As I reflect on the past year, I am incredibly proud of what Greenbelt Alliance has accomplished in advancing climate resilience across the Bay Area. In the face of escalating climate impacts and political challenges, progress can feel slow, but we remain focused on building the foundation for a better future.
That foundation begins with our community: educating leaders, connecting organizations, and learning from one another. In 2024, we launched the first cohort of the Resilient Roots Climate Leaders Network in Fairfield and Suisun City to address gaps in public awareness and local capacity, creating a network of climate champions dedicated to tackling the region’s challenges.
Over the past year, we have made great strides in protecting the Bay Area’s natural and working lands, which are vital for carbon absorption, emissions mitigation, and biodiversity. When news broke that Silicon Valley investors—known as California Forever—were using manipulative tactics to buy thousands of acres in Solano County, Greenbelt Alliance acted quickly. We played a key role in forming Solano Together, a grassroots coalition to protect the region’s agricultural heritage, communities, and ecosystems. In 2024, we successfully stopped California Forever’s ballot measure that would have given these investors vast authority to reshape the community at the expense of farmers, nature, and existing cities. Now, we’re working proactively to ensure future land-use decisions prioritize nature-based solutions and community well-being.
Despite our successes, the challenges ahead remain formidable. The Bay Area continues to face extreme weather events, housing shortages, and inequitable access to resources. With an increasingly hostile federal government, we must strengthen our connections across sectors and the region to support each other and our shared vision for the future. In 2024, we built stronger alliances to work on critical projects that enhance resilience to flooding and sea level rise in Oakland and Alameda, through our Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee work; plan community resilience hubs in East San Jose and Gilroy; explore greenbelts as wildfire buffers in Sonoma; protect the greenbelt for the next generation in Petaluma through renewal of their urban growth boundary; and advocate for more homes within our cities and towns in California.
None of this work would be possible without our incredible community: our donors, partners, supporters, and advocates. Your support fuels our ability to champion policies that create a more resilient and equitable Bay Area. We invite you to continue this journey with us, to stand together in protecting the landscapes that define our region, and to build communities that can withstand the challenges of an uncertain climate future.
Thank you for being part of this critical movement. Read on to explore more highlights from the past year!
Greenbelt Alliance Executive Director
Executive Director
Amanda Brown-Stevens, Greenbelt Alliance Executive Director
For over 66 years, Greenbelt Alliance has shaped innovative policies and cultivated relationships across sectors to holistically address how the region grows. Through these decades of experience and coalition-building, we have honed what it takes to navigate—and bring about—transformation.
Now, our team of experts is leveraging this legacy to lead an agenda for change so that all Bay Area people and places thrive. Guided by our 5-year Strategic Plan—which focuses on six programmatic pillars—we implement our work on three connected fronts: education, advocacy, and collaboration.
We are fostering connections between nature and people through our popular Outings Program, which has been ongoing for over 30 years. In 2024, we hosted 38 outings for over 1,100 people throughout the Bay Area.
Our educational and climate literacy work expanded in 2024, as we launched our first cohort of the Resilient Roots: Climate Leaders Network. Through this program, we are supporting 18 climate leaders of various backgrounds and ages in Suisun City and Fairfield to develop understanding of interconnected climate challenges, planning and policy development skills, and the tools to lead local action and grow their climate leadership.
Additionally, we partnered with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC), and others to organize more than 20 workshops and webinars that engaged local communities in understanding and offering feedback for policies and planning for shoreline resilience.
In Solano County, after many months of grassroots campaigning and organizing, the people prevailed over the harmful sprawl development proposal known as California Forever and their East Solano Plan initiative. At least, for now.
When details of this project emerged in fall 2023, with the news that a group of outside investors known as Flannery Associates had secretly bought up over 65k acres of farmland in Eastern Solano County, Greenbelt Alliance rapidly activated—bringing our expertise in climate resilience, stopping sprawl, investment in cities, creative communications, coalition building, and campaign planning to bolster community members and organizations around the county.
With our decades of advocacy supporting land use and the protection of agricultural lands and open space, Greenbelt Alliance is proud to be part of the Solano Together coalition— a diverse group of people and organizations leading the opposition to California Forever—from the get-go. We will continue our work with the coalition in the coming years, as we anticipate more attempts from California Forever to advance their sprawling plans.
In Sonoma County, Greenbelt Alliance spearheaded the advocacy campaign resulting in City of Petaluma voters supporting—once again—the renewal of the Urban Growth Boundary by passing Measure Y. This win will protect farms and open spaces, while directing growth within urban limit lines, for the next 25 years.
Additionally, we are accelerating local climate action through our Bay Area Resilience Hotspots Initiative, where we are:
In a remarkable win to celebrate our many years of collaborative work with the regional agency BCDC, they unanimously voted to adopt the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) Bay Plan Amendment, which mandates cities to develop regional plans for the shoreline using the RSAP guidelines. With this powerful plan, BCDC is addressing the need to proactively protect our most at-risk communities, critical infrastructure, natural habitats, and public access along the bay. Greenbelt Alliance will continue to support local jurisdictions implementing their plans for adaptation to sea level rise and other environmental solutions, bringing along the community for equitable outcomes.
Greenbelt Alliance is connected to more than 210 local organizations by actively participating in 19 coalitions. Our work with BCDC was a highlight of this collaborative work. With BCDC, we organized the first “Rising Together: Bay Adapt Summit and Awards” in August, convening climate change practitioners, community leaders, and policymakers at the Exploratorium to celebrate our region’s achievements in protecting our shorelines. “Rising Together” was also an opportunity to celebrate remarkable climate change resilience leaders at the Bay Adapt Awards.
individuals explored the Bay Area’s natural lands and urban areas in 38 outings offered through our Outings Program.
partners with which Greenbelt Alliance worked across 19 coalitions throughout the region to ensure a climate-resilient Bay Area for all.
out of 15 climate-resilient regional and state ballot measures or initiatives endorsed by Greenbelt Alliance passed in the 2024 election.
mentions of Greenbelt Alliance in local, statewide, and national press, cited our leadership in climate and housing advocacy.
climate SMART—Sustainable, Mixed, Affordable, Resilient, Transit-Oriented—projects were endorsed by our Development Endorsement Program this year.
new climate SMART homes will be built if the 7 development projects that we endorsed are finished.
JAN 27
Forum for a Greener Future Gilroy
FEB 4
Solano Together Coalition Launch
APR 27
Forum for a Greener Future Gilroy
MAY 18
Sonoma Leadership Council Luncheon
JUN 4
East Bay Happy Hour
JUL 25
Special Greenbelt Outing to Land’s End with A Living Library
AUG 8
Bay Adapt: Rising Together Summit
AUG 28
Hidden Heroes of the Greenbelt
SEP 26
Blueprint for the Future Gala
Nov 7
South Bay Happy Hour
See more highlights of our impact on: greenbelt.org/climate-resilience-wins
Catherine Brozena, communications consultant, donor
Throughout 2024, we came together with our supporters to connect and celebrate at numerous special events. From our Sonoma Luncheon to our East and South Bay happy hours, these gatherings are opportunities for our team to report back on the impact of our work, engage longtime and new supporters with our mission, and raise critical funds for our organization.
In the 2024 fiscal year, we raised over $400,000 toward our cause from events!
For us, events are also an opportunity to lift up bold and inspiring Bay Area leaders.
On August 28, we gathered our supporters, sponsors, and partners in beautiful Preservation Park in Downtown Oakland for our fourth annual Hidden Heroes of the Greenbelt event.
At Hidden Heroes, we honored three local government champions advancing effective policies and plans to boost climate resilience in the Bay Area: Misti Arias (Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District), Lakshmi Rajagopalan (City of Oakland), and Michael Brilliot (City of San José).
Our Blueprint for the Future gala on September 26 was a resounding success. We celebrated the visionary Resilience Rockstar who is shaping sustainable urban landscapes, architect and former Board member Craig Hartman (from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – SOM) at the stunning Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco. With the support of our amazing community, we raised $200,000 to fuel our mission to advance climate resilience for people and places around the region.
PROGRAM SERVICES
SUPPORTING SERVICES
Note: This chart does not include unrealized gains and losses. For a full report, please see Form 990.
