Advocacy for Significant and Stable Regional Funding
Our goal is to secure public funding and advance policy that supports TOGETHER Bay Area’s mission and our members’ projects by harnessing the collective power of our large and diverse coalition of organizations.
News
Survey: Financial & Community Impacts
Upcoming Events
Contact
Jessica Little, Policy Lead
Annie Burke, Executive Director
Policy Priorities
Our 2025 Policy Priorities guide our strategy and actions in the 2025 legislative session. The Policy Priorities are developed annually with leadership from our Policy Committee and Board of Directors, and with input from our members. Please note that TOGETHER Bay Area does not take positions on local issues.
2025 Policy Priorities
In this moment of change and challenge, we stand in our principles and values, and we deepen our commitment to bringing people together to work on the most pressing issues of our time: the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental injustices, and social inequities.
1
SECURE FUNDING
FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS
We envision significant and stable public funding for the State Coastal Conservancy, and other similar entities, to enable members’ programs and projects in the 10 county region.
2
INCREASE THE PACE OF IMPLEMENTATION
OF CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS
We envision an acceleration of projects and programs to enhance climate resilience of the 10 county region and its communities.
Collaborative Advocacy
We take a different approach to advocating for transformational funding and policy. First, we center equity by being transparent, building a culture of belonging, and advocating for funding for those who haven’t had access to it in the past. Second, we engage in collaborative advocacy, which means:
- We prioritize relationships over transactions
- We choose an abundance mindset
- We design our meetings and events to be positive and productive
- We bring joy into everything we do
Learning Sessions
We share information and resources to grow our members’ collective capacity for advocacy as a coalition. They’re designed for a wide audience including people new to the policy world as well as seasoned advocates! Examples include introductions to the California budget process, policy making 101, meetings with CA Natural Resources Agency staff to learn about their programs, and more.
Check the calendar for upcoming learning sessions.
TOGETHER in Sacramento
We travel to Sacramento in person – and sometimes virtually – to meet with legislators, legislative staff, and administration leadership to build relationships, raise awareness, and communicate our coalition’s priorities.
Policy Summit
We host an annual Policy Summit to collaboratively set our coalition’s annual Policy Priorities and to learn from one another. And it’s a productive and joyful opportunity to connect with peers from around the region.
Policy Committee
Our Policy Committee guides our advocacy efforts and actively engages in advocacy actions throughout the year. The Committee, which meets regularly, works together to advocate effectively towards our policy priorities, and does so through a collaborative advocacy approach.
Policy Committee meetings are venues for learning, community building, joy, and mobilizing for shared goals. All individuals at nonprofit, Native organizations, local public agency, and mission-aligned business TOGETHER members are invited to participate in the Policy Committee.
Resources
Proposition 4 Implementation
In November, 2024, California voters voted yes on Proposition 4: The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024. The $10-billion climate bond will provide funding for a variety of environmental programs, including for safe drinking water and water resilience, wildfire prevention, protection of natural lands, parks, and wildlife; protection of coastal lands, bays, and oceans; agriculture; and other projects to reduce climate risks and impacts.
Our Proposition 4 Resource Hub offers information about implementation resources and examples of our members’ projects that could benefit from Proposition 4 funding. Learn more >
Advancing California’s 30×30 goal and other state plans
Check out a searchable interactive map of 110+ projects that can help advance one or more of the three objectives: biodiversity, climate resilience, and equitable access. You can search by Native territory, legislative district, or county. You’ll see that TOGETHER Bay Area members are doing really important and innovative work. Learn more >
In the News
Check out recent news articles related to TOGETHER Bay Area’s advocacy efforts, including articles featuring TOGETHER Bay Area and op-eds written by our team. Learn more >
Conservation Lands Network
The Conservation Lands Network (CLN) is a regional strategy that sets goals, tracks progress, provides tools, and catalyzes on-the-ground land conservation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its tools can be used to make the case for project funding and to tell stories about regional funding needs. Learn more >
Bay Area Green Stimulus Opportunities
TOGETHER Bay Area members were surveyed in April 2020 and the results revealed that with investment from the State, our members could create at least 10,500 new jobs with more than 620 projects throughout the 10 counties that would in turn directly or indirectly serve all 7.7 million residents. Learn more >
