The ClimateMusic Project is a left-of-center environmental advocacy group fiscally sponsored by the Social Good Fund, a left-of-center funding organization that sponsors several advocacy groups with an emphasis on environmentalism. The project specifically focuses on using musical performances and compositions to urge environmentalist activism. The project was founded by Stephan Crawford, a San Francisco artist and former official with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service, who retired from the federal government to lead the project full-time. Performances and exhibitions from the project include musical compositions paired with information and infographics regarding climate change that have been performed at various performing arts centers, mostly in the San Francisco Bay area. ^{1 2}

Funders of the project include The Gratz Charitable Fund, the Lehmann and Quirk Family Foundation, and the Philip and Sally Kipper Charitable Fund. ³

Background and Activity

The ClimateMusic Project was founded by Stephan Crawford in 2014 based upon the idea that, in Crawford’s words, “climate change expressed through music can move people to action” stating further that “global warming is an urgent problem for everyone, yet only a tiny fraction of people take action against it.” Crawford developed a small pilot event in 2014 that gathered scientists, composers, and musicians to compose a “musical piece that depicted climate change.” ⁴

Following the perceived success of his pilot event, Crawford established the ClimateMusic Project as a nonprofit project fiscally sponsored by the Social Good Fund in 2015. One of the first releases from the new organization was a music video titled “Climate” which “depicts year-to-year shifts in carbon dioxide concentrations and atmospheric temperature graphically, in charts, with a music accompaniment, spanning from the early 1900s up to the year 2250. As global warming progresses, the images become increasingly tumultuous and the music intensifies. ⁵

The project has since stated goals to broaden its scope to schools, museums, and public spaces. The group operates an ongoing collaboration with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where the group works with students at the conservatory over the course of the semester to “provide an opportunity for the students to engage on climate change through their music.” ⁶

Another performance piece from the project is titled “Icarus in Flight” and, similar to other performances by the group, pairs music with visuals about climate change to urge environmental activism. The performance has been exhibited at TechMuseum of Innovation in Silicon Valley, the University of Bordeaux in France, and the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. ⁷

Social Good Fund

The ClimateMusic Project is a fiscally sponsored project of the Social Good Fund, a left-of-center nonprofit organization and donor-advised fund provider that fiscal sponsors numerous activist organizations, including Climate Disobedience Center and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. ⁸

Funding

Listed funders of the ClimateMusic Project include the Gratz Charitable Fund, the Lehmann and Quirk Family Foundation, the Philip and Sally Kipper Charitable Fund, the Saunders Family Charitable Trust, and the Yerba Buena Lodge No. 15 Independent Order of Odd Fellows. ⁹

Leadership

The ClimateMusic Project is led by its founder, Stephan Crawford. Crawford is an artist who was the director of the United States Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service  office in San Francisco. Crawford had additional assignments in Europe and Latin America. He retired from the federal government in 2017 to focus full-time on the ClimateMusic Project. ¹⁰

1. “Climate Music Project.” Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). https://www.gfdrr.org/en/node/10399
2. “What We Do.” ClimateMusic Project. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://climatemusic.org/what-we-do/
3. “Support.” ClimateMusic Project. Accessed March 15, 2024.  https://climatemusic.org/support/
4. ^[1] Crawford, Stephan. “Music Can Help Save the Planet. (Part 2).” Yamaha. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://www.yamaha.com/en/inspired/018/
5. Crawford, Stephan. “Music Can Help Save the Planet. (Part 2).” Yamaha. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://www.yamaha.com/en/inspired/018/
6. Crawford, Stephan. “Music Can Help Save the Planet. (Part 2).” Yamaha. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://www.yamaha.com/en/inspired/018/
7. “Climate Music Project.” Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). https://www.gfdrr.org/en/node/10399
8. “Current Projects.” SocialGood, February 13, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/
9. “Support.” ClimateMusic Project. Accessed March 15, 2024.  https://climatemusic.org/support/
10. “Who We Are.” ClimateMusic Project. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://climatemusic.org/who-we-are/