Non-profit

Colorado Sustainability Campaign

Website:

www.rivercampaign.org/

Location:

Denver, CO

Project of:

New Venture Fund

Executive Director:

Sam Tucker

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Colorado River Sustainability Campaign (CRSC) is an environmentalist group focused on supporting the Colorado River and its wildlife. 1 It is a project of the New Venture Fund (NVF), a funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by left-leaning consulting firm Arabella Advisors.

The Colorado River Sustainability Campaign is funded by a small group of private foundations, including a $3 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation in 20182 and $2 million in grants from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation 2014 and 2018. 3

Activity

While the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign coordinates nearly all the conservation work supporting the Colorado River, the organization’s website vaguely claims that it supports the efforts of conservation groups. As of May 2020, CRSC makes no mention of its affiliation with the New Venture Fund, and the New Venture Fund makes no mention of CRSC on its website. In an interview with E&E News, CRSC’s director Sam Tucker claimed that the organization “is about collaboration and coordination.” 4

Funding

Colorado River Sustainability Campaign is funded by grants made to the New Venture Fund on its behalf. The largest single grant was made by the Walton Family Foundation in 2018 for $3 million, following nearly $1 million in grants in prior years. 5 The S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation granted $2 million between 2014 and 2018,6 the Rockefeller Foundation granted $300,000 in 2015, 7 the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation granted $225,000 between 2017 and 2018,8 and the Gates Family Foundation granted $50,000 in 2016. 9

People

Sam Tucker is the director of CRSC. Tucker formerly worked as senior advisor for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and as a consultant to environmental foundations like the Hewlett Foundation, the Moore Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy. Tucker formerly managed various environmental grantmaking portfolios for the Wilburforce Foundation and formerly served as a program associate at the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity (now the Biodiversity Funders Group). 10

Anne Kalmer Cainion is the program manager of CRSC. Cainion formerly worked as the interim Executive Director for TEMPO Milwaukee and the manager of board relations and special projects at the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment. Cainion formerly managed the legacy gifts program at the African Wildlife Foundation and served at the Office of Investigations, Compliance and Ethics of the American Red Cross. 11

Tanya Trujillo is the Lower Basin project director for CRSC and is the former executive director of the Colorado River Board of California. Trujillo formerly worked for the Department of the Interior as both Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science and as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Trujillo currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission. 12

Meredith Brown is the communications project manager for CRSC. Brown formerly worked for Oceana and The Nature Conservancy. 13

References

  1. “The Organization.” Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Accessed March 12, 2020. https://www.rivercampaign.org/.
  2. “Grants Database.” Walton Family Foundation, 2020. Accessed May 9, 2020. https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/grants-database.
  3. SD Bechtel Jr Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2014-2018, Part XV, Line 3.
  4. Jacobs, Jeremy P. “Secretive ‘harbor master’ steers Colorado River campaign.” E&E News, April 18, 2019. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.eenews.net/special_reports/rollback_river/stories/1060178099.
  5. “Grants Database.” Walton Family Foundation, 2020. Accessed May 9, 2020. https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/grants-database.
  6. SD Bechtel Jr Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2014-2018, Part XV, Line 3.
  7. “2015 Grantees.” Rockefeller Foundation, 2020. Accessed May 9, 2020. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/2015-grantees/.
  8. “Grants: Colorado River Sustainability Campaign.” William + Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2020. Accessed May 9, 2020. https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=Colorado%20River%20Sustainability%20Campaign%20&sort=relevance&current_page=1.
  9. “New Venture Fund.” Gates Family Foundation, 2020. Accessed May 9, 2020. https://gatesfamilyfoundation.org/grant/new-venture-fund/.
  10. “The Team.” Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Accessed May 9, 2020.  https://www.rivercampaign.org/the-team.
  11. “The Team.” Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Accessed May 9, 2020.  https://www.rivercampaign.org/the-team.
  12. “The Team.” Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Accessed May 9, 2020.  https://www.rivercampaign.org/the-team.
  13. “The Team.” Colorado River Sustainability Campaign. Accessed May 9, 2020.  https://www.rivercampaign.org/the-team.
  See an error? Let us know!

Colorado Sustainability Campaign


Denver, CO