We Have An Announcement!

As we look towards Giving Tuesday tomorrow, we have an announcement!

Clean Air Council is forming a sister organization!

We are sure that you have some questions, so we’ll dive right in and try to answer some of the big ones.

First, the sister group will be called Clean Air Action Fund, and it will be a 501(c)(4) organization. That means the organization will be able to conduct more substantial advocacy and outreach efforts on behalf of causes near and dear to Clean Air Council’s mission, while also holding elected officials more directly accountable. Clean Air Action Fund will also be a charitable organization like Clean Air Council, but – big difference – donations to the 501(c)(4) will not be tax-deductible.

The obvious questions are: “Why are you doing this?” and “Why now?”.

Clean Air Council has always done a great job of holding elected officials accountable for what they say and do, but, as a 501(c)(3) organization, the tools available to the Council are limited by federal tax law. We believe that the time has come to put on a full court press to push elected officials and those running for office to strongly protect public health and the environment. The creation of the Clean Air Action Fund allows us to do a better job of truly protecting your right to clean air and a healthy environment.

But still, “why now?” Well, direct political activity and accountability is becoming increasingly important to our efforts to achieve the results Pennsylvania’s environment needs. 2020 is going to be a profound year that shapes the future of the commonwealth and the country. Environmental protection at the local, state and federal level is at stake in an unprecedented way. Clean Air Action Fund will give you a seat at the table when critical environmental policy decisions are made. Together with Clean Air Council, these two organizations will be best positioned to hold elected officials and polluters accountable and give Pennsylvania residents a voice in new and profound ways.

We will publish more details of our plan for the Clean Air Action Fund in 2020 but for now, please know that all dollars raised during Giving Tuesday – and during the entirety of our year-end fundraising – will go to Clean Air Council as they always have. Funding for Clean Air Action Fund will be handled separately by the new organization itself. We hope that you will join us on this new chapter of the Council’s history in 2020. Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, and I hope that, among all the organizations filling your inbox this time of year, you will choose to support Clean Air Council, especially as we continue the fight for clean air and a healthy environment into 2020!