Sponsor Alumni

Anacortes Center for Happiness – Happiness Sprinkling Project

The Happiness Sprinkling Project is a grassroots movement to spread joy, kindness, and happiness. People gather in their communities wearing bright yellow and holding signs with encouraging messages for passersby like “You Have Enough,” “Life Is Good,” and “You Are The Good News.”

The Anacortes Center for Happiness is one of the first social purpose corporations based in Washington State. Its mission is to “provide joy, growth, connection and kindness to its patrons and anyone associated with it, as well as to the local, state, national and world community.” The Center offers art classes, workshops, counseling, meditation, and is home to the Happiness Sprinkling Project.

Bank Climate Advocates

Bank Climate Advocates (BCA) was founded on April 20, 2022 to help combat climate change and its adverse effects through working to reform and improve the lending policies and practices of financial institutions. BCA is playing a critical and additive role in the fight to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as we are implementing a yet to be attempted strategic approach grounded in international law that holds great promise to achieve needed reform of financial institutions’ Greenhouse Gas assessment and mitigation requirements for projects they fund.

Biodiversity First!

The mission of Biodiversity First! is “to preserve and protect the wild lands and species upon which we depend for our own physical and spiritual survival.”

Biodiversity First! formed in response to shared concern over loss of the last remaining critical habitats and connective corridors used by a plethora of endangered species in our western desert and grasslands throughout North America. Segmentation caused by development in sensitive habitats has threatened the extinction of many of these species and has limited their ability to migrate.

Bright Ice

Bright Ice Initiative is a non-profit organization addressing some of the world’s most urgent climate problems in order to slow the devastating impacts of climate change. The transition to a lower greenhouse gas economy will take decades, which means that safe and ecologically respectful climate interventions are needed now to reduce catastrophic losses already being suffered from our warming climate. Bright Ice Initiative is focusing on codeveloping solutions to increase the reflectivity of glacial ice in regions of critical need, to slow its melting, and restore ice over time.

Carrizo Plain Conservancy

Carrizo Plain Conservancy is a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting and conserving the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Its mission is “creating conservation initiatives and facilitating on-going conservation and restoration efforts on the Carrizo Plain.” Carrizo Plain Conservancy received its tax-exempt status from the IRS and now accepts donations directly.

Climate Words

Our mission is to provide accessible climate education for everyone, focusing on climate language, by building a new online lexicon of climate words, terms and ideas, including associated texts, resources and images. New language is emerging  –and reemerging– with the growing challenges of the climate crisis. While new words, terms and ideas crystalize the solutions ahead, they can remain stuck in their respective niches. Our job is to document their evolving meaning in an informative, accessible and digestible format.

Face Masks for SLO County

Face Masks for SLO County consolidates face mask-making efforts in San Luis Obispo County and provides free community face mask distribution within the county.

Carrizo Plain Conservancy is a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting and conserving the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Its mission is “creating conservation initiatives and facilitating on-going conservation and restoration efforts on the Carrizo Plain.” Carrizo Plain Conservancy received its tax-exempt status from the IRS and now accepts donations directly.

Home Share SLO

HomeShare SLO is initiating a pilot program to test the concept and viability of a countywide homeshare program for San Luis Obispo County.

HomeShare SLO will help match people with an extra room in their homes with people who need a room. Homesharing provides affordable housing using existing home infrastructure, allows for aging in place, builds community and empowers community members.

HopeDance

Bob Banner’s purpose in publishing HopeDance online is to report on the outrageous, pioneering and inspiring activities of outstanding individuals and organizations who are creating a new world—regardless of their spiritual tradition or political agenda.

HopeDance’s intention is to help connect people to specific projects, individuals, and organizations for the benefit of the people, plants, animals and land in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties…and beyond.

Latino Outreach Council

We organize and promote programs and events that encourage diversity and inclusion of the Hispanic/Latino(a)/Latinx residents and workers of San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County. Such programs and events to include among other activities, festivals, educational forums, candidate debates, coordination and collaboration with the Mexican consulate to facilitate access to services for immigrants, collaborate with other diversity-oriented groups and other activities consistent with the mission of Latino Outreach Council and its efforts to build bridges between multi-cultures. https://latinooutreachcouncil.org/

Leadership SLO Class XXIV Alumni Group Photo

Leadership SLO Class XXIV Legacy Project

Leadership San Luis Obispo is a countywide program designed to bring participants out of their “comfort zones,” to make friendships, explore personal biases, and learn new leadership styles and ways of handling diversity in opinions and people.

Leadership SLO Class XXIV’s legacy project is to create plans to re-landscape the grounds around San Luis Obispo’s City Hall by removing the lawn and replacing it with drought tolerant and native plants. Their project includes an educational component to encourage the public to consider incorporating similar landscaping in their own yards.

Nipomo Action Committee

MISSION STATEMENT – The Nipomo Action Committee is a local non-profit, grassroots organization whose mission is to ensure projects are appropriate with compatible growth and consistent with the unique biodiversity and cultural heritage of this area now and for generations to come. NAC will accomplish this with Nipomo residents and stakeholders through public education, collaboration, canvassing and empowering residents to be heard.

VISION STATEMENT – NAC’s current efforts are to promote alternatives to the existing plan for the Dana Reserve Housing Development. NAC will only support alternative plans that protect and not destroy the oak woodlands and unique plants while maintaining Nipomo’s rural character in order to strike a balance between enhancing the quality of life for stakeholders, while offering appropriate, sustainable, housing and commercial growth.

Peace Academy of the Sciences and Arts

The Peace Academy of the Sciences and Arts is a program designed to create holistic, real-world experiences in an eco-friendly and robust learning environment with the most comprehensive standards in the sciences, humanities and the arts. The founders of the Peace Academy aspire to continue this program through 12th grade, graduating students who are global citizens, stewards of the environment, and peace leaders for our world.  

Poly Canyon Ventures

Poly Canyon Ventures (PCV) is a non-profit organization founded and managed by Cal Poly students. Its mission is (1) to help Cal Poly students learn about entrepreneurship and early-stage investing by embodying the college’s learn-by-doing philosophy; and (2) to promote socially and environmentally responsible business and investing practices across campus.

SLO Climate Coalition

The SLO Climate Coalition is a group of concerned individuals, businesspeople, and families who are leveraging the community’s expertise, creativity and resources in order to accelerate the region’s efforts to become carbon free.

SLO Guild Hall

SLO Guild Hall has a mission to be sustainable in regard to water harvesting, ground water aquifer recharge, passive conditioning of our hall, 100% electrical generation on site and appropriate landscape design. SLO Guild Hall Sustainability was formed to support efforts to upgrade the SLO Guild Hall to meet these sustainability goals.

SLO Review

SLO Review is an online connection to arts and culture for the San Luis Obispo County, California, community. Endeavoring to be an eloquent, innovative, and fertile nexus for residents to engage, discuss, and promote the arts, SLO Review publishes feature articles covering creative areas of interest, reviews of local productions and exhibits, commentary on creative expressions of art and culture, a scheduling calendar for arts organizations, and opportunities for everyone to explore their personal relationship with the arts.

SLO350.org Logo

SLO350.ORG

SLO350.org is part of the 350.org global movement to combat climate change. SLO350.org is building a grassroots campaign in San Luis Obispo, CA to bring awareness and inspire action on a local, statewide and national level to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to safe levels and get off fossil fuels.

South SLO County Womenade

SoSLOCoWomenade is a community of people that donates money, food, clothing, time, money and other items to meet essential needs in South SLO County. Referrals come from schools, medical professionals, county health departments and organizations such as the many Family Resource Centers and CAPSLO.  Funds raised through quarterly potlucks in south SLO county are used to fulfill the needs in our county that are not being met. The community also donates primarily used items requested by agencies.

Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District

The Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District (US-LT RCD) formed in 1951 to provide technical assistance, education and resources to assist agricultural, rural, and urban communities to preserve soil, water, air, plants, and animals while supporting sustainable land productivity in greater San Luis Obispo County and parts of Kern and Monterey Counties.

Where Once There Was Water

Where There Once Was Water” is a feature-length documentary film about the California water crisis, focusing on ecological solutions and holistic management approaches to restoring and repairing our broken water cycle. Directed by local photographer & filmmaker Brittany App, this film takes a deep dive into Indigenous knowledge around the sacredness of water, contrasted with our prevalent out-of-sight-out-of-mind approach to interacting with our water here in the United States.  California is used as a case study for discussing water scarcity issues worldwide, and solutions are presented that may help us avoid a global catastrophe.  But the call to action is clear… If we want a future in which there is clean water for all life, we must act.  And we must act now.

Youth Philanthropy Connect

Youth Philanthropy Connect is a youth-led way for young people involved in philanthropic work to connect and learn through a peer network.

This program connects youth boards with their peers and colleagues, and provides educational programs and peer networks that advance youth involvement in philanthropy and develop the personal and professional skills of the next generation of philanthropic leaders.