Thrive in 2025 – Building a Better Future Together
2024 brought us real wins. Our local elections and policy climate initiatives, our Forest Defense and Fossil Fuel Resistance Campaigns–all proof that people power WORKS. But it’s also stretched us thin. The reality is, doing this work takes resources we don’t always have. We’re in a moment where we need to catch our breath, refill the tank, and get ready to go even harder in 2025.
Funding from folks like you is what keeps us nimble, grounded, and true to our values. We can focus on the work, and stress less about securing grants and funding in an ever-shifting landscape of philanthropy. Your support lets us act quickly when opportunities arise, stand our ground when things get tough, and dream big about what’s possible.
We’re asking you to invest in a movement that’s about all of us—our communities, our planet, and the future we refuse to give up on.
Thanks to our community, this year saw incredible gains across all 350PDX campaigns (there’s a lot to read, because there are a lot of wins)!
Climate Justice Policy:
Local Election Success! 350PDX brought climate justice into this exciting transition year in Portland’s election and governance restructure. By co-hosting environmental and climate justice tours and info sessions around shade equity, the CEI hub, Portland Harbor, PCEF, and freeways, we educated dozens of local candidates and many more community members. 26 candidates and hundreds of voters attended district-based candidate forums and 59 candidates provided statements for the Climate Justice Voter Guide. Ten of the new members of City Council and the Mayor-elect are committed to strong climate justice policies!
State Legislative Win: In the 2024 legislative session, the 350PDX-initiated Divest Oregon Coalition led the way to passing the COAL Act (Clean Oregon Assets Legislation, which removes coal from the Treasury’s investments), making Oregon the third state to pass a fossil fuel divestment bill.
Forest Defense
All three campaign areas had significant victories this year.
State Forests: In a huge win for our team’s inaugural campaign, the Oregon Board of Forestry approved a 70-year Habitat Conservation Plan for State Forests in the Coast Range. This HCP will protect half of all the western state forests as habitat for threatened species!
Urban Shade Equity: 350PDX led the Portland Shade Equity Coalition to a victory 144 years in the making, when the City finally approved $65 million to maintain street trees, and another $40 million to plant more trees – focusing on low canopy neighborhoods. We also hosted four shade equity socials to connect the urban forest and climate community, including a very well-attended Pedalpalooza ride, and helped pass permanent protections for large trees in Portland.
Stopping False Climate Solutions: A year of public education and advocacy about the false solution of logging forests for industrial biomass energy has helped stall the proposed Drax biomass pellet export plant in Washington state. We haven’t won yet, but our team’s efforts mean a lot more people have joined the fight to Ax Drax!
Fossil Fuel Resistance
Stopping Zenith Energy: This was a BIG year in a years-long campaign to stop the expansion of Zenith’s dangerous fuel trains. We built a mass movement, made the Stop Zenith campaign a major issue for the local city elections (by asking pointed questions along the campaign trail and hosting candidates on multiple tours of the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub and the Zenith facility), and are confident that the newly-elected City Council will respond to community concerns. On the state level, we persistently engaged in Zenith’s application for an air pollution permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which led DEQ to pause the public comment period and further investigate Zenith’s illegal activity. While not a full victory, it’s an encouraging sign that regulators are listening and taking our concerns seriously, and a testament to the power of community organizing!
Justice in the CEI Hub: With our partners, we hosted seven “Rumble on the River” community forums aimed at educating the public on issues related to the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub and are working to make it safer for the river and all its residents.
Utility Justice: We launched a national Utility Justice campaign with People’s Action and other 350 groups, focused on building people power advocating for democratized utilities with affordable energy access. We’re partnering with 350 Deschutes to urge Cascade Natural Gas to end its contract with the GTN Xpress project, and held an action at a middle school in Bend along the route of the pipeline expansion project.
Arts Team + Climate Justice Workshop
In early 2024, the amazing 350PDX Arts Team moved into, and beautifully decorated, our Climate Justice Workshop leading to a year of art and revolution. From its monthly art build in collaboration with Extinction Rebellion, to creating signs and banners for our campaigns to hosting a public talk and workshop with a famous social justice puppet maker – the Arts Team is the creative heart of Portland’s climate justice movement.
We’re also excited to announce the revival of Climate Odyssey, a program to support the very heart of our movement: our people. With a focus on nurturing individual resilience and building a network of empowered activists, Climate Odyssey offers transformative tools for those working at the front lines of climate justice.
Supporters, volunteers, and dedicated staff made each of these milestones possible. But, as proud as we are about these wins, we’re equally aware of the challenges ahead.
This is a critical juncture in our country’s history; 350PDX is well poised to keep building on our local wins with the new city leadership while also fighting hard on a regional and national level. It will take all of us, giving all we can, to avoid the worst-case climate scenarios.
Building Resilience for the Road Ahead
350PDX is a movement-based organization with roots deep in the community and a tireless focus on climate justice. Our type of volunteer-based, radical advocacy is hard to fund through traditional foundation grants and we rely on donations from our community to ensure financial resilience. Your support during this pivotal moment means that we can grow this work with the urgency and vision it demands.
As we look to 2025, building a strong, engaged community of donors and volunteers is more important than ever. You are an important part of 350PDX’s successes—protecting forests, advancing just climate policies, and standing firm against fossil fuel expansion, all while building resilient communities to meet the growing challenges. By giving to the Thrive in 2025 fundraising campaign, you do more than fund an organization. You grow a movement. Every contribution—no matter how large—directly supports work to protect our planet and empowers us all to build a sustainable, resilient future.
As we enter an unknown future, let’s stand together to face these challenges head-on, nurture our community, and work toward a climate just future where we all thrive. Thanks for being part of this movement—one we believe will make a lasting difference in the lives of people and the planet we’re all fighting for.
Onward,
The 350PDX Team
Brenna, Cherice, Denise, Dineen, Irene, Jessica, and Katie
