Membership Campaign, Fall 2021
We invite you to renew or join today.
It’s been almost two years since we finalized the new strategic and business plan that set the course for what is now called TOGETHER Bay Area. Two years, a global pandemic, increased national attention on systemic racism and policy brutality, catastrophic wildfires, a presidential election, and an extreme drought. Through it all we have learned that TOGETHER Bay Area was built for this moment. We have advocated, convened, and connected in ways we never thought possible. And we’re just getting started.
Today we invite you to renew your membership or join us as a new member. Transparency is one of our values, and so we want to be clear with you about what we’re doing, the impact we’re having, and how you and your organization’s membership dues make it possible.
Please check out the following and let us know if you have any questions about any of it. We’d be happy to discuss any of it with you.
- Our Goals and Plans for the months and years ahead
- Our Growing Influence in the region and in Sacramento
- How we’re Convening and Connecting across our membership
- How we’re building a Healthy Organization that’s sustainable
Like you and your organization, we are learning and adapting. We learned that state and federal land management agencies – State Parks, National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, and others – are essential partners but are not able to participate in our advocacy program due to conflicts of interest. We are pleased to introduce our State & Federal Agency Partnership Program which allows agencies to participate in our coalition in ways that benefit them.
Thank you for taking care of the Bay Area’s flora, fauna, and folks. We are grateful for the actions your organization is taking for climate resilient lands, people, and communities. Thank you for pushing for an equitable and just society. Thank you for your commitment to collaboration.
Click here to renew or join today.
We’re in this together.
Sincerely,
The Board, staff, and team at TOGETHER Bay Area
Blanca Hernández, Tim Ramirez, Ariana Rickard, Laura Rodriguez, Tom Robinson, Noelle Chambers, Annie Burke, Lisa Baldinger, Max Korten, Andrea Mackenzie, Jose Setka, and Ana Ruiz
Goals and Plans
We are just getting started. Our top goal is to transform how we as a region build resilient lands and people in the face of climate change while working towards justice and equity. Our second goal is to build the relationships that support the environmental and social changes required for resilient lands and people. We’ll make that happen if you join us.
Our goals for the coming years include:
- Launch a ‘listening and learning’ phase to explore the feasibility of a potential regional funding measure.
- Continue to advocate for funding in the state budget and potential bond measures for the State Coastal Conservancy and its Bay Program.
- Deepen our efforts to build non-Native peoples’ capacity to advance Native Peoples’ leadership and enable their connection to the land.
- Continue to advocate for justice, equity, and inclusion in state policies, i.e., the Under Resourced Communities definition.
- Build regional support for California’s 30×30 initiative and partner with state leadership on the planning and implementation of the state’s 30×30 goals.
- Continue to convene community conversations about justice, equity, and belonging; data on fire impacts; peer learning; and other topics that are identified as important by our members.
“TOGETHER Bay Area is now being considered as an organization whose position is important.
People, including industry groups and legislators, are asking what position TOGETHER Bay Area is taking on issues.
This coalition is now a voice for the Bay Area.”
~ Policy Committee member
Growing Influence
We are working to harness the collective power of our members to shape and secure transformational public funding and policies that support TOGETHER Bay Area’s mission at the state and federal levels. Our approach is to be clear, consistent, and collaborative with policymakers and partners in the Bay Area and across the state. And we are making progress and growing our influence. Some examples include:
- The Conservation Advisory Panel for California’s 30×30 initiative included a paragraph about TOGETHER Bay Area in its report, calling us a template for other regional collaboratives.
- We are building relationships and taking actions – legislative meetings, letters of support, social media – to advocate for our coalition’s priorities including funding for the State Coastal Conservancy and its Bay Program.
- We are working closely with partners focused on the SF Bay and Restoration Authority for a unified Bay Area and a whole watershed approach to climate resilience.
- We are working to center equity in policy in several ways, including championing the use of the Under Resourced Communities definition which could make an additional 8 million California residents eligible for state funding.
Convening and Connecting
TOGETHER Bay Area has stepped up to connect, convene, and catalyze change while our region has navigated the interrelated crises of COVID-19, economic recession, systemic racism and social inequities, and catastrophic wildfires. Our actions have been guided by our values and Framework for Justice, Equity, and Belonging.
Since August 2020, we have:
- Catalyzed collaboration and innovation across organizations and jurisdictions by facilitating community conversations on specific topics and with peers in similar roles. Examples include senior leaders of public land management agencies, nonprofit executive directors, resilient agriculture, data on fire impacts, and equity and belonging.
- Convened two online conferences – the 2020 Fall Forum and 2021 Spring Summit – with hundreds of attendees and dozens of expert speakers.
- Produced dozens of webinars and policy briefings on a range of topics including public health, policy updates, and more.
TOGETHER Bay Area “could serve as a template for other regional collaboratives”
~ California’s 30×30 Conservation Advisory Panel (source)
Healthy organization
We are serious about our responsibility to steward your membership dues, as well as your trust. The Board of Directors and Finance Committee are monitoring our financial health on a regular basis. We have established key performance indicators and a financial dashboard so we can make adjustments and decisions in a timely manner. And we have policies and procedures in place to safeguard the organization’s resources. For example:
- A team of 20 people (Board, Finance Committee, staff, and contractors) coordinate closely throughout the year across governance, finance, operations, and programs to ensure the organization is stable and viable.
- Continue to work to center equity and inclusion on our Board of Directors, through our two programs (advocacy and convening), and within our operations.
- We are on the track set by our business plan from 2019, which we monitor closely with a financial dashboard.
What your dues mean
Your dues mean that TOGETHER Bay Area exists. Without our members’ dues, we do not have the funding or mandate to lead our programs and coordinate this diverse and powerful coalition.
This is a membership-powered coalition. In October 2019 the Board approved a strategic and streamlined business plan that calls for membership dues to be the organization’s primary revenue source. This carefully considered business plan aligns our programs with our funding, and it enables our operations to be minimal for optimal impact.
Tiered membership dues mean we can more effectively center equity in our work. We tier member dues based on operational budgets because the work we are doing demands the perspectives of members of all sizes. Our members contribute tangible, on the ground knowledge of how best to address inequities in their communities, and what access to nature and climate resilience looks like locally. For example, we amplify the voices of all of our members through our advocacy program which results in impacts for all members. Without increased support from our larger members, this would not be possible.
Member Benefits
- Leverage your local work at the regional and state levels
- Contribute to the region’s ability to secure transformational funding for healthy lands, people, and communities
- Connect with and learn from other members through a variety of forums and events
- Participate in shaping our policy platform and on our Policy Committee
- Eligibility for representation on the organization’s Board of Directors, working groups, and committees
- Listed on TOGETHER Bay Area’s website and other communications
Member Contributions
- Annual dues, a sliding scale based on your organization’s budget
- A commitment to regional collaboration
- An openness to participate in ways outlined in our Framework for Justice, Equity, and Belonging
- As appropriate, meeting space for working groups or small meetings
- As appropriate, staff time on committees and working groups and to support governance and/or programs
Introducing State & Federal Agency Partnership Program
Collaboration is one of our key values.
Many of our members’ work is intimately integrated with and reliant on collaboration with state and federal agencies that manage and steward lands in the region. For example, our members partner with agencies like CA State Parks and National Park Service at the individual park unit level to administrative unit / district level to the senior leadership of both agencies.
State and federal agencies who manage and steward land are critically important partners for healthy lands, people, and communities in the 9 counties of the Bay Area plus Santa Cruz County, the geographic scope of TOGETHER Bay Area members.
We welcome state and federal agencies who manage and steward land to participate in TOGETHER Bay Area as State & Federal Agency Partners.
Note that this program is not for public agencies at the city, county, or regional levels. Agencies at those levels are invited to participate as members.
This program entails:
- Dues paid annually on a sliding scale of $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000 depending on agency’s budget.
- Partnership is by individual administrative units (i.e., NPS East Bay, GGRNA), not the entire agency (i.e., NPS), so that we allow for different administration units to decide what is best for them and their budget.
- State & Federal Agency Partners do not participate in TOGETHER Bay Area’s advocacy program including the Policy Committee.
- State & Federal Agency Partners are invited to participate in TOGETHER Bay Area’s convening program, will be listed on our website and materials, and are eligible to serve on the TOGETHER Board of Directors.
Renew Or Join Today
This is a membership-powered coalition. In October 2019 the Board approved a strategic and streamlined business plan that calls for membership dues to be the organization’s primary revenue source. This carefully considered business plan aligns our programs with our funding, and it enables our operations to be minimal for optimal impact.
Memberships are renewed annually. Membership dues are based on your organization’s operating budget. See our 2021 dues levels HERE. For organizations and agencies with a large geographic scope or a mission that includes more than what is relevant to TOGETHER Bay Area’s mission, there is flexibility about which operational budget you base your dues on.
If dues are a barrier to your participation, please email Annie Burke at [email protected] to discuss options and opportunities.
Current members: Please renew your membership by November 30.
Starting in September 2021 we are using a new system, Membership Works, for renewing memberships and becoming a new member.
Questions about signing up or renewing? Contact Annie Burke at [email protected]