Citizen's Climate Lobby

What Citizen's Climate Lobby does

Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2007 by Marshall Saunders and headquartered in Coronado, California. CCL trains and mobilizes nearly 200,000 supporters across more than 560 chapters in the United States, Canada, Australia, and multiple European countries to lobby elected officials for federal climate legislation. Its core operating model is volunteer-driven, in-district constituent engagement with members of Congress and equivalent legislators, augmented by policy research and annual conference programming. The organization is led by Executive Director Ricky Bradley, with Bill Blancato as Board Chair.

CCL's core product is a structured political advocacy methodology delivered through chapter-based training and the CCL Community digital platform used for chapter coordination, volunteer onboarding, and campaign execution. The organization does not build proprietary AI/ML or deep-tech systems; its technology footprint consists of standard community, CRM, and communications tooling that supports the volunteer pipeline rather than producing a saleable product. Revenue is derived entirely from contributions and event income rather than fees for service: 90% from individual donors, 6% from foundations, and 4% from conference revenue, supporting a 2026 operating budget of $776,599 for the 501(c)(4) entity.

CCL operates in close coordination with its 501(c)(3) sister organization, Citizens' Climate Education (CCE), which conducts education, training, and outreach activities and operates with a substantially higher budget than CCL. The dual-entity structure is the legal foundation of CCL's go-to-market: CCL handles direct lobbying under 501(c)(4) rules while CCE handles education and research under 501(c)(3), giving the combined operation a broader surface for climate-advocacy engagement than the 501(c)(4) entity alone could legally execute.

Name

Citizen's Climate Lobby

Legal name

Citizens' Climate Lobby

Website

https://citizensclimatelobby.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that trains nearly 200,000 supporters across 560+ chapters in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe to lobby elected officials for federal climate legislation, operating alongside its 501(c)(3) sister organization Citizens' Climate Education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Policy, Advocacy & Litigation (BPAGAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH), Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA), Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK), Environment, Climate & Sustainability Congresses (THAHAJAH)

Keywords

• Climate policy advocacy
• Grassroots lobbying
• Nonpartisan advocacy
• Volunteer mobilization
• Citizen climate lobbying

Headquarters

HQ city

Coronado

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The majority of CCL's funding comes from individual donors. From 2023-2024, individual donations accounted for approximately 90% of total funding.
2. Foundation Grants: Foundation grants represent approximately 6% of CCL's funding from 2023-2024.
3. Conference Revenue: Event and conference revenue accounts for approximately 4% of CCL's funding from 2023-2024.
4. Policy Note: CCL is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. Donations to CCL are not tax-deductible. The organization has a policy of declining all donations from fossil fuel companies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Citizens' Climate Lobby is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization that recruits, trains, and mobilizes ordinary citizens through a network of more than 560 local chapters to lobby Congress and build public support for bipartisan federal climate legislation. It delivers volunteer training, monthly national conference calls with expert speakers, an annual lobby day in Washington D.C., and ongoing grassroots campaigns to influence climate policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 216,288 calls and messages to Congress during the 118th Congress (2023-2024)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered foundational, historical, core, minor and regional.

• Results / RESULTS Educational FundfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCL's founder Marshall Saunders was inspired to start CCL after volunteering with RESULTS, an advocacy organization working on hunger and poverty. Through RESULTS, he discovered the power of organized citizen advocacy and the microcredit approach that he later applied to climate activism through Grameen de la Frontera.
• Grameen Bank / Muhammad YunushistoricalStrategic or Co-development PartnerInspired by Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank's microcredit work in Bangladesh, Marshall Saunders started Grameen de la Frontera, a micro-lending program in Mexico that transformed tens of thousands of families' lives before focusing on climate work.
• Potential Energy CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCL partnered with Potential Energy Coalition to develop the communication expertise used in their April 2024 outreach campaign, which resulted in over 25,000 climate conversations with the public.
• Science MomscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCL collaborated with Science Moms to launch an outreach campaign based on communication research, helping volunteers conduct effective climate conversations with everyday Americans.
• Braver AngelsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJohn Wood Jr., National Ambassador at Braver Angels, serves on CCL's Advisory Board, supporting bipartisan climate outreach and bridging political divides in climate advocacy.
• CCL AustraliaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCCL Australia is a separate national organization operating under the CCL model, with its own website (ccl.org.au) and volunteer network serving the Australian context.
• CCL CanadaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCCL Canada operates as a separate national organization with its own website (canada.citizensclimatelobby.org) serving Canadian volunteers and chapters.
• CCL Europe (Including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, UK)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCCL Europe includes affiliated national organizations in multiple European countries including Citizens Climate Europe, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and UK, each with localized websites and operations.
• Citizens' Climate Education (CCE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCE is CCL's sister 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, tools, and educational resources to help empower volunteers. CCE has a substantially higher budget than CCL and provides the educational infrastructure for the climate advocacy work. EIN 26-2948811.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• 350.org: A grassroots climate movement organization mobilizing people to push for climate action globally. Both 350.org and CCL run volunteer-driven campaigns targeting policymakers, but 350.org leans more confrontational and movement-oriented, whereas CCL's methodology emphasizes respectful, nonpartisan relationship-building.
• League of Conservation Voters (LCV): A national environmental advocacy and political-action organization focused on electing pro-environment candidates and passing climate legislation. LCV and CCL both target federal climate policy outcomes, but LCV is the political-arm/electoral counterpart to the grassroots volunteer base that CCL builds.
• Climate Action Network (CAN): An international network of over 1,500 civil society organizations coordinating climate advocacy across the U.S. and globally. CAN and CCL are both federation- and network-style organizations that coordinate climate advocacy across chapters, sharing the multilateral, distributed approach to federal climate policy.
• Climate Leadership Council: A policy-focused organization advocating for carbon dividends and a carbon-pricing framework. It shares CCL's interest in market-based, bipartisan climate policy and reaches across the political aisle, with overlapping conservative outreach and CCL's conservative caucus naturally intersects with CLC's networks.

Broad incumbents

• Sierra Club: One of the largest and oldest U.S. environmental nonprofits, with a multi-issue mission spanning climate, conservation, and public lands. Like CCL, it engages grassroot members in policy advocacy and electoral work, but operates at far greater scale and breadth, making it a broad incumbent with overlapping climate-advocacy capabilities.
• Greenpeace USA: Global environmental advocacy organization with U.S. operations that campaigns on climate and a broad range of environmental issues. Both organizations drive grassroots participation, but Greenpeace uses higher-profile protest tactics in contrast to CCL's behind-the-scenes lobbying approach.
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): A major U.S. environmental advocacy organization that combines scientific research with policy advocacy on climate and energy. Both organizations focus on market-based climate policy and engage lawmakers, but EDF operates with a much larger staff and budget, and pairs advocacy with technical expertise.
• Friends of the Earth: A U.S. environmental advocacy organization working on climate, food, and economic policy. Both organizations seek to influence federal climate policy, but Friends of the Earth is more confrontational in tone and addresses a broader set of environmental issues.
• Union of Concerned Scientists: A science-based advocacy organization that engages in climate policy and federal lobbying. Both groups advocate for federal climate legislation, but UCS differentiates through scientific analysis rather than a pure volunteer chapter model.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): One of the most influential U.S. environmental groups, working on climate, energy, and public health. NRDC and CCL both target federal climate legislation, but NRDC combines litigation, lobbying, and large-scale research rather than a pure grassroots volunteer model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/citizensclimate
• Instagraminstagram.com/ccl_inclusion
• TikToktiktok.com/@citizensclimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citizen's Climate Lobby