2014 annual report by the climate reality project (2014)

8/16/2019 2014 Annual Report by The Climate Reality Project (2014)

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2014

ANNUAL

REPORT


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2014 ANNUAL REPORT


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CONTENTS

FROM OUR FOUNDER 4

KEN’S PERSPECTIVE 5

WHO WE ARE 6

WHAT WE DO 7

HOW WE DO IT 8

THE CLIMATE REALITY LEADERSHIP CORPS 8

24 HOURS OF REALITY 12

WHY? WHY NOT? 14

THE PEOPLE VS. CARBON 16

A LOOK AHEAD 22

THANK YOU 23

FINANCIALS 24

ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT 27

Image: NASA


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FROM OUR FOUNDER

Dear Friends,

There’s an old African proverb you might have heard that says, “If you

want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In order to

solve the climate crisis, we have to go far… quickly.

We do not have to look into the distant future in order to understand why.

Scientists in every nation – and Mother Nature – are telling us loudly

and clearly that we cannot afford to shift the responsibility of solving

the climate crisis to future generations. This is the challenge of our

time. It will dene who we are in the eyes of our grandchildren and their

grandchildren. We must, we can, and we will rise to meet it.

The good news – and it truly is good news – is that we have an historicopportunity in 2015 to take a giant step forward in addressing the crisis. With world leaders

meeting in Paris in November and December to create a breakthrough global climate agreement, we

have the chance to go faster and farther than ever before on the path to the healthy and prosperous

future we want.

What excites me most is the knowledge that with your continued help, we will get there together.

Around the world, men and women from all walks of life are standing up and demanding that

leaders commit to a strong agreement in Paris. Entrepreneurs are developing next-generation

technologies making clean energy sources like wind and solar – and energy storage – ever more

affordable, efcient and reliable. Businesses are choosing to lead on solutions, proting from

higher levels of energy efciency, and embracing sustainability as a core principle.

This is where friends like you have been critical. With the world changing so fast, Climate Reality

spent 2014 working to harness these trends by bringing people on every continent together to drive

change and lay the foundation for an historic global push for a landmark agreement in Paris this

year. Because of friends like you, I know we can succeed.

We have already gone quite far, together, and I could not possibly be more grateful for your help

and steadfastness. During this crucial year, with major opportunities for progress right before us,

we have the exciting opportunity to go even farther, faster. Thank you again for joining us.

With my deepest gratitude,

Al Gore

Founder and Chairman


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Dear Friends,

If you are lucky, you get to do work that deeply matters. And if you are

even luckier, you have extraordinary people working alongside you to

make it happen.

When I rst came on board as president and CEO here at Climate Reality,

I knew I was joining an extraordinary organization. What I did not know

was that I was also joining such a dedicated community of individuals

– working everywhere from New York to New Delhi, Toronto to Torino,

London to Lagos and everywhere in between – to solve climate change.

Extraordinary individuals, like the thousands of regular men and women

who decide to make a difference and train as Climate Reality Leaders.Or like the millions of Climate Reality fans, followers, and subscribers mobilizing their online

networks and taking action for climate solutions every day. Or like the many, many supporters

who make these efforts – and all our work – possible.

In short, extraordinary individuals like you. Now, convention dictates that this document be called

an “annual report,” but a much more accurate description is “what we accomplished together last

year.”

Here at The Climate Reality Project, we know a hammer is useless without a carpenter’s hand to

drive the nail. A hoe needs a farmer’s arms to till a eld. Our role is to create and share practical

tools that can bring the planet together to stop climate change. But as tools, they are only as

effective as the people who pick them up! Which is why we are deeply grateful to have incredible

people picking them up every day – and getting to work.

So when you read through the pages that follow and see the results – whether the thousands of

new Climate Reality Leaders organizing communities in almost 100 countries or the nearly 130,000

supporters who spoke up for the Clean Power Plan in the US or the millions worldwide who joined

us for 24 Hours of Reality: 24 Reasons for Hope – be proud of what you helped accomplish. Be very

proud. THANK YOU.

Sincerely,

Ken Berlin

President and CEO

KEN’S PERSPECTIVE


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OUR MISSION:

The Climate Reality Projectworks to catalyze a globalsolution to the climate crisis

by making urgent action anecessity across every levelof society.

WHO WE ARE


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OUR GOALS:

1. Create a critical mass ofactivists who transform thepolitics of the climate crisis.

2. Create momentum for a

global commitment toreducing carbon emissionsand adopting sustainablesolutions through grassrootsaction.

3. Accelerate the switch to a clean-energy, low-carbon, highly efcient,sustainable economy.

WHAT WE DO


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THE CLIMATE REALITY LEADERSHIP CORPS

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;

indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

In 2006, former Vice President Gore launched the Climate Reality Leadership Corps to train

committed citizens how to change the world.

By the end of 2014, nearly a decade later, thousands of trained Leaders were mobilizing

communities for climate solutions, shaping public opinion, and driving change around the

world. In 2014, we trained 1,753 new Climate Reality Leaders. Moreover, many of them have

been motivated to take positions of leadership in the governments of their nations, regions, and

cities. Some are now ministers leading government departments focused on climate. Indeed, one

veteran of the very rst training session now leads the United Nations’ climate program. Some

have launched new sustainability-oriented corporations. Others have created major sustainability

initiatives in their businesses, schools, communities, and social organizations. Look at the

newsmakers and world-changers on climate change and you will nd, prominent among them,

Climate Reality Leaders.

HOW WE DO IT


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IN 2014, WE:

SPONSORED AND HELPED TO ORGANIZE

THOUSANDS OF PRESENTATIONS ON CLIMATE

SOLUTIONS AROUND THE WORLD, REACHING

200,000 PEOPLE IN

86COUNTRIES

AS WELL AS THOUSANDS OF OTHER ACTS OF

LEADERSHIP, REACHING INFLUENCERS IN

DIRECT PERSONAL MEETINGS, ONLINE, AND

IN THE MEDIA

Held three major three-day ClimateReality Leadership Corps trainings

in pivotal nations for UN climatetalks in 2015

Trained 1,753 new Climate Reality Leaders

Provided the opening keynotemessage for the United Nations

Special Session on Climate

Provided the opening keynotemessage for the World Economic

Forum at its annual meeting in Davos

BRAZIL

SOUTH AFRICA

AUSTRALIA

Organized meetings among leaders incities and countries throughout theworld to catalyze action on climate


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SOUTH AFRICASELECTED SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

What Does Climate Change Meanfor Africa?

• Kumi Naidoo, International

Executive Director, Greenpeace

My Climate Story

• Danai Gurira, Actress and

Playwright

Organizing for Resilience: Water,

Food, and Displacement Solutions

across Africa

• Ikal Angelei, Goldman

Environmental Prize 2012 and

Founder, Friends of Lake Turkana

• Jonathan Deal, Goldman

Environmental Prize 2013 and

Founder, Treasure the Karoo

Action Group

• Wanjira Maathai, Project Leader,

Wangari Maathai Institute for

Peace and Environmental Studies


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Profiles in Leadership: Asif Iqbal

When many Americans and Europeans want to learn about climate

change, they open their newspapers or Internet browsers. Living in

northern Pakistan, Asif Iqbal just opens his front door.

After seeing the winters of unending snow his grandmother told him

about retreat into history while summers became hotter and drier, Asif knew he had to do something. So in 2009, he packed his bags and

headed to Melbourne, Australia to train as a Climate Reality Leader.

The experience, he says, “changed my life.” What he did with it

changed the course of Pakistani politics. Asif took the lessons and

skills he gained from the training home and created the Climate

Project Connectors as a network to spread the word and create a movement for climate action

in communities across Pakistan. Before long, he was speaking to millions as part of 24 Hours

of Reality, and the Climate Project Connectors had prominent members regularly appearing on

television and on the radio and engaging audiences from university students to military personnel

to journalists to NGO staff.

As oods and other climate impacts continue to devastate Pakistan, Asif’s work means that

growing numbers across the nation are increasingly connecting the dots back to fossil fuels and

asking what they can do.

And thanks to Asif, they’ve had an answer. When Pakistan demoted its Climate Change Ministry from

a cabinet-level organization, Asif and the Climate Project Connectors sprang into action, starting a

full-court press online and in the media to win public support for restoring the ministry to its critical

position. With UN climate talks in Paris looming, Pakistan needed a minister with executive authority

to dene its commitments and lead in negotiations. And thanks to the widespread outcry Asif and the

Climate Project Connectors instigated, that’s exactly what it got, with the government restoring the

full Climate Change Ministry in February 2015 – just in time for Paris.

Taking the Message to Prime Time:Kaylin Richardson

Olympian and I AM PRO SNOW Climate Ambassador

Kaylin Richardson knows a thing or two about snow. As a

spokesperson for Utah’s legendary Park City resort, former

member of the US Ski Team, and current xture on the

big-mountain circuit, Kaylin spends much of the year ying

down slopes in freezing temperatures.

Along the way, she’s become passionate – and vocal – about protecting the season and the sport

she loves. So after training as a Climate Reality Leader in Chicago in 2013, Kaylin looked for ways to

put her media prole to use, joining The Weather Channel as a special correspondent covering the

athlete’s perspective at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Which meant that when unseasonably

warm temperatures had organizers trucking in snow just to cover the slopes, Kaylin was on hand and

in the perfect position to connect the dots back to climate change for millions of Americans watching.


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24 HOURS OF REALITY

Every year, our 24 Hours of Reality online broadcast sets the stage and sets the agenda for a year of

climate action. And with extraordinary progress happening everywhere from clean energy to public

transit and with UN climate talks in Paris on the horizon, it was time to let the world know about

the practical climate solutions we have right here, right now.

So on September 16–17, we presented 24 Hours of Reality: 24 Reasons for Hope, featuring former Vice

President Gore along with cultural icons and political inuencers like Ian Somerhalder, Maggie

Grace, Mark Ruffalo, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, and John Podesta, jumpstarting a global conversation on

climate solutions and where we go next, with the hashtag #ClimateHope taking over social media.

Just as important, 24 Reasons for Hope also challenged audiences to take what they learned and

dedicate a day to climate action in the year ahead. With momentum building, over 200,000 people

around the world embraced this challenge and got to work, giving us yet another reason for hope.

“GOOD NEWS” - https://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hs “Field Report - India’s Barefoot College” -https://youtu.be/fuqWucWSh-E

https://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hshttps://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hshttps://youtu.be/fuqWucWSh-Ehttps://youtu.be/fuqWucWSh-Ehttps://youtu.be/fuqWucWSh-Ehttps://youtu.be/fuqWucWSh-Ehttps://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hshttps://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hs


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24 HOURS OF RESULTS

OVER

375,500people shared or engaged with the #ClimateHope

message duringthe broadcast

PEOPLE WERE

TALKING ABOUT SO LUTIONS:

#ClimateHope created

395.6mimpressions on social media

The #ClimateHopemessage reached over

88.5mpeople worldwide

OVER

200,000people pledged to dedicate a day

to climate action, building anew group of global activists

right when the worldneeds them


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WHY? WHY NOT?

Sometimes the greatest change begins with the simplest question. And sometimes it takes the

perspective of youth to see the big issues clearly.

In the lead up to the rst UN Climate Summit in September 2014, our Why? Why Not? initiative held a

video contest giving young people around the world the chance to ask world leaders simple questions

about how we got here with climate change and how we move forward to stop it.

“The Next Generation Asks World Leaders at UN: Why Not Act on Climate Change?” -https://youtu.be/WtQyg1l3p9g

https://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hshttps://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hshttps://youtu.be/UTH3otcW_hshttps://youtu.be/WtQyg1l3p9g


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ENERGIZING YOUNG ACTIVISTS

Our compilation of winning films was featured at the summit,

ensuring delegates heard the nextgeneration’s concerns for

a future shaped by climate change

LOUD AND CLEAR

Pato, 21Botswana

João Pedro, 13Brazil

Yu, 19 Australia

Saatvik, 15India

Rajashree, 15India

Jeckree, 21Philippines

Amy, 12UK

Matthew, 17USA

EIGHT FILMMAKERS WERE S ELECTED TO ATTEND

THE UN CLIMATE SUMMIT IN NEW YORK CITY

OER

2,000 YOUNG PEOPLE

S u b m i t t e d E n t r i e s

FROM

87COUNTRIES


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THE PEOPLE VS. CARBON

The path to a clean energy future is a long one, and no single step is more important than cutting

carbon pollution. So when policies emerge to take us forward, we activate our networks and partner

with friends throughout the climate community to turn these opportunities into real achievements

through our People vs. Carbon campaign.

The Social Cost of CarbonTo understand what carbon pollution and climate change are really costing us, you need the right

tools. That’s why when the federal government proposed increasing its Social Cost of Carbon (SCC)

to count the true nancial impact greenhouse gas emissions have on American lives, we rallied

support for this critical tool and against the fossil fuel interests determined to block it.

Worked with partnersthroughout the field

to engage supportersand generate over

122,000signatures calling for

a strong SCC

Support from the fieldhelped ensure therevised SCC was adoptedas an integral policy tool

for the US government

Extensive social media

and outreach andstorytelling made acomplex policy tool andthe necessity of actioneasily comprehensiblefor regular Americans


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Clean Power Plan

The largest contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions is no secret: power plants. So in the next

step of the president’s Climate Action Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tackled the

issue head-on and proposed its groundbreaking Clean Power Plan in the summer of 2014. The plan

laid out the nation’s rst-ever limits on the carbon pollution from power plants as a critical part of

ghting climate change and improving the health of citizens across the country.

If the proposal was limited to action inside US borders, its impact was not. When the US and

China negotiated a historic joint agreement to address emissions, the Clean Power Plan was the

cornerstone. The plan also sent a clear signal to world leaders that the US was back and ready to lead

on the issue, injecting fresh energy into negotiations at the UN COP20 meeting in Lima and inspiring

193 nations to agree on a draft framework for a global climate agreement at COP21 in Paris in 2015.

With the Clean Power Plan growing in importance and coming to dene US commitments for

COP21 negotiations, the stakes were rising for its implementation. And fossil fuel companies and

their Congressional allies were quick to respond, pulling out the fear-and-misinformation public

relations playbook.

But we were quick, too. Through The People vs. Carbon, we energized supporters online, activatedClimate Reality Leaders to speak to their communities, and launched creative events to build strong

awareness and overwhelming support for the plan.

STEPPING UP WHEN IT MATTERS

Activated supporters to generate over

129,000comments backing the EPA’s CleanPower Plan – over 10 percent of the

total comments the agency received –sending a strong signal that Americans

want action on climate

Enlisted Climate Reality Leaders andother activists to speak at public listening

sessions held by the EPA in cities acrossthe country, countering fossil fuel

industry spokesmen and showing realcitizen support for the plan.


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#ImTooHot

To connect the dots between rising carbon pollution and rising temperatures and to help raise

awareness of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan in summer 2014, we partnered with celebrated ice cream

makers Ben & Jerry’s for #ImTooHot. #ImTooHot turned neighborhood ice cream trucks into mobile

action centers in key cities holding EPA listening sessions where both supporters and opponents

were mobilizing: Atlanta, Washington DC, Denver, and Pittsburgh. The highly visible trucks not only

generated signicant media attention, but also encouraged many passers-by to stop and learn aboutthe Clean Power Plan, submit a comment supporting the measure, and get a cool treat for their efforts.

SWEETENING THE DEAL ON CLIMATE ACTION

Active social media outreachgenerated nearly

21mpotential impressions from

2,860contributors using the #ImTooHot

hashtag, giving a local campaigna national reach

On-the-ground efforts via mobile actioncenters secured nearly

5,000comments supporting the Clean Power Plan

Print and online coverage in sources including Politico, Bloomberg News,The Hill, Wisconsin Gazette, Inside Energy, and others

Local and nationalbroadcast media

coverage in outlets fromFox affiliates to Colorado

Public Radio to The

Weather Channel

An est imated

38,000passers-by saw

#ImTooHot trucks andheard the message


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People’s Climate March

With world leaders coming to New York City for the inaugural UN Climate Summit in September

2014, the climate community knew it was time to make our voices heard. On September 21, just

days before the summit, we joined partners throughout the community to gather supporters in

New York for the largest climate march in history: over 400,000 people.

The magnitude and prole of the event – with political and cultural leaders from New YorkMayor Bill de Blasio to ice President Gore to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to actor

Leonardo DiCaprio joining citizens in the streets – made sure the national media noticed and

took our message to negotiators at the UN and homes across the nation. Meanwhile, 2,641

parallel events in 161 other countries made this a momentus day for the movement worldwide.


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Telling a Story That Matters

At Climate Reality, we are storytellers of climate change. We connect lively social media outreach

with engaging blogs, webinars, chats, hangouts, and other content to translate abstract science

into daily realities and make climate change matter to communities around the planet.

The result? As people come to understand what climate change means for them, they want to

take action. And by creating graphics, posts, and other media that our supporters can easilyadapt and share with their networks, we transform online audiences into ofine activists

everywhere, building a powerful movement for climate solutions.

CREATING ONLINE ACTIVISTS

Driving action with 536,000 supporters on Causes

Partnering with majorplatforms to shareClimate Reality stories

on Huffington Post,Upworthy, TakePart,

and reaching hundredsof thousands of

audience members

Developing targetedapproaches to

energizing thoughtleaders and millennials

on LinkedIn andInstagram

ACTIVATING OVER

1.5mEMAIL SUPPORTERS

RANKED

#14 in the SustMeme

Top 500 Influencers onClimate Change and Energy

(as of April 2015)

REACHING

346,200FACEBOOK FRIENDS

ENGAGING

202,000TWITTER FOLLOWERS


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With the UN COP21 climate negotiations scheduled to take place in Paris this December, the world

has the opportunity to take a major step forward through a global agreement to reduce greenhousegas emissions—an outcome we aim to help secure.

In consultation with the UN, former Vice President Al Gore and The Climate Reality Project have

undertaken a major grassroots effort in eight countries that wield substantial inuence in the

negotiation process:

• Australia • Brazil • Canada

• China • India • The Philippines

• South Africa • United States

We call this campaign the Road to Paris. Domestically, we will launch the new Climate Speakers

Network, support the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and train over 1,000 climate activists. We will alsosupport international grassroots action in six countries, train activists in India and Canada, host

our global 24 Hours of Reality broadcast, and partner with the Live Earth organization for a series

of events urging world leaders to take climate action in Paris.

In the short term, Road to Paris will raise awareness on a global scale and empower communities

everywhere to raise their voices in demanding that world leaders sign a strong agreement at a

historic moment in time. But we cannot stop after Paris: COP21 is just one milepost on a marathon

journey. Our next steps will be to ensure that countries meet and improve their commitments over

time.

Therefore, in 2015, Climate Reality is also building the relationships and infrastructure necessary to

apply continuous citizen pressure within countries following the climate negotiations. Road to Parislaunches what we expect to be a ve-year effort toward even more ambitious commitments from

the international community in 2020.

A LOOK AHEAD

High visibilityfor and citizenengagement in

the COP21 process

Strongerorganizational

capacity to continuecitizen pressure into

2016 and beyond.

A meaningful globalagreement on reducing

carbon emissions, signedby all countries, that

incorporates a five-yearreview period to create an

opportunity to strengthencommitments in 2020


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The opportunity for major progress is here for the taking – and we intend to take it. As we say

at Climate Reality, in 2014 we made extraordinary progress. In 2015, we’ll make history.

JOIN US

We simply could not do this important work without your help. Your questions and feedback are

always welcome.

How Can I Help?

GET SMART

• Sign up for email updates and action alerts

• isit our YouTube channel for fun and informative videos

• Like us on Facebook

• Follow us on Twitter and Instagram

GET LOUD

• Share and retweet our content far and wide

GET ACTIVE • Attend a Climate Speakers Network training

• Attend a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training

• Host a speaker at your business, organization, or school

SUPPORT US

• Donate to The Climate Reality Project

Contact Us:

anessa Laallee - Senior P, Advancement and Operations

[email protected]

THANK YOU!

http://forms.climaterealityproject.org/page/s/sign-uphttps://www.youtube.com/user/ClimateRealityhttps://www.facebook.com/climaterealityhttps://twitter.com/climaterealityhttps://instagram.com/climaterealityhttp://www.climaterealitytraining.org/http://climaterealityproject.org/donatemailto:%[email protected]:%[email protected]://climaterealityproject.org/donatehttp://www.climaterealitytraining.org/https://instagram.com/climaterealityhttps://twitter.com/climaterealityhttps://www.facebook.com/climaterealityhttps://www.youtube.com/user/ClimateRealityhttp://forms.climaterealityproject.org/page/s/sign-up


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FINANCIALS

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONDecember 31, 2014

Unaudited

ASSETS Current Assets

Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 1,074,198

Pledges Receivable 5,081,218

Accounts Receivable 74,005

Prepaid Assets 244,284Total Current Assets 6,473,704

Contributions Receivable, Net of Current Portion -

Property and Equipment, Net 323,992

Security Deposits and Other Assets 90,862

TOTAL ASSETS $ 6,888,558

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETSCurrent Liabilities

Line of Credit - New Resource Bank $ 500,000

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses 333,159

Accrued Compensation and Benets 274,089

Due to The Climate Reality Action Fund 196,124

Accrued Rent 290,446

Total Current Liabilities 1,593,818

Net Assets

Beginning Net Assets 3,257,056

Change in Net Assets 2,037,684

Total Net Assets 5,294,740

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS $ 6,888,558


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REVENUE Contributions $ 16,732,993Program Revenue 68,190

Special Events 5,750

Other Income 5,696

TOTAL REVENUE 16,812,629

EXPENSES Program 13,087,285

Fundraising 759,935Management 927,726

TOTAL EXPENSES 14,774,946

CHANGE IN NET ASSETS $ 2,037,684

Unaudited

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES January 1 through December 31, 2014


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ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY

DEPARTMENTProgram $ 13,087,285 88.6%

Fundraising 759,935 5.1%

Management 927,726 6.3%

$ 14,774,946 100%

PROGRAM

88.6%

FUNDRAISING5.1%MANAGEMENT

6.3%


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At the Climate Reality Project, we are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our

activities and leaving a positive social and environmental legacy for future generations. All of the

organization’s efforts are guided by our Sustainability Standards, including ofce operations,

transportation, purchasing, carbon tracking and neutralization.

Climate Reality events comply with the international sustainable event management standard

ISO 20121, which species requirements for implementing a sustainability management systemacross key impact areas, including: reducing overall energy and water consumption, sustainable

food and beverage sourcing, waste reduction and diversion through composting and recycling,

and attendee engagement.

For all emissions that cannot be reduced, the carbon footprint of the organization is measured and

the total emissions are neutralized via third-party veried carbon offset projects.

ORGANIZATIONAL

SUSTAINABILITY

COMMITMENT


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2014 annual report by the climate reality project (2014)

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