Environmental
Initiative

About

A header image for the VCCF Environmental Initiative, featuring four images of a seagull with trash on the beach, a row of new crops, a protest sign saying "Love Our Planet," and solar panelsVCCF 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. Aligning with the national average, less than 2 percent of VCCF’s annual giving went to environmental causes in 2019. We hope to change this through our efforts with an environmental initiative!

To-date, over 30 organizations, with programs in Ventura County focused on environmental issues, from climate justice, conservation and restoration, wildfire 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 though the Environmental Listening Tour. We look forward to sharing our findings with you in the summer of 2022.  

If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Calleen Pardinas at cpardinas@vccf.org.

Environmental Listening Tour

The Ventura County Community Foundation has met with over 30 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 findings will culminate in a report by VCCF Fellow Bella Buchelli and VCCF’s Calleen Pardinas.

The following groups have participated in the VCCF Environmental Listening Tour:

  • California State Coastal Conservancy
  • Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainability Economy (CAUSE)
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • Save Open Space & Agriculture Resources (SOAR)
  • Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF)
  • Taft Gardens and Nature Preserves
  • The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
  • TreePeople
  • Trust for Public Land (TPL)
  • Ventura Audubon Society
  • Ventura Botanical Gardens (VBG)
  • 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

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