Not to be confused with the similarly named super PAC NextGen Climate Action Committee
Also see Steyer Network
NextGen Climate Action is the 501(c)(4) organization arm of NextGen America, a 501(c)(3), and the super PAC NextGen Climate America, environmentalist organizations based in San Francisco, California. Together they support environmentalist candidates, organize attack campaigns, and mobilize environmentalist-minded voters to take action by calling Congressmen and organizing and supporting protests. 1
NextGen Climate Action was founded in 2013 by billionaire Tom Steyer, who retired in 2012 after making his fortune as the founder of Farallon Capital, L.C.C., a San Francisco based investment firm managing the capital of universities, endowments, and high-net-worth individuals. 2
Background
In 2010, Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor signed onto the Giving Pledge of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, agreeing they would gift half of their wealth to charity during their lifetime. 3
Steyer joined the board of the now defunct Center for the Next Generation in 2011. The group was co-founded by his brother, Jim Steyer, and supported environmental and children’s issues through nonpartisan research, policy development, and strategic communications. 4 In 2013, Steyer created NextGen Climate as a more political spinoff of the original organization.
While Steyer has been critical of Democrats less supportive of environmentalist policies to combat carbon emissions, he and NextGen Climate aim almost all of their work against Republicans. 5
Election Cycle Activity
In 2013, NextGen Climate Action began its work by spending $8 million on TV and digital ads to support then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) and more than $1 million to elect Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey to the Senate. 67
During the 2014 election cycle, the group spent $74,032,090 (nearly $67 million of which was funded by the Steyers alone). 8 The group’s efforts focused on six races—the Senate contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and Colorado, and the governor’s races in Maine and Florida. Led by Chief Strategist Chris Lehan, the group’s goal was to “be on the offensive as much as possible” to force Republicans and conservatives to react. Creative measures included rolling fake barrels of oil into New Hampshire to criticize then-Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown and towing an ark around Florida to criticize Gov. Rick Scott (R). 9
During the 2016 election cycle, NextGen Climate Action spent $96,036,921. During that cycle, the group made seven endorsements of Democratic candidates, among them Hillary Clinton for President; Tammy Duckworth for U.S. Senate in Illinois, Catherine Cortez Masto for U.S. Senate in Nevada, Maggie Hassan for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, Deborah Ross for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, Ted Strickland for U.S. Senate in Ohio, Katie McGinty for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, and Roy Cooper for the Governor of North Carolina. 10
In addition to supporting candidates and campaigning against Republicans, NextGen Climate Action also spent more than $25 million in polling, advertising, and canvassing to encouraging millennials to vote. According to NextGen Climate PA state director Pat Millham, the group choose to make that investment because “Polling has consistently shown that millennials are more likely to support a candidate who will make addressing climate change a top priority, and NextGen Climate PA is proud to play a role in ensuring young people’s voices are heard at the ballot box in November.” 11
2018 Voter Mobilization Strategy
Also see NextGen Rising (Nonprofit)
On August 9, 2018, representatives from NextGen Rising and NextGen Climate Action held a brief phone call to discuss strategy and goals ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Jeremiah Chapman, Erin Carhart, Ben Wessel, and Tom Steyer were present and spoke on the call.
The representatives revealed that NextGen Rising’s targets for the election include 33 House of Representatives races, 7 U.S. Senate races, and 8 gubernatorial races. Its voter mobilization goal was to register 100,000 voters by the election (75,000 by November 6, 2018), particularly college students and new voters under 35 years of age. To accomplish this, NextGen sought 15,000 volunteers nationwide. 12
Funding
Financial Overview
A financial overview of NextGen Climate Action is available below: 13
| NextGen Climate Action Financial Overview | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total Revenues | Total Expenditures | Grants Paid | Net Assets |
| 2018 | $54,429,597 | $54,021,825 | $40,111,080 | $1,371,865 |
| 2017 | $19,554,050 | $21,825,497 | $4,261,703 | $964,093 |
| 2016 | $44,513,192 | $43,593,250 | $8,535,072 | $3,235,540 |
| 2015 | $23,540,347 | $24,595,257 | $3,636,500 | $2,315,598 |
| 2014 | $13,330,873 | $10,991,653 | $458,000 | $3,370,508 |
| 2013 | $6,269,186 | $5,237,899 | $60,000 | $1,031,287 |
| Total: | $161,637,245 | $160,265,381 | $57,062,355 | |
Grants from NextGen Climate Action
The following are grants from NextGen Climate Action between 2014 and 2018: 14
| Grant Recipient | Year | Amount | Grant Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| America Votes | 2018 | $688,493 | Social pressure voter mail program |
| Americans for Immigrant Justice | 2018 | $225,000 | Legal services to immigrants |
| CAIR Foundation | 2018 | $10,000 | General support |
| California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation | 2018 | $150,000 | Legal services to clients in Central Valley and other rural communities |
| Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids | 2018 | $10,000 | 2018 Gala |
| CASA in Action | 2018 | $10,000 | Justice award night diamond sponsorship |
| Center for Community Change Action | 2018 | $10,000 | General support |
| Civic Nation | 2018 | $10,000 | United States women summit |
| Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona | 2018 | $22,606,000 | General support |
| Clean Energy Healthy Michigan | 2018 | $4,152,610 | General support |
| Community Initiatives | 2018 | $200,000 | Legal services to immigrant clients in Central Valley and other rural California communities |
| Community Partners for IAM 2018 | 2018 | $50,000 | Youth organizing |
| Community Water Center Action Fund | 2018 | $100,000 | Lobbying and organizing work |
| Demos | 2018 | $10,000 | General support |
| East Bay Community Law Center | 2018 | $285,000 | General support |
| Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund | 2018 | $10,000 | Village support at GACS |
| Immigrant Legal Resource Center | 2018 | $300,000 | New Americans campaign project |
| Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law | 2018 | $10,000 | Election protection webinar trainings |
| NAACP | 2018 | $35,000 | General support |
| Netroots Nation | 2018 | $25,000 | Event |
| Nevadans for a Clean Energy Future | 2018 | $10,024,000 | General support |
| Nevadans for Secure Elections | 2018 | $100,000 | Support auto voter registration petition |
| PICO Action Fund | 2018 | $120,000 | Legislative advocacy & community organizing |
| Progressive Caucus Center | 2018 | $10,000 | Progressive Caucus Summit |
| Sixteen Thirty Fund | 2018 | $128,000 | The townhall project |
| Partnership Project Action Fund | 2018 | $150,000 | General support |
| Tides Advocacy Fund | 2018 | $393,750 | General support |
| Washington Conservation Voters | 2018 | $85,000 | Grassroots lobbying program in WA state |
| Wellstone Action | 2018 | $10,000 | General support |
| Western Conservation Action | 2018 | $175,000 | General support |
| American Immigration Council | 2017 | $330,215 | Immigration justice campaign |
| Anti-Recidivism Coalition | 2017 | $25,000 | Event - concert imagine justice |
| Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus | 2017 | $150,000 | Underserved communities in immigrant rights protections |
| Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation | 2017 | $92,400 | Voter registration |
| Ballot Initiative Strategy Center | 2017 | $10,000 | General support |
| CAIR Foundation | 2017 | $225,000 | General support |
| California Calls Education Fund | 2017 | $99,000 | Voter registration - African American Civic Engagement Project |
| California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation | 2017 | $120,000 | Legal services to clients in Central Valley and other rural communities |
| CALPIRG Education Fund | 2017 | $100,000 | Voter registration |
| Center for Community Change Action | 2017 | $544,000 | General support |
| CHIRLA | 2017 | $25,000 | General support |
| Civic Empowerment Coalition | 2017 | $100,000 | Voter registration - only paid personnel portion of the program |
| Community Water Center | 2017 | $92,500 | Lobbying and organizing work |
| Courage Campaign | 2017 | $14,500 | General support |
| Equality California | 2017 | $160,000 | Event - awards |
| Good Samaritan Family Resource Center | 2017 | $25,000 | Good Samaritan night at Pixar Animation Studios |
| Housing Long Beach | 2017 | $114,750 | Voter registration |
| ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability USA | 2017 | $10,000 | General support |
| LA Voice | 2017 | $65,000 | Voter registration |
| Mission Edge San Diego | 2017 | $83,225 | Voter registration |
| MoveOn.org Civic Action | 2017 | $50,000 | Video production |
| Native American Voters Alliance Education Project | 2017 | $137,000 | General support |
| Netroots Nation | 2017 | $25,000 | Event |
| Orange County Voter Information Project | 2017 | $150,000 | Voter registration and civil engagement program |
| Organization of Chinese-Americans - Greater LA (OCA-GLA) | 2017 | $90,000 | Voter engagement grant |
| People for the American Way Foundation | 2017 | $31,000 | General support of young elected officials network convening in San Francisco in July 2017 |
| PICO National Network | 2017 | $29,400 | General support - strategy to win SB10 |
| PolicyLink | 2017 | $300,000 | General support |
| Renew Oregon Action Fund | 2017 | $125,000 | General support |
| Sacramento Central Labor Council | 2017 | $128,000 | Voter registration |
| San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council | 2017 | $7,500 | Event - awards |
| SIREN | 2017 | $135,000 | National day of action 1/14/17 |
| Social Good Fund | 2017 | $6,000 | Women's March 1/21/17 |
| Somali Bantu Association of America | 2017 | $20,000 | Voter registration |
| Partnership Project Action Fund | 2017 | $150,000 | General support of activities in regard climate action campaign for 2017 |
| Tides Center | 2017 | $50,000 | Voter registration |
| Town Hall Project | 2017 | $40,000 | General support |
| UC Hastings Foundation | 2017 | $120,000 | Center for Gender & Refugee Studies |
| UFW Foundation | 2017 | $158,888 | General support |
| Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment | 2016 | $317,694 | General support |
| Asian Pacific Environmentl Network (APEN) | 2016 | $166,469 | Voter registration |
| Asian Youth Center | 2016 | $10,000 | Voter registration |
| Audubon California | 2016 | $25,000 | General support |
| BAPAC | 2016 | $77,000 | Voter registration |
| Bus Federation Action Fund | 2016 | $40,000 | 2017 Youth Organizing Summit |
| Business Forward | 2016 | $77,000 | General support |
| California Calls Education Fund | 2016 | $817,711 | Voter registration |
| California League of Conservation Voters | 2016 | $50,000 | General support of non-electoral activities |
| California Planned Parenthood Education Fund | 2016 | $160,867 | Voter registration |
| California State Conference of the NAACP | 2016 | $43,424 | Voter registration |
| CALPIRG Education Fund | 2016 | $65,000 | Voter registration |
| CCAEJ | 2016 | $72,208 | Voter registration |
| Center for American Progress | 2016 | $20,000 | General support |
| CHIRLA | 2016 | $255,591 | Voter registration |
| Civic Empowerment Coalition | 2016 | $288,941 | Voter registration |
| ColorofChange.org | 2016 | $40,000 | General support |
| Community Water Center | 2016 | $112,719 | Voter registration |
| Environmental Defense Action Fund (EDAF) | 2016 | $54,000 | General support |
| Equality California | 2016 | $77,700 | Voter registration |
| Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund | 2016 | $603,700 | Voter registration |
| Korean American Coalition | 2016 | $20,000 | Voter registration |
| Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance | 2016 | $24,000 | Voter registration |
| Latino Leaders Network | 2016 | $60,000 | Co-sponsor of Latino Leaders Convention |
| Mission Edge San Diego | 2016 | $13,000 | Voter registration |
| Mobilize the Immigrant Vote | 2016 | $356,763 | Voter registration |
| Native American Youth and Family Center | 2016 | $155,793 | General support |
| OCA-GLA | 2016 | $10,000 | Voter registration |
| Orange County Voter Information Project | 2016 | $99,576 | Voter registration |
| PICO National Network | 2016 | $746,711 | General support + voter registration |
| Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County | 2016 | $73,260 | Voter registration |
| Pueblo y Salud | 2016 | $42,368 | LULAC voter registration |
| SCOPE | 2016 | $45,000 | Voter registration |
| Sierra Club | 2016 | $250,000 | General support |
| Southern Christian Leadership Conference | 2016 | $44,000 | Voter registration |
| Special Needs Network | 2016 | $50,000 | Voter registration |
| Todec Legal Center Perris | 2016 | $132,402 | Voter registration |
| United Latinos | 2016 | $127,760 | Voter registration |
| Voter Registration Project | 2016 | $500,000 | Voter registration |
| VoteVets Action Fund | 2016 | $15,000 | General support |
| Women's Voices Women Vote Action Fund | 2016 | $2,381,477 | Mailings to voters in California |
| 350.org Action Fund | 2015 | $15,000 | General support |
| Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment | 2015 | $50,000 | General support |
| America Works USA | 2015 | $250,000 | General support |
| American Family Voices | 2015 | $18,000 | General support |
| Americas for the Arts | 2015 | $18,500 | General support |
| APEN Action | 2015 | $75,000 | General support |
| Business Forward | 2015 | $75,000 | General support |
| California League of Conservation Voters | 2015 | $210,000 | General support |
| Campaign for America's Future | 2015 | $250,000 | General support |
| Catholic Rural Life | 2015 | $20,000 | General support |
| CBE Action: A Project of the Advocacy Fund | 2015 | $100,000 | General support |
| Center for American Progress | 2015 | $25,000 | General support |
| Center for National Policy | 2015 | $6,000 | General support |
| Citizen Engagement Laboratory | 2015 | $31,000 | General support |
| Clean Water Action | 2015 | $37,000 | General support |
| ColorofChange.org | 2015 | $125,000 | General support |
| Consumer Watchdog | 2015 | $180,000 | General support |
| Courage Campaign | 2015 | $71,000 | General support |
| Dakota Rural Action | 2015 | $48,000 | General support |
| Earth Day Network | 2015 | $15,000 | General support |
| Emerge America | 2015 | $45,000 | General support |
| Indigenous Environmental Network | 2015 | $30,000 | General support |
| Iowa State University Foundation | 2015 | $35,000 | Climate change research |
| Nebraska Easement Action Team (NEAT) | 2015 | $20,000 | Keystone XL Pipeline |
| NETWORK | 2015 | $75,000 | General support |
| NRDC Action Fund | 2015 | $29,000 | General support |
| Oregon League of Conservation Voters | 2015 | $90,000 | General support |
| People for the American Way Foundation | 2015 | $225,000 | Environmental policy academy |
| PICO National Network | 2015 | $25,000 | Environmental justice education |
| ProgressNow Colorado | 2015 | $25,000 | General support |
| Rebuild the Dream | 2015 | $300,000 | Clean energy campaign |
| Reverb | 2015 | $175,000 | Concert series |
| Sierra Club | 2015 | $60,000 | General support |
| Sierra Club Foundation | 2015 | $40,000 | General support |
| Small Business Majority Foundation | 2015 | $25,000 | Energy & climate - California |
| Sojourners | 2015 | $15,000 | General support |
| Tides Advocacy Fund | 2015 | $100,000 | General support |
| The Alliance | 2015 | $80,000 | General support |
| The Bus Project | 2015 | $25,000 | General support |
| The Jordan Institute | 2015 | $50,000 | Energy efficiency campaign |
| Virginia League of Conservation Voters | 2015 | $25,000 | Clean power plan |
| VoteVets.org | 2015 | $20,000 | Energy & climate - California |
| Washington Conservation Voters | 2015 | $15,000 | General support |
| Working Families Organization | 2015 | $245,000 | General support |
| California Calls Action Fund | 2014 | $50,000 | General support |
| Cause Action Fund | 2014 | $25,000 | General support |
| Environmental Health & Justice Campaign | 2014 | $50,000 | General support |
| League of Conservation Voters | 2014 | $260,000 | General support |
| Mi Familia Vota Education Fund | 2014 | $35,000 | General support |
| PICO Action Fund | 2014 | $25,000 | General support |
| Grand Total: | $56,591,865 |
References
- ”About Us — NextGen Climate.” NextGen Climate. Accessed May 16, 2017. https://nextgenclimate.org/about-us/.
- Lashinsky, Adam. “California’s Hedge Fund King.” Fortune , September 22, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2017. http://archive.fortune.com/2008/09/17/news/newsmakers/lashinsky_steyer.fortune/index.htm.
- “Tom Steyer Biography – Founder, NextGen Climate.” NextGen Climate. Accessed May 16, 2017. https://nextgenclimate.org/about-us/tom-steyer/.
- Strom, Stephanie. “Hedge Fund Chief Takes Major Role in Philanthropy.” New York Times, September 15, 2011. Accessed May 12, 2017.
- Confessore, Nicholas. “Financier Plans Big Ad Campaign on Climate Change.” New York Times, February 17, 14. Accessed May 12, 17. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/us/politics/financier-plans-big-ad-campaign-on-environment.html?_r=1.
- Burns, Alexander. “Dem groups gang up on Cuccinelli.” Politico, November 4, 13. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/ken-cuccinelli-virginia-governor-2013-democrats-099255?o=0.
- Restuccia, Andrew. “Billionaire’s Super PAC on Offense.” Politico, May 24, 2013. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/tom-steyer-super-pac-massachusetts-091836.
- “The Center for Responsive Politics.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed May 10, 2017. https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00547349&cycle=2014.
- Sheppard, Kate. “Tom Steyer’s Green Super-PAC Has Spent a LOT of Money on This Election.” Mother Jones, October 1, 2014. Accessed May 10, 2017. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/tom-steyer-climate-change-superpac-2014-midterms.
- ”NextGen Climate Endorsements — NextGen Climate.” NextGen Climate. October 20, 2016. Accessed May 12, 2017. https://nextgenclimate.org/blog/elections/nextgen-climate-endorsements/.
- Stamm, Dan. “Climate Action Group NextGen PA Registers 80,000 College Students to Vote.” NBC 10 Philadelphia, October 10, 2016. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Millennial-Voters-Trump-Clinton-Pennsylvania-NextGen-396976091.html.
- NextGen Rising/NextGen Climate Action Phone Call (recording). August 9, 2018. https://www.influencewatch.org/nextgen-national-call-audio-08-09-2018
- Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NextGen Climate Action. 2013-2018. Part I.
- Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NextGen Climate Action. 2014-2018. Schedule I.