The California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (CLCV-EF) is a left-of-center environmentalist organization founded in 1996. The Fund works by engaging in political advocacy efforts and voter registration initiatives to support left-of-center causes. ¹

The CLCV-EF is strongly associated with the California League of Conservation Voters. While CLCV is an advocacy organization that can publicly endorse candidates and CLCV-EF is a charitable organization which cannot do so, the two organizations share office space, board members, and even paid employees. ¹

The CLCV Education Fund board includes CLCV president Glen Dake and is chaired by former Obama administration official Nancy Sutley. ²

Activity

CLCV-EF was founded in 1996 to support CLCV’s political advocacy work. ³ The CLCV-EF’s cornerstone project is its voter outreach program, Green California. ¹ CLCV-EF also spends a significant amount lobbying on behalf of legislation. ¹ Green California and legislative lobbying expenses accounted for over half of CLCV-EF’s expenditures in 2018. ¹ CLCV-EF spent an additional $99,063 on “community outreach” that year. ¹

Aside from its lobbying and voter engagement efforts, CLCV-EF has conducted extensive polling on environmental and political views in California. ⁴ CLCV-EF has been especially active in polling Latino communities in California, arguing that the polls will enable environmentalist legislation to be more targeted. ⁵

Leadership

Nancy Sutley sits as the president and chair of CLCV-EF. ⁶ In 2009, she was appointed by the Obama administration as Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, a post she held until 2013. ⁷ In 2014, Sutley was appointed chief sustainability and economic development officer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. ²

Sean Arian is the vice chair of the board at CLCV-EF. ⁶ He is concurrently vice president of innovation and emerging technologies for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. ⁸ Arian previously worked as an advisor on economic development to former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D). ⁹ He is married to Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin. ¹⁰

Glen Dake works as president of CLCV and sits on the board of the CLCV Education Fund. ¹¹ A professional landscape architect, Dake is a former staffer for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D). ¹¹

Financial Information

The CLCV Education Fund is incorporated as a charity and can accept tax-deductible donations, in contract to the CLCV, which is incorporated as an advocacy organization. ^{12 13} The CLCV-EF is thereby more restricted in its political advocacy activity than CLCV itself. ¹⁴ Despite these regulatory differences, CLCV and CLCV-EF retain a close working relationship, sharing offices, board members, and employees between the two organizations. ¹

Between 2015 and 2018, the CLCV-EF received $215,000 in donations from the Energy Foundation, a “pass-through” organization that receives donations from left-of-center donors and distributes them to left-of-center advocacy organizations. ^{15 16}

1. IRS Form 990, California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Part III, 2018
2. Scauzillo, Steve. “Nancy Sutley, Former White House Environmental Quality Aide, Comes to DWP.” San Gabriel Valley Tribune. San Gabriel Valley Tribune, August 30, 2017. https://www.sgvtribune.com/2014/07/02/nancy-sutley-former-white-house-environmental-quality-aide-comes-to-dwp/.
3. “Our History & Mission.” California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund . (CLCV Ed Fund, CLCVEF). Accessed June 3, 2021. http://www.clcvedfund.org/who-we-are/our-mission/.
4. “Research & Public Opinion Polling.” California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (CLCV Ed Fund, CLCVEF). Accessed June 3, 2021. http://www.clcvedfund.org/what-we-do/research-and-polls/.
5. “California Latinos’ Environmental Values.” California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (CLCV Ed Fund, CLCVEF). Accessed June 3, 2021. http://www.clcvedfund.org/what-we-do/research-and-polls/latinos/.
6. “Our Board.” California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (CLCV Ed Fund, CLCVEF). Accessed June 3, 2021. http://www.clcvedfund.org/who-we-are/our-board/.
7. Banerjee, Neela. “Obama’s Environmental Advisor Set to Return to Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2014. https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2014-feb-14-la-pn-obama-environmental-advisor-20140213-story.html.
8. “Sean Arian Bio.” General Assembly. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://generalassemb.ly/instructors/sean-arian/7411.
9. Sangar, Puja. “The Different Paths Los Angeles And San Francisco Are Taking To Spur Civic Innovation.” Fast Company. Fast Company, September 27, 2016. https://www.fastcompany.com/3063889/the-different-paths-los-angeles-and-san-francisco-are-taking-to-spur-civic-innovation.
10. Administrator. “LA Councilman Mike Bonin Marries Partner Sean Arian.” Century City News, July 20, 2014. https://centurycity-westwoodnews.com/la-councilman-mike-bonin-marries-partner-sean-arian/.
11. “Our Board.” California League of Conservation Voters. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.ecovote.org/board/.
12. IRS Form 990, California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, 2018
13. IRS Form 990, California League of Conservation Voters, 2018
14. Pozen, David. “The Tax-Code Shift That’s Changing Liberal Activism.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, November 27, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/501c3-501c4-activists-and-tax-code/576364/.
15. IRS Form 990, Energy Foundation, 2015, 2016, 2017, & 2018
16. Richardson, Craig E. “Big Donors…Big Conflicts: How Wealthy Donors Use the Sierra Club to Push Their Agenda.” Energy and Environment Legal Institute, June 2015. https://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Big-Donors-Big-Conflicts-Final1.pdf.