TOGETHER Bay Area Membership
Your organization is invited to be a member of a large, diverse, and influential regional coalition. Not just because it can be fun and joyful (that’s important too!), but because we’re having an impact. Our members are collaborating in big and small ways for resilient lands that are integral to a thriving Bay Area and all people who live here.
Get to know TOGETHER Bay Area
TOGETHER Bay Area members are nonprofits, public agencies, Native tribes and groups, and mission-aligned businesses. They work in the 9 counties of the SF Bay Area plus Santa Cruz County. They are on-the-ground implementers with programs and projects that make a tangible impact on the land and in their communities.
A Virtual Open House
Watch a recording of our virtual Open House to meet our team and some of our members, learn about our work as a coalition, and find out how you can get involved.
Member Benefits
You can engage in advocacy for significant and stable funding
Advocate for transformational public funding for climate resilience projects and programs by leveraging your local work at the regional and state levels.
- Develop our annual policy priorities and work to advocate effectively for them. Our approach to advocacy is to center relationships, collaboration, inclusivity, and joy.
- Learn how to approach advocacy with educational opportunities for all experience levels and backgrounds in policy work.
- 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.
You can build your capacity for alliances with local Native American Tribes and Native communities
- Gain skills and education to build alliances with local Native American Tribes and Native communities through our Right Relations program, designed specifically for TOGETHER Bay Area members in partnership with Redbud Resource Group.
- Expand your capacity for the exchange of resources, including land, power, knowledge, skills, through opportunities to participate in Going Beyond Land Acknowledgement trainings available throughout the year.
- Learn from peer organizations and Tribes and find support in community as you take action to strengthen Tribal sovereignty.
You can collaborate for regional biodiversity goals
- Help to facilitate the conservation of 50% of the Bay Area’s lands by 2050 by collaboratively setting regional goals that support local conservation and help achieve state-level strategies.
- Learn from fellow data compilers to share information and build our regional understanding of the impacts of fire on the land.
- Engage in the Conservation Lands Network’s goal setting for upland habitats.
You can connect & collaborate across the region
Connect to a network of over 75 organizations across the 10-county Bay Area who are working toward climate resilience and equity. Meet people who can serve as mentors, resources, and partners. All staff and board from member organizations are invited to participate.
- Solve problems, build partnerships, generate ideas with a network of professionals and practitioners doing the work. Connect to the people who can support your organization’s urgent needs and long-term systems transformation:
- A network of experts and peers, generous mentors and partners, problem-solvers and brainstormers.
- Colleagues in all stages of their careers and all arms of an organization – from staff who work directly on the land or water, communicating, interpreting, fundraising, directing, interning, and more.
- Community who will be here to help you when you need it.
- Connect with and hear from state leaders to see how your work contributes to state goals and how state funding can support your projects and programs.
- Access members-only field trips and events, and ticket pricing for our annual TOGETHER Conference.
- Find the right candidates for open job positions through featured listings on our job board.
- Receive members-only communications to stay connected and get involved.
What Your Dues Mean
This is a membership-powered coalition.
Your dues mean that TOGETHER Bay Area exists and thrives.
Without our members’ dues, we do not have the funding or mandate to lead our programs and coordinate this diverse and powerful coalition.
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. Learn more about our Framework for Justice, Equity and Belonging.
Gift a membership
If your organization is in a position to, consider adding a gift membership onto yours to help us bring all voices to the table.
Sliding Scale Dues Guidelines
Memberships are renewed annually (ideally between September 1 – November 30) and dues are based on your organization’s operating budget. Members select the dues level for their organization in partnership with TOGETHER Bay Area staff.
Budget – Dues
- Under $250,000 – $250
- $250,000–$500,000 – $1,000
- $500,000–$1M – $2,500
- $1M–1.5M – $5,000
- $1.5M–$2.5M – $7,500
- $2.5M–$5M – $10,000
- $5M–$10M – $15,000
- >$10M – $20,000
Native-led organizations are welcome to join at no cost.
Flexible Dues Program
If your mission aligns with ours, we want you to be a member.
Dues are meant to bring you into the coalition, not keep you out.
We want our members to be financially invested in TOGETHER Bay Area because we know from experience that participation is more meaningful when members contribute financially. And we understand that for some organizations, paying the outlined dues level is difficult. If our dues structure isn’t feasible for your organization, reach out and let us know what will work for you.
We will work with you to make it possible for your organization to join this coalition.
Email Laura Rosenthal, Engagement & Development Manager, to start a conversation.
Member Expectations
Organizationally:
- Pay annual dues
- Share our vision and align with our mission
- As appropriate, co-host meetings or field trips with TOGETHER Bay Area and/or your organization’s staff time to contribute to the organization’s governance, operations, and/or programs.
- Commit to the give and take of collaboration, honoring the different roles every organization can play in advancing TOGETHER Bay Area’s mission.
Individually:
- Participate according to our values (trust, equity, belonging, joy, learning, hope) and in ways outlined in our Framework for Justice, Equity, and Belonging.
- Willingness to contribute and to listen. Everyone is an expert. Everyone is a learner. We value both lived and learned expertise.
- Respect other TOGETHER Bay Area members, staff, and contractors. This includes respect for others’ time, perspectives, and knowledge.
Ready to join?
To become a TOGETHER Bay Area member, complete this form. Reach out to Laura Rosenthal, [email protected], our Engagement & Development Manager, with questions or for more information.
Our Impact
Guided by our 2024-2028 Strategic Direction and the priorities identified in it, we are convening, coordinating, and catalyzing for healthy lands, people and communities. Some examples of how we’ve made an impact over the past year include:
Advocating for Significant & Stable Funding
- Successfully advocated with partners across the state for a $10 billion climate bond – Proposition 4 – on the November 5, 2024 ballot.
- Successfully advocated for $750 million for the State Coastal Conservancy in Proposition 4, which we identified with our members as a key policy priority for 2024.
- Built relationships with Bay Area legislators and partners across the state. This included multiple TOGETHER In Sacramento Days, a listening session with Assemblymembers, and other in-person and online events.
- Hosted a series of online Policy Learning Sessions to build our members’ capacity. All. ofour members – regardless of policy experience – were invited. Topics included Policy 101, Budget 101, and Relationships-Centered Advocacy.
Building Capacity for Tribal Alliances
- Expanded the Right Relations program with 3 cohorts of participants, including around 75 people from 22 TOGETHER member organizations. Designed specifically for TOGETHER Bay Area members with Redbud Resource Group, Right Relations is built around of learning, community, and action.
- Incorporated an Indigenous perspective at the 2024 Conference through keynote speakers, the emcees, workshops, and a film screening.
- Provided learning opportunities for all of our members with free access to the Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements workshops hosted by Redbud Resource Group.
Setting Regional Conservation Goals
- Coordinated the update to the Bay Area Protected Areas Database, in collaboration with GreenInfo Network, which will inform the state’s progress towards conserving 30% of lands and coastal waters by 2030.
- Initiated analysis of progress towards the goals set in 2019 by the Conservation Lands Network 2.0. Look for a Progress Report in fall 2024!
- Collaborated with California Academy of Sciences to explore ways of integrating urban biodiversity data in the Conservation Lands Network 3.0 project which will ramp up in 2025. Check out this video!
- Increased the region’s capacity to make data-based decisions before, during, and after wildfires through our Wildfire Data Working Group.
Promoting Regional Coordination
- Convened over 400 participants at our annual TOGETHER Conference to explore how regional collaboration can support both urgent needs and long-term transformation. Included an online kickoff, an in-person day at the Fort Mason Center with inspiring speakers and community building, and two days of field trips around the region hosted by member organizations.
- Showcased member projects through Together Tuesdays to a diverse audience, including state leaders, peers, and potential partners.
- Enabled our members to find the right candidates for open job positions, posting 500 opportunities annually on our free, online job board.