Community Environmental Council
Community Environmental Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1970 that delivers climate action programs including Earth Day Festival, UC Climate Stewards certification, Electrify Your Life, and community resilience initiatives across California's Central Coast counties.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1970
- HeadquartersSanta Barbara, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Community Environmental Council does
Community Environmental Council (CEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1970 in Santa Barbara, California, following the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. It operates a portfolio of climate action programs across California's Central Coast counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo, with a staff of approximately 20+ and a 16-member board of directors. Its programmatic work is organized around three pillars: reversing climate change via 100% renewable electricity, electric vehicle adoption, and building decarbonization; repairing the carbon cycle through climate-smart agriculture and healthy soils initiatives; and protecting vulnerable populations via community-led resilience programs, including the Guadalupe Community Air Monitoring Project. Primary customer-facing programs include the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival (22,000+ attendees in 2023), the UC Climate Stewards certification course, the Electrify Your Life program, the bilingual Nuestro Tiempo initiative, Repair Cafes, Climate Fridays, and the Solarize group-purchasing solar program.
CEC's core "technology" is a community-organizing and convening platform rather than a software product. Its physical asset is the 10,000-square-foot Environmental Hub in downtown Santa Barbara's ARTS District, which functions as a programmable venue for film screenings, workshops, and free public gatherings, and is also available for paid booking to support organizational revenue. Distribution is primarily direct-to-community via events, workshops, and bilingual outreach, with secondary amplification through email, social media, webinars, and earned media. CEC's revenue model is a diversified nonprofit mix rather than a transactional pricing model: charitable contributions from individuals, foundation grants, and government grants (including a $300,000 California Air Resources Board grant in 2022) form the bulk of funding, supplemented by event-based fundraising (notably the annual Green Gala) and Environmental Hub venue bookings. The $16.97 million raised through the 50th Anniversary Protect Our Climate Campaign over 2020-2023 and CEC's Candid GuideStar Platinum Seal and Charity Navigator highest ratings indicate a financially healthy organization. The company is led by CEO Sigrid Wright, its first female leader, who has more than 35 years of nonprofit environmental experience and serves as a co-founder of three regional coalitions.
Community Environmental Council firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Community Environmental Council
- Legal name
- Community Environmental Council
- Website
- https://cecsb.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1970
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Community Environmental Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1970 that delivers climate action programs including Earth Day Festival, UC Climate Stewards certification, Electrify Your Life, and community resilience initiatives across California's Central Coast counties.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Community Environmental Council industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Environmental Nonprofit Services
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Environmental Justice & Community Environmental Health (BPAGAGAL)
Keywords
Where Community Environmental Council is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Santa Barbara
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Community Environmental Council business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Charitable Contributions and Donations: CEC operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization relying on charitable contributions from individuals, foundations, and government grants to fund operations, programs, and mission delivery.
- Event-based Fundraising: Revenue generated through annual fundraising events including the Green Gala and other climate action events.
- Environmental Hub Venue Bookings: The Hub venue is available for booking, with proceeds supporting CEC's climate work.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Community Environmental Council product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Community Environmental Council (CEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers a portfolio of climate action programs across California's Central Coast. Core offerings include renewable energy transition support (solar group-purchasing, EV incentives, home electrification), climate-smart agriculture programs, climate resilience initiatives including air quality monitoring, environmental education (UC Climate Stewards certification, community workshops), and large-scale events such as the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival and Green Gala fundraising event.
Product overview
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) is a nonprofit organization that operates a portfolio of climate action programs rather than a single unified product. Its programs span multiple focus areas including renewable energy transition (Solarize programs, Electrify Your Life), climate education (UC Climate Stewards certification, Climate Fridays), community resilience (Environmental Hub, repair cafes, resilience hubs), climate-smart agriculture, and advocacy events (Earth Day Festival, Green Gala). The organization also conducts air quality monitoring and provides community engagement resources in multiple languages. CEC functions as a climate solutions accelerator, connecting residents to incentives, education, and collective action opportunities across California's Central Coast.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- UC Climate Stewards Certification Program
- Electrify Your Life
- Solarize Programs
- Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival
- Environmental Hub
- Green Gala
- Climate-Smart Agriculture Initiatives
- Guadalupe Community Air Monitoring Project
- Climate Fridays Santa Barbara
- Repair Cafe Santa Barbara
- Food Rescue and Food Action Network
- Nuestro Tiempo
- Year of Active Hope
Quantifiable outcome
- 22,000+ community members engaged at annual Earth Day Festival
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Community Environmental Council
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Community Environmental Council technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Community Environmental Council partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Blue TomorrowcoreBlue Tomorrow leads technical air monitoring for the Guadalupe Community Air Monitoring Project, deploying air quality sensors and helping with community engagement. They specialize in air quality, water resources, and land management services.
- Central Coast Climate CollaborativecoreCEC is a co-founder of the Central Coast Climate Collaborative, working to coordinate regional climate action across Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties.
- Central Coast Climate Justice NetworkcoreCEC is a co-founder of the Central Coast Climate Justice Network, focusing on climate justice for frontline communities.
- Santa Barbara County Food Action NetworkcoreCEC is a co-founder of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network, working to build a sustainable, local food system.
- Rooted Language JusticecoreRooted Language Justice provides Spanish-English language interpretation services for CEC's outreach materials, webinars, meetings, and events. They are an immigrant women-led Language Justice enterprise.
- Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control DistrictminorPartner in the Guadalupe Community Air Monitoring Project, supporting air quality improvement efforts.
- UC Santa Barbara Global Environmental JusticeminorAcademic partner supporting the Guadalupe Community Air Monitoring Project and climate justice initiatives.
- Family Service Agency - Little House by the ParkminorCommunity partner in Guadalupe providing family services and supporting air quality outreach efforts.
- Los Amigos de GuadalupeminorLocal community organization partner in Guadalupe supporting outreach and engagement.
- The Hub (envirohubsb.org)coreCEC operates the Environmental Hub at 1219 State Street, Santa Barbara - a 10,000 sq ft collaborative space for climate activism, education, and community events.
- Society of Fearless Grandmothers Santa BarbaraminorPartner organization co-hosting Climate Fridays Santa Barbara monthly community events.
- Santa Barbara Sierra ClubminorPartner organization co-hosting Climate Fridays Santa Barbara monthly community events.
- Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition (C5)corePartner in EV infrastructure and clean transportation initiatives, co-sponsor of Earth Day events.
- Carp EventscoreEvent production partner for the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Community Environmental Council competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Earthjustice: National nonprofit environmental law organization litigating cases on climate, energy, and environmental justice. Comparable to CEC in advancing equitable climate solutions and protecting frontline communities, but pursues outcomes through legal action rather than community organizing.
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Large national environmental advocacy organization operating across climate, energy, and environmental justice. Comparable to CEC's climate-action and environmental-justice mission, but at far greater scale, with broader geographic reach and a more policy-and-litigation-driven model.
- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): Major national environmental nonprofit applying science, economics, and partnerships to climate and energy challenges. Overlaps with CEC's renewable energy transition, EV adoption, and climate-smart agriculture themes, but operates globally with vastly greater resources.
Regional players
- Greenbelt Alliance: San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit focused on land-use, climate resilience, and open-space protection. Comparable as a California regional environmental nonprofit combining advocacy, community organizing, and policy work, though with a stronger Bay Area urban-land-use orientation.
- San Diego Coastkeeper: Regional California environmental nonprofit focused on water quality, clean water advocacy, and community education. Comparable as a California-based regional environmental nonprofit delivering community programming, though focused primarily on Southern California watersheds.
- Santa Barbara Audubon Society: Local Santa Barbara County conservation nonprofit focused on bird habitat, environmental education, and community outings. Comparable as a fellow Santa Barbara-based environmental nonprofit delivering community education, though narrower in ecological scope.
Direct peers
- Earth Island Institute: Berkeley-based nonprofit incubator supporting environmental projects and youth leadership development across California. Comparable to CEC's mission-driven, education-and-advocacy portfolio and its reliance on donor funding to underwrite climate and conservation initiatives.
- Heal the Bay: Santa Monica-based environmental nonprofit focused on coastal water quality, marine protection, and community climate advocacy in Southern California. Closely comparable to CEC as a regional 501(c)(3) running community organizing, education programs, and signature annual events (e.g., Coastal Cleanup Day).
- Carbon Cycle Institute: California-based nonprofit working on climate-smart agriculture, carbon farming, and rural climate solutions. Directly comparable to CEC's climate-smart agriculture program line and regional partnership model across California working lands.
- Surfrider Foundation: Coastal-focused environmental nonprofit with grassroots chapter network, community organizing, and signature beach clean-up events. Comparable to CEC in its chapter-based regional advocacy model, reliance on member/donor support, and community-led climate education programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Community Environmental Council social profiles
Digital presenceCommunity Environmental Council financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Community Environmental Council leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Community Environmental Council funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Community Environmental Council M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Community Environmental Council
What does Community Environmental Council do?
Community Environmental Council (CEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers a portfolio of climate action programs across California's Central Coast. Core offerings include renewable energy transition support (solar group-purchasing, EV incentives, home electrification), climate-smart agriculture programs, climate resilience initiatives including air quality monitoring, environmental education (UC Climate Stewards certification, community workshops), and large-scale events such as the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival and Green Gala fundraising event.
Is Community Environmental Council a public or private company?
Community Environmental Council is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Community Environmental Council founded?
Community Environmental Council was founded in 1970. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Community Environmental Council based?
Community Environmental Council is headquartered in Santa Barbara, United States, in the North America region.
How does Community Environmental Council make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Charitable Contributions and Donations are the primary driver. The others are event-based Fundraising and environmental Hub Venue Bookings.
Who are Community Environmental Council's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Regional players are Greenbelt Alliance, San Diego Coastkeeper and Santa Barbara Audubon Society. Direct peers are Earth Island Institute, Heal the Bay, Carbon Cycle Institute and Surfrider Foundation.
Does Community Environmental Council have an API?
No public API is recorded for Community Environmental Council.
What industry is Community Environmental Council in?
Community Environmental Council's product category is Environmental Nonprofit Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAH, Environmental Education & Outreach, with a secondary code of BPAGAGAL, Environmental Justice & Community Environmental Health. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8600.