.e., no shutoffs/no evictions) under institutional racism and economic apartheid made worse by COVID-19. PJC likewise works on the long-term policy and systemic/structural changes necessary to bring about lasting, regenerative change. The People’s Justice Council does this through practical implementation and policy advocacy.

Environmental Finance Center West (EFCWest) — Title of Grant: Assessing Climate Vulnerability in the Rural Deep South Brief Description: EFCWest will work with four other Southeast Climate Energy Network (SCEN) organizations to capture local climate vulnerability knowledge in the deep rural south. The team will be conducting a series of assessments of three counties located in the states of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia with the purpose of learning about vulnerabilities related to climate variability alongside these communities and to improve their climate resilience.

South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (SCIPL) — Title of Grant: Mobilizing South Carolina’s Faith Community Brief Description: South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (SCIPL) is positioned to rapidly expand its reach and impact and to carry out its mission of empowering faith communities to create a just and sustainable future. Funding from USCAN will allow SCIPL to immediately expand our annual Congregational Energy Efficiency Challenge program from three to five congregations and almost double the number of graduates from our Civic Engagement Academy, growing from 17 to 30.

Sustaining Way — Title of Grant: The Power of the People Brief Description: Sustaining Way uses education, collaboration, and advocacy to create sustainable, caring, and equitable communities for current and future generations.

Sustaining Way’s work focuses on bringing equity and environmental justice to marginalized communities through a unique, holistic approach that includes leadership development, youth education, community education centering around sustainable practices, the development of a comprehensive network of partnerships to bring needed resources into the community, and more recently, infrastructure building to further enable the community to advocate for themselves. To address climate change, environmental hazards, gentrification, and racism in the historically African American communities in Greenville, SC, Sustaining Way will employ asset-based community building, participatory leadership training, climate and sustainability education and technical assistance, and policy advocacy.

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL) — Title of Grant: Drawdown GA for Congregations: Practical Climate Solutions for All Brief Description: Over the next two years, GIPL will expand

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its practical climate solutions programming to provide congregations with accessible pathways to implement the 20 high-impact solutions identified by Drawdown GA. GIPL will expand its base of congregations and Green Teams through statewide outreach in order to broaden the implementation of these climate solutions. Additionally, GIPL will educate and equip these congregations to take part in local, state, and federal advocacy to advance the implementation and accessibility of these solutions across the state and to ensure that the most impacted communities in Georgia receive the benefits of these solutions.

Enhance Network Effectiveness USCAN is in its seventh year of the Member Catalyzing Grants program. Since the start of this program, our members have reported back to us that this program is successfully meeting its purpose, which is to build grassroots power for climate action and increase trust and alignment among our members. One member shared, “We at SACE were a nonfunded partner in a collaborative grant several years back and the work completed via that grant built relationships that have endured for years.”

Incorporating Feedback The Network Engagement Team began 2021 with a harvest of wisdom already from the feedback received from members in the USCAN Fall 2020 Engagement Survey. We heard that members valued and needed more ad hoc and informal opportunities to share information and updates on key developments such as legislation/policy that is moving forward and current events in the climate space, as well as spaces where they can make offline connections to peers.

In response, USCAN staff facilitated the hosting of several webinars over the spring, starting with one that provided updates on the THRIVE Agenda and associated legislation that was actively endorsed by the Green New Deal Network, several webinars that enabled open space discussions on USCAN endorsement of the US Climate Fair Share proposal, and several others, titled “VECA and Beverages” sessions, that were an opportunity for members to learn about the ongoing updates and policy recommendations in the Vision for Equitable Climate Action platform, leading up to the June 2021 Annual Meeting.

We also heard that members were in need of informal healing and reflective spaces where they could convene and reconnect with each other. Consequently, the Engagement Team supported member-led and facilitated “Community Cafes” that were hosted over the spring and into the summer and featured a diversity of topics including “Addressing Connectivity and Care within USCAN” to “Gray Lives Matter-An Observance of Lead Awareness Month and Lead Poisoning Prevention.”

In 2021, we continued the established precedent and conducted three surveys: the Spring 2021 Network Alignment Areas Survey; the Connectivity Mapping Survey; and the Fall 2021 USCAN Engagement Survey. The Spring 2021 Survey, as in prior years, influenced the session

content and topics that were chosen for the June 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, including the nominations ballot that was voted on. The Connectivity Survey provided valuable data on the total number of actual personal connections that exist between USCAN members, with the network witnessing an improvement from the previous year with an average of 14 strong ties in 2021 compared to 13 in 2020. Finally, the Fall 2021 Engagement Survey results were shared with members at the close of 2021 in December and were presented as a four-year retrospective of trendlines showing alignment or lack thereof on policy preferences, network satisfaction, assessment of USCAN’s value propositions and network activities, participation in external coalition and “tables,” and support for our Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion values.

Key highlights from the survey results were: 1. Areas of increasing alignment across USCAN members in the top five preferred policy preferences of members (equity policies that support communities adversely affected by climate change, fossil fuels and/or transition off of fossil fuels; goal of avoiding & reversing (if possible) all catastrophic climate tipping points; adaptation policies that prepare for climate impacts; 100% renewable energy for all; energy efficiency; 2. Shifts in the ranking of the top five value propositions of USCAN that are delivering well for members and can be improved. The top five value propositions in 2021 were building the field of climate action organizations, keeping abreast of what other organizations are doing, having access to trusted information, moving together collectively and centering leaders of color within the climate movement, and getting reassurance that there are others facing similar challenges; 3. Confirmation that the most valued USCAN network activities remain participation in the Annual Meeting, collaboration on Member Catalyzing Grants, and offline connections to peers and real time member coordination through webinars or in person convening. The survey also confirmed areas where there is a clear divergence between USCAN members, for example, there are almost as many members who support direct air capture of carbon as those who oppose it. This policy option has the highest amount of neutrality across USCAN members of all the policy options that are included in the survey. Opposition to REDD+ trading as a policy solution has declined across our membership, with the biggest drop happening over the past year

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USCAN Staff Members: Top (from left to right): Sharon Philip, Stephanie Ready, Keya Chatterjee; Second Row: Robin Peeples, Lindsay Harper, Natalie Lucas; Third Row: Jamiere Folmar, Ann Swearingen, Carrie Clayton; Bottom: Sydney Mosier, Rosita Scarborough, Marie Risalvato. Not Pictured: Ishmael Buckner

Left to Right from the Top: Rosita Scarborough, Robin Peeples, Carrie Clayton, Sydney Mosier, Keya Chatterjee, Lindsay Harper, Stephanie Ready. Photo Credit: Keya Chatterjee.

USCAN STAFF Keya Chatterjee Executive Director Carrie Clayton Senior Network Systems Director Rosita Scarborough Senior Network Engagement Director Robin Peeples Development Director Marie Risalvato Network Engagement Director Jamiere Folmar Network Systems Director Ishmael Buckner Network Engagement Coordinator Stephanie Ready Network Systems Coordinator

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ARM IN ARM STAFF Lindsay Harper National Core Support Team Coordinator Sharon Phillip Digital Engagement Manager Jamiere Folmar Grassroots Fundraising Coordinator Sydney Mosier Operations and Finance Manager Ann Swearingern Data and Canvassing Manager

GET INVOLVED Become a member: Contact membership@usclimatenetwork.org and learn how your organization can become a USCAN member.

Follow us online: usclimatenetwork.org facebook.com/USClimateActionNetwork instagram.com/climateactionnetwork @USCAN

MAKE A DONATION As USCAN has been so fortunate over the years to have tremendous support from generous grants and foundations, this year we took steps towards building our development team.

Robin Peeples joined us as our new development director to oversee our grants and foundation team to support new fundraising activities that will bolster our commitment to centering voices of leaders of color, promoting the work of our members, and empowering grassroots and frontline groups. Our goal is to build a scalable diverse revenue stream to continue to expand our reach and build a new era of supporters.

We implemented a new fundraising model and platform that is scalable for social justice movements, called Peer to Peer (P2P). This grassroots type of fundraising is very popular in many nonprofits. P2P is when individuals organize personal campaigns to collect donations from their friends and family for a particular cause they are passionate about. This type of crowdfunding is a quick and easy way for someone to support our work and get resources into the hands of folks who are on the frontlines.

In the coming year, we will amplify our giving to reach a larger audience, build more affinity with USCAN, and support more members of our community at USCAN.

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FINANCIAL REPORT 2021 USCAN’s fiscal year begins July 1. This report is for the calendar year ending December 31, 2021

CALENDAR YEAR JANUARY 1, 2021 TO DECEMBER 31, 2021

TOTAL

Revenue Grants & Contributions

5,275,860

Member Dues

133,612.

Interest Income

4,240

Total Revenue

$5,413,712

Expenditures Salaries

454,715

Employer Payroll Taxes

65,849

Benefits

170,441

Consultants

24,070

Annual Meeting

69,598

Fundraising/Marketing/Social

30,115

Internships

524

Meetings & Conferences

30,600

Shared Program Costs

57,258

Member Catalyzing Grants

650,000

Travel

2,643

Action Team Coordinators & Participants

152,315

Arm in Arm

630,721

Total Expenditures

$2,338,849 Net Revenue

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$3,074,863

2021 EXPENDITURES 2021 EXPENDITURES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT TO MEMBERS FOR UN & INT'L MEETINGS

MEMBER MEETINGS FUNDRAISING 4% 5%

2 %

33% 24%

SHARED PROGRAM COSTS: INTERNSHIPS, ACCOUNTING & AUDIT, INSURANCE, SUPPLIES

MEMBER CATALYZING GRANTS — MEMBER STIPENDS, DIRECT MEMBER SUPPORT

32%

ARM IN ARM

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT: 11th Hour

Overbrook Foundation

Grove Foundation

Progressive Multiplier Fund

Hewlett Foundation

Rockefeller Brothers Fund/ Equation Campaign

International Council on Sustainable Energy

Surdna Foundation

Kendeda Fund

The JPB Foundation

Kresge Foundation

Tides Foundation

MacArthur Foundation Mertz Gilmore Foundation

USCAN Member Organizations

Mosaic

VKRF

Nathan Cummings Foundation

Wallace Global Fund

To ensure the network’s effectiveness, credibility, cohesion, and advancement toward common goals, USCAN members use the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing as a guide for conduct.

These principles are: 1. be inclusive; 2. emphasis on bottom-up organizing; 3. let people speak for themselves; 4. work together in solidarity and mutuality; 5. build just relationships; and 6. commitment to self-transformation.

uscan annual report 2021 | 29

US CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS 350 New Hampshire

Dover, New Hampshire

Climate Hawks Vote

Washington, District of Columbia

350 Spokane

Spokane, Washington

Climate Health Now

San Pablo, California

350.org

Brooklyn, New York

Climate Interactive

Washington, District of Columbia

50by40

Leakewood, Kansas

Climate Law & Policy Project

Washington, District of Columbia

Acadia Center

Rockport, Maine

Climate Mobilization Project

Brooklyn, New York

Action for Climate Emergency

Boulder, Colorado

Climate Nexus

New York, New York

ActionAid USA

Washington, District of Columbia

Climate Reality Project

Washington, District of Columbia

Advocates for the Environment

Los Angeles, California

Climate Scorecard

Milton, Massachusetts

Agricultural Missions, Inc.

New York, New York

Colorado Farm & Food Alliance

Paonia, Colorado

Alliance for Affordable Energy

New Orleans, Louisiana

Washington, District of Columbia

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

Mount Rainier, Maryland

Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach Conservation International

Arlington, Virginia

American Jewish World Service

New York, New York

Corporate Accountability International

Boston, Massachusetts

American Lung Association

Chicago, Illinois

Creation Justice Ministries

Washington, District of Columbia

American Society for Adaptation Professionals

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action

New York, New York Detroit, Michigan

Anthropocene Alliance

Chicago, Illinois

Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice

Avaaz

New York, New York

Dogwood Alliance

Asheville, North Carolina

BackBone Campaign

Vashon, Washington

Earth Ministry

Seattle, Washington

Bank Information Center

Washington, District of Columbia

Earthjustice

San Francisco, California

Berkeley Carbon Trading Program

Berkeley, California

Earthworks

Washington, District of Columbia

Blaque Women Rising

Dayton, Ohio

EcoAmerica

Washington, District of Columbia

Brighter Green

New York, New York

Ecoequity

Albany, California

Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation

San Dimas, California

Gulfport, Mississippi

Care About Climate

Flagstaff, Arizona

Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO)

Center for American Progress

Washington, District of Columbia

Elders Climate Action

Truckee, California

Center for Biological Diversity

Tucson, Arizona

Elected Officials to Protect America

Fly Creek, New York

Center for Community Change

Washington, District of Columbia

End Climate Silence

New York, New York

Center for International Environmental Law

Washington, District of Columbia

Energy Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama

Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Environmental & Energy Study Institute

Washington, District of Columbia

Environmental Defense Fund

New York, New York

Center for Sustainable Economy

Lake Oswego, Oregon

Environmental Finance Center West

West Berkeley, California

Ceres

Boston, Massachusetts

Environmental Protection Network

Washington, District of Columbia

Charleston Climate Coalition

Charleston, South Carolina

Evergreen Action

Washington, District of Columbia

Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Takoma Park, Maryland

Faith in Place

Chicago, Illinois

Clean Air Coalition of Western New York

Buffalo, New York

First Faith Baptist Church

New York, New York

Clean Energy Action

Boulder, Colorado

Washington, District of Columbia

Clean Energy Works

Washington, District of Columbia

Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment

Climate Access

San Francisco, California

Franciscan Action Network

Washington, District of Columbia

Climate Action Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Washington, District of Columbia

Climate Advocacy Lab

San Francisco, California

Friends of the Earth

Washington, District of Columbia

Climate and Development Lab at Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island

Gasp

Birmingham, Alabama

Climate Community Center

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Georgetown Climate Center

Washington, District of Columbia

Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action

Washington, District of Columbia

Climate Generation

Minneapolis, Minnesota

30 | www.usclimatenetwork.org

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light

Decatur, Georgia

Newark Water Coalition

Newark, New Jersey

Georgia WAND

Atlanta, Georgia

North Carolina Conservation Network

Raleigh, North Carolina

Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment

Spokane, Washington

North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light

Raleigh, North Carolina

Green Deshis

Ellicott City, Maryland

Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)

Takoma Park, Maryland

GreenFaith

Highland Park, New Jersey

Ohio Interfaith Power & Light

Columbus, Ohio

GreenLatinos

Washington, District of Columbia

Oil Change International

Washington, District of Columbia

Greenpeace

Washington, District of Columbia

Mount Carmel, South Carolina

Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy

Slidell, Louisiana

Organizing Uplifting Resources Strategy (O.U.R.S.)

Health Care Without Harm

Reston, Virginia

Our Children's Trust

Eugene, Oregon

Hip Hop Caucus

Washington, District of Columbia

Our Climate Education Fund

Washington, District of Columbia

Hometown Organizing Project

Montevallo, Alabama

Oxfam America

Boston, Massachusetts

Houston Climate Movement

Houston, Texas

Pacific Environment

San Francisco, California

Humane Society International

Washington, District of Columbia

Partnership for Policy Integrity

Amherst, Massachusetts

Institute for Policy Studies

Washington, District of Columbia

Partnership for Southern Equity

Atlanta, Georgia

InterAction

Washington, District of Columbia

Pee Dee Indian Tribe

McColl, South Carolina

Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)

Washington, District of Columbia

Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light

State College, Pennsylvania

Interfaith Power & Light/ The Regeneration Project

San Francisco, California

Pennsylvania Physicians for Social Responsibility

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

International Environmental Law Project

Portland, Oregon

Pivot Point

Shelton, Washington

Polar Bears International

Bozeman, Montana

International Fund for Animal Welfare

Washington, District of Columbia

Powershift Network

San Francisco, California

Iowa Interfaith Power & Light

Des Moines, Iowa

Presbyterian Church USA

Louisville, Kentucky

JAPRI Community Programs

Greenville, South Carolina

Public Citizen

Washington, District of Columbia

John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute

Big Bear City, California

Quaker Earthcare Witness

Albany, New York

Kentucky Conservation Committee

Frankfort, Kentucky

Rachel Carson Council

Bethesda, Maryland

Kentucky interfaith Power & Light

Louisville, Kentucky

RE-AMP

Madison, Wisconsin

Kingdom Living Temple

Florence, South Carolina

Refugees International

Washington, District of Columbia

Labor Network for Sustainability

Takoma Park, Maryland

Remineralize the Earth

Northampton, Massachusetts

League of Conservation Voters

Washington, District of Columbia

Service Employees International Union

Washington, District of Columbia

Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network

Lexington, Kentucky

Sierra Club

San Francisco, California

Sojourners

Washington, District of Columbia

Low Country Alliance for Model Communities

Charleston, North Carolina

Sol Nation

Charlotte, North Carolina

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Washington, District of Columbia

South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light

Greenville, South Carolina

Methane Action

Calabasas, California

Southeast Climate Energy Network

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Michigan Interfaith Power & Light

Southfield, Michigan

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Knoxville, Tennessee

Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Southern Oregon Climate Action Now

Jacksonville, Oregon

Moms Clean Air Force

Washington, District of Columbia

Stand.earth

Bellingham, Washington

Mothers and Others for Clean Air

Atlanta, Georgia

Sunrise Movement

Washington, District of Columbia

Mothers Out Front

Boston, Massachusetts

Sustaining Way

Greenville, South Carolina

Mt. Zion Community Outreach Corporation

Grovetown, Georgia

SustainUs

Quincy, Massachusetts

Texas Impact

Austin, Texas

The Chisholm Legacy Project

Burtonsville, Maryland

The Climate Center

Santa Rosa, California

The College of the Atlantic, Program in Global Environmental Diplomacy

Bar Harbor, Maine

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Baltimore, Maryland

National Wildlife Federation

Reston, Virginia

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

New York, New York

The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations

New York, New York

New Alpha CDC

Florence, South Carolina West Creek, New Jersey

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Chicago, Illinois

New Jersey Organizing Project New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light

Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Imani Group, Inc

Graniteville, South Carolina

uscan annual report 2021 | 31

.

The Mountain Pact

Truckee, California

The People's Justice Council

Atlanta, Georgia

The United Methodist Church — General Board of Church and Society

Washington, District of Columbia

The Whitney M. Slater Foundation

Florence, South Carolina

The Wilderness Society

Washington, District of Columbia

Tribal Environmental Policy Center

Rio Rancho, New Mexico

U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs

Washington, District of Columbia

Union of Concerned Scientists

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Unitarian Universalist Service

Cambridge, Massachusetts

United Methodist Women

New York, New York

United Parents Against Lead (UPAL)

Richmond, Virginia

Utah Moms for Clean Air

Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah Valley Earth Forum

Spanish Fork, Utah

Virginia Interfaith Power & Light

Richmond, Virginia

Voices for Progress

Washington, District of Columbia

We Own It

Madison, Wisconsin

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Win Without War

Washington, District of Columbia

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Women's Earth and Climate Action Network

Mill Valley, California

Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

New York, New York

World Resources Institute

Washington, District of Columbia

World Wildlife Fund

Washington, District of Columbia

Young Evangelicals for Climate Action

Indianapolis, Indiana

usclimatenetwork.org