What are we doing on a local level to combat the climate crisis? Bay Area Green Tours seeks to address the climate crisis by highlighting the innovative solutions of our local climate-hero partners. Because we are entirely volunteer-led, donations give us the ability to showcase the connections between local solutions and our broader climate challenges. Our tour partners utilize regenerative practices in agriculture and the circular economy, creating the more resilient, sustainable, and just future that BAGT seeks to unveil through their powerful stories. But we need your support to give us the capability to continue to both capture and share more stories online, in order to enable us to continue to educate and inspire a wider audience. PAST & FUTURE IMPACT Over the past 12 years, we have been able to inspire and educate over 7,200 adult tour participants and 3,400 students at 23 schools in the Bay Area. We hope to continue expanding our educational influence to include any schools or communities with access to the internet. When you support Bay Area Green Tours, your donations will support our 2021 goals: Outreach to School Districts: With more resources, we can create virtual tours that cater to requested topics and curriculums Our new Solutionaries Speak series: Virtual, live-streamed interviews with local environmental leaders Additional Virtual Tours: Resources and equipment will enable us to create a greater number of virtual tours We create fun, unforgettable educational experiences that are designed to inspire youth and adults to learn and to apply sustainable living practices in their own lives. Your donations can help us reach our 2021 goals. "In an ideal world, every science teacher would have a magic school bus to show their students how the world works. Bay Area Green Tours is the closest thing to a magic school bus in the area." – Kate Trimlett, Teacher, Berkeley High School of Social Justice and Ecology (Berkeley HS Recycle/Reuse tour 2010) “Bay Area Green Tours provides an insider’s peek into our region’s hotbed of experiments in sustainability. They’ll leave you excited for the future and committed to playing a role in the revolution.” – Amy Kiser, Program Director, Ecology Center, Berkeley, CA EXPERIENCES WE PROVIDE Our programs, whether virtual or in-person, cater to a variety of interests for tour participants, students, and interns, and volunteers. A few examples: Food & Agriculture Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol educated our participants about the benefits of regenerative agriculture biodiversity and no-till farming which improves soil health, increases water retention, reduces atmospheric carbon, and enhances nutrient availability. Zero Waste At the Urban Ore salvage yard in Berkeley, Max Wechsler, GM, shared with our Zoom participants how selling repurposed goods keeps 8,000 tons of trash out of landfills--an impressive example of community upcycling. EcoArtisans and Diverted Food Guests of BAGT have frequently met with Paul Discoe, founder of O2 Artisans Aggregate, a 2.5 acre eco-industrial park, home to artisans promoting environmentally progressive projects. From aquaponic gardening to repurposed urban trees to an onsite Japanese bistro that converts leftover scraps into compost, O2AA is a lesson in how a circular economy works. We want to continue provide programs like these! For adults, we offer our Solutionaries Speak conversation series and virtual Team Building. For kids, youth field trips supplement classroom learnings by allowing students to experience sustainability in action, embrace diversity, and have empathy for the planet. With the right resources, we can bring these experiences online for a broader reach. INTERN PROGRAM Our youth is our future! We tailor internships and volunteer opportunities for people like Shivanni to give them the knowledge and experience to seek out their preferred careers. Shivanni’s journey with BAGT began in January of 2020 as a Development intern. She learned how to write grants, create proposals, and prepare budgets. She also assisted with board development and tour management. “I worked with mentors who were very encouraging and personable. They gave me feedback and were there to support me whenever and however I needed. I learned about the operational side of grassroots organizations, and my writing skills have definitely improved. I also feel confident about presenting new ideas that can help our organization flourish.” This summer, Shivanni landed her first job as a Development and Grants Assistant with one of BAGT’s partners, Outdoor Afro. Approximately 25% of our past interns have moved on to pursue an education or a career related to sustainability, a rate over 10 times higher than the 2.4% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2010! HOW DONATIONS BENEFIT YOU By supporting BAGT, you are helping to ensure our mission is increasingly shared, both locally and globally, exponentially expanding our impact. Since we are a 100% volunteer-based organization, donations are essential for us to continue developing interactive experiences for you, your family, and your friends Donations are tax-deductible for most taxpayers The more people we can educate about the climate crisis, the healthier we will all be Your donation will make a huge difference to underserved communities Local eco-friendly businesses will be in the spotlight helping our economy grow Your donation will stay right here in the Bay Area and will be used specifically for our programs, not for executive compensation “Bay Area Green Tours provides an insider's look into what makes sustainable companies and farms work. I learn so much each time I go on a tour. I had the opportunity to talk with the designers, architects, managers and employees to broaden my understanding of what makes the Bay Area the leader in everything green and sustainable” - Robert Graham, Sole Proprietor With your support, we are able to highlight and share the latest positive eco-solutions that our partners use every day to combat the injustices of climate change, improve food security, and create career opportunities. For 2020, individuals can deduct up to $300 for cash donations made to charities this year – meaning that people who don’t itemize their deductions can benefit from this tax break (called an “above the line” deduction). For those who itemize, the limit on cash donations that is deductible was increased from 60% of adjusted gross income to 100%. Limits for corporate contributions to charitable organizations was also increased from 10% of their taxable income to 25%.
