Grantee Spotlight: California Environmental Voters

A screenshot from our 2021 Grassroots Grantee Convening.

In the fall of 2021 we hosted our annual Grassroots Grantee Convening. The convening is a space for Rose Foundation grassroots grantees to network and develop skills related to their area of work. Last year’s workshops explored what role grassroots organizations can play in guiding policy, influencing decision-makers, and holding political leaders accountable. We proudly partnered with California Environmental Voters to host these 4 free virtual webinar training sessions.

California Environmental Voters is a state-level branch of the national League of Conservation Voters. The organization has worked with the Rose Foundation as both a partner and a grantee. The group’s primary focus is to push legislatively for policy that helps the environment. By transforming our political system and electing environmental advocates, EnviroVoters believes we can achieve the bold action we need against climate change. Melissa Romero and Matt Abularach-Macias represented EnviroVoters at the Convening. Melissa serves the organization in the state’s capitol, where she lobbies state lawmakers and partners with organizations and coalitions to advance climate, environmental, and elections policy. Matt, works as a campaigns and organizing manager, leading statewide organizing efforts and electoral campaigns to further environmental policy. These leaders used their wealth of experience to guide powerful and educational workshops around grassroots organizing and politics.

In collaboration with Melissa and Matt, we developed four workshops focused on practical strategies for:

• Power Mapping: Analyzing the issue and decision-making landscape and how to navigate it
• State Policy, Lobbying & Influencing Legislators
• Local Policy & Building Relationships with Decision Makers
• Strategizing and Building a Winning Campaign

For each of these sessions, Melissa and Matt brought helpful tools that grantees could apply to their own work and advocacy efforts. From outlining the right times to pay attention in the political cycle to exploring the limit of activities one can conduct as a C3 organization, our grantees left the convening with practical knowledge for strategizing and organizing. Some of the most special moments of these workshops were when Melissa and Matt helped grantees deconstruct their particular situation and reframe it so they could move along in a process. Examining a group’s specific struggle built solidarity among attendees. It affirmed the difficulty of policy work and developed a collective understanding that our grantees are not alone in their struggles.

On behalf of the Rose Foundation, we would like to thank EnviroVoters for facilitating deep and productive conversations among our grantees. The level of engagement and number of people who actively participated made for a memorable and rewarding 2021 Convening. If you were unable to attend these workshops or want to share what you learned with your networks, check out our Resources and Recordings page. Here you will find recording and materials related to our session topics.