Our Climate: Events Highlight Youth Leadership and Draw Donors

Our Climate is a youth-led organization focused on climate justice, amplifying young people's and frontline communities' voices in the fight for a sustainable and equitable future. Through leadership development and advocacy, Our Climate mobilizes youth for climate action, cultivating a generation of changemakers dedicated to racial and environmental justice.

Project Overview 

With a focus on building a mid-level donor program, Our Climate sought to host two in-person events showcasing youth climate leaders through art and stories. The goal was to deepen relationships with existing donors, expand their donor base, and increase revenue for long-term sustainability. The events, held in New York in October 2023 and Washington, DC in February 2024, were designed to cultivate new supporters, generate donations, and create lasting connections with the climate justice community.

Key Strategies and Successes

• Hosted two in-person youth climate art parties featuring local bands, food from featured chefs, multimedia storytelling, and the youth Climate Zine.
• Used social media to advertise and engage new potential donors, which led to an increase in followers and online engagement.
• Successfully built new networks and cultivated relationships with key stakeholders, including the hosting of one event by a current donor.
• Despite not reaching the fundraising goal, the events allowed the team to introduce their work to new audiences, boosting awareness in both cities.

Lessons Learned

Event Timing: A short timeline to coordinate the events, especially in DC, proved challenging. Moving forward, the team plans to prepare at least five months in advance to ensure better attendance and smoother logistics.

Personnel: The need for additional support in event planning was clear. The team recognized that more hands, particularly in the host city, would have made a significant difference in spreading the word and ensuring better turnout.

Follow-up: The team struggled with tracking new supporters and contacts. Implementing a more efficient system for collecting and managing contact information is a priority for future events.

By The Numbers

Though the immediate returns fell short of their expected outcomes, the events provided valuable networking opportunities. They set the stage for future growth, particularly in grant opportunities and the 2025 DC fundraiser. 

Looking Ahead 

• Increased Preparation: Our Climate plans to host future events with longer preparation timelines and additional manpower, particularly for outreach and follow-up.
• Improved Donor Engagement: With lessons learned from the events, the team is focused on refining its donor cultivation strategies to increase engagement and long-term support.
• Future Revenue Growth: The team anticipates increasing revenue from future events and expects to raise a significant portion of their funding through mid-level donors, including a focus on new supporters, especially from the BIPOC and youth communities.

Our Climate empowers young people to advocate for the science-based, equitable and intersectional climate justice policies that build a thriving world. They engage and train youth from affected communities and groups to participate in broad and diverse advocacy coalitions. 

This project is currently in progress; final results will be shared in a case study at a later date.