CBOs & NGOs
Community & neighborhood groups, and climate-adjacent non-profits.
The list below pulls together environmental community-based organizations (CBOs) across all nine Bay Area counties as well as in Santa Cruz County. This is a place to find non-profit or grassroots organizations run by and for local residents—organizations that build trust, empower local communities, and address local challenges.
We hope this list makes it easier to discover the CBOs nearest you and learn what they do. These organizations work on a range of environmental topics including: climate resilience, environmental justice, food sovereignty, water quality, healthy communities, wildfire prevention, just transition, watershed health, and land protection. Their services might benefit you directly, or you might find ways to volunteer and support their work.
KneeDeep knows this list is incomplete (some counties are still being filled in) and we welcome additions. Please reach out via our contact form if you know of an organization you’d like us to add. We’ve done our best to highlight active environmental CBOs throughout these counties, with a focus on groups deeply rooted in their local areas.
Alameda County
- The Ecology Center – Services for a healthy, sustainable, and just future for urban residents. >LINK
- Greenaction – Health and environmental justice. >LINK
- Mycelium Youth Network – Equipping youth for a climate-just future. >LINK
- Planting Justice – Sustainable land-based social enterprises for those impacted by mass incarceration. >LINK
- Sustainable Watersheds Action Teams – Stormwater pollution & water quality solutions. >LINK
- Tri-Valley Air Quality Climate Alliance – Improve air quality, reduce emissions, mitigate health impacts, and reduce climate change in the Tri-Valley area. >LINK
Contra Costa County
- Agroecology Commons – Food sovereignty and ecological justice. >LINK
- All Positives Possible – Environmental justice and equality. >LINK
- Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) – Advocating to stop big polluters. >LINK
- Blue Green Alliance – Contra Costa Refinery Transition Partnership – Just transition for refinery workers. >LINK
- Communities for a Better Environment – Towards a regenerative and more democratic, local economy. >LINK
- Contra Costa Watershed Forum – Healthy water resources. >LINK
- Fresh Approach – Combating food insecurity by connecting communities to locally grown food. >LINK
- Friends of Alhambra Creek – Volunteer projects for watershed health. >LINK
- John Muir Land Trust – Land protection in Northern California. >LINK
- Healthy Martinez – Refinery accountability group. >LINK
- Save Mount Diablo – Protect Mount Diablo’s natural lands forever. >LINK
- Sustainable Contra Costa – Tools and resources for healthy, resilient communities. >LINK
- Richmond Our Power – Advocate for quality housing, food, air, land, and water. >LINK
- Richmond Progressive Alliance – Grassroots campaigns and organizing. >LINK
- Richmond Shoreline Alliance – Toxic site clean up and restoration of our wetlands to combat sea level rise. >LINK
- Rising Juntos – Building power for racial, economic, and health justice. >LINK
- Urban Tilth – Trainings and support toward a sustainable food system. >LINK
Marin County
- Canal Alliance – Services & programming for Marin’s immigrant and Latino communities. >LINK
- Multicultural Center of Marin – Social and environmental justice. >LINK
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Environmental Action Committee of West Marin – Conservation of West Marin lands, waters, and biodiversity. >LINK
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Marin Organic – Organic farming, food systems, and regenerative agriculture. >LINK
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Sustainable Marin – Supports local start-up projects and sustainability solutions. >LINK
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Marin Biodiversity Corridor Initiative – Habitat connectivity and wildlife movement corridors. >LINK
Napa County
- Napa Land Trust – Permanent land protection. >LINK
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Friends of the Napa River – River protection and restoration. >LINK
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Napa County Wildlife Habitat Conservation Coalition – Coalition protecting open space, habitat, and biodiversity. >LINK
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Environmental Education Coalition of Napa County – Connects community with the local environment. >LINK
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Institute for Conservation Advocacy, Research & Education – Science-based watershed advocacy and restoration. >LINK
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MOMS Advocating Sustainability – Advocacy to reduce environmental toxins and protect children’s health. >LINK
Santa Cruz County
- Casa de la Cultura – Services for migratory farmworkers. >LINK
- Center for Farmworker Families – Education, services, and advocacy in support of farmworkers’ well-being. >LINK
- Esperanza Community Farms – Local food production and environmental advocacy. >LINK
- Land Trust of Santa Cruz County – Land protection. >LINK
- Regeneración Pajaro Valley – Climate justice. >LINK
- Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter – Environmental advocacy. >LINK
Santa Clara County
- Acterra – Climate change education and convening. >LINK
- Caras – Culturally based programs and services for Latinos. >LINK
- Collaborating Agencies’ Disaster Relief Effort (CADRE) – Community network focused on disaster prep. >LINK
- Farmworker Caravan – Acknowledge, support and uplift agricultural workers. >LINK
- Gilroy Growing Smarter – Town stewardship. >LINK
- Grassroots Ecology – Engage and educate on the restoration of local ecosystems. >LINK
- Green Foothills – Protects local nature and farmland. >LINK
- Guadalupe River Park Conservancy – Park programming and management. >LINK
- Land Trust of Santa Clara Valley – Land preservation. >LINK
- Our City Forest – Urban forestry and environmental education. >LINK
- Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) – Land protection. >LINK
- San Jose Conservation Corps + Charter School – Workforce development and career training for conservation and resilience projects. >LINK
- Santa Clara FireSafe Council – Wildfire prevention and fire safety. >LINK
- Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority – Land protection. >LINK
- Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition – Safe and accessible biking for all. >LINK
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation – Grantor for social justice, community empowerment, and environmental projects. >LINK
- SOMOS Mayfair – Building community power for a thriving city. >LINK
- The South Bay Food Justice Collaborative – Food justice. >LINK
- The Tenacious Group – Climate and environmental health education. >LINK
- Veggielution – Community building through food and farming. >LINK
- Valley Verde – Food justice for self-sufficiency, health, and resilience. >LINK
Solano County
- Benicia Community Air Monitoring Program (BCAMP) – Air quality & public health. >LINK
- Fresh Air Vallejo – Protection of air, lands, water, and health. >LINK
- Glen Cove FireSafe Council – Wildfire prevention and fire safety. >LINK
- Restore the Delta – Water quality and water restoration projects. >LINK
- Solano Land Trust – Land protection. >LINK
- Sustainable Solano – Projects for economic and social justice and ecological health. >LINK
Bay Area
- 350 Bay Area – Clean energy. >LINK
- Baykeeper – Watershed protection & advocacy against big polluters. >LINK
- Firewise – Wildfire prevention and fire safety. >LINK
- Greenbelt Alliance – Climate resilience. >LINK
- GRID Alternatives – Clean energy. >LINK
- Save the Bay – Restoration projects. >LINK
- SPUR – Urban planning. >LINK
- Sunflower Alliance – Advocacy against big polluters. >LINK
- The Watershed Project – Education and outreach for watershed protection. >LINK
- Y-Plan – Youth civic learning strategy to improve city planning. >LINK
More Detailed Listings
Please note, these pages are only intended to offer a get-your-feet-wet sampling of the types of activities and resources to be found related to climate resilience in our region.