Environmental Initiative
Environmental
Initiative
About
Ventura County was identified by the Washington Post as the fastest warming county in the continental United States with average air temperature increasing 4.68 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 1800s, twice as much as the global average. Additionally, in 2021, the Ventura County Civic Alliance identified drought and climate change as the biggest threats facing our community. It became crucial that the Ventura County Community Foundation address climate change through an Environmental Initiative.
VCCF embarked on an Environmental Listening Tour in April of 2021 after 76 percent of donors from a focus group identified the environment as one of their top two areas of interest for their giving. According to Giving USA, the national average of contributions to the environment in 2022 was 3%, compared to 2.5% percent of VCCF’s annual giving supporting the environment in 2022.
To-date, over 40 organizations, with programs in Ventura County focused on environmental issues, from environmental justice, conservation and restoration, wildfire recovery and prevention, natural resources, youth education, farm-to-table food access, workforce development and so much more, have attended and shared their needs and where philanthropy can best help fill the gaps through the Environmental Listening Tour.
Environmental Listening Tour
The Ventura County Community Foundation has met with over 40 different local environmental nonprofits and community partners, via Zoom and through in-person site visits, to learn about their causes and needs which can be supported through philanthropy.
The following groups have participated in the VCCF Environmental Listening Tour:
- Bike Ventura County – Oxnard Bike HUB
- California State Coastal Conservancy
- Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainability Economy (CAUSE)
- Central Coast Climate Collaborative
- Central Coast Climate Justice Network (C3JN)
- Clean Power Alliance (CPA)
- Climate First, Replacing Oil and Gas (CFROG)
- Climate Reality Project, Ventura Chapter
- Community Environmental Council (CEC)
- Concerned Resource & Environmental Workers (CREW)
- County of Ventura Sustainability Division
- Crossing the Channel for Cause
- Environmental Defense Center (EDC)
- Friends of the Santa Clara River
- Future Leaders of America (FLA)
- Los Padres Forest Watch (LPFW)
- Ojai Raptor Center
- Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council
- Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC)
- One Step A La Vez
- Pleasant Valley Recreation & Park District
- Reiter Affiliated
- Safe Passage Youth Foundation
- Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
- Santa Barbara Food Action Network
- Santa Monica Mountains Fund (SAMO)
- Saticoy Food Hub
- Save Open Space & Agriculture Resources (SOAR)
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF)
- Taft Gardens and Nature Preserves
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
- The Sea League
- Thomas Aquinas College
- TreePeople
- Trust for Public Land (TPL)
- VCOE’s Central Coast Environmental Education Partnership Resources
- Ventura Audubon Society
- Ventura Botanical Gardens (VBG)
- Ventura County Resources Conservation District
- Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC)
- Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council (VRSFC)
- Ventura Land Trust (VLT)
- Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology (WFVZ) Bird Museum and Research Center