PLUG OK license plate
Energy Foundation's Grant + Our Opportunity
Oct 18, 2005 (From the CalCars-News archive)
CalCars-News
This posting originally appeared at CalCars-News, our newsletter of breaking CalCars and plug-in hybrid news. View the original posting here.
Want more? Become a subscriber to CalCars-News:


Fans and supporters of Plug-In Hybids and CalCars (this message is archived at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/­group/­calcars-news/­message/­174)

The California Cars Initiative (CalCars.org), a non-profit organization, has received a grant "to participate in public events where we showcase plug-in hybrid cars and educate audiences about the technology and its benefits."

This support comes from the Energy Foundation http://www.ef.org, the consortium of the Hewlett, MacArthur, McKnight, Mertz Gilmore and Packard Foundations, formed to act jointly to fund ambitious projects with a global scope. The Energy Foundation has sponsored NRDC's Biofuels study, the National Commission on Energy Policy, and a broad program in China. (The foundation is very specific about what they DON'T fund: see http://www.ef.org/­contact.cfm.)

The grant gives us modest additional resources to provide visibility for PHEVs.

Of equal importance is the fact of our being funded by EF, which describes its grant-making role as "providing resources to the institutions that most effectively leverage change." This support comes at the right time.

THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE PITCH

If you think CalCars has already made a difference -- by increasing awareness of a compelling solution to the intersecting problems of global warming, energy security and economic development -- even more exciting news is on the way.

We have excellent near-term prospects, with partners, to take the next steps and build enough plug-in hybrids, IN COOPERATION WITH AN AUTO MAKER, to rapidly accelerate their adoption. We can't provide more details now. We ask you to believe us, based on our track record -- and our aversion to hype.

CalCars has two full-time volunteers (Founder Felix Kramer and Technology Lead Ron Gremban). We can make all this happen -- if CalCars gets more muscle and more people. We can't watch this opportunity slip away.

We need to pay for equipment, technical and administrative assistants and our salaries -- we simply can't continue otherwise. We need to get to crucial meetings in places ranging from Vancouver to Texas to Connecticut -- and Michigan. You can help us get there!

IF YOU'VE EVER THOUGHT OF CONTRIBUTING TO CALCARS, OR IF YOU'VE GIVEN AND
COULD GIVE MORE -- THIS IS THE TIME.

Our time frames are too short for foundation proposals. We need large donors. If you're in a position to give in the thousands, please consider it. If you know high-wealth individuals who recognize that we'll deliver a big bang for their bucks, write to info@.... We'll send back a one-page pitch you can pass along. (Please change the subject line of your message to something catchy like "Contribution" to get our attention.)

Now it's up to every fan of flex-fuel plug-in hybrids. If you've given in the past, double up on your stake. Give $95 to become a Charter Sponsor. Give less if that's all you can afford. If the 2,587 people on the CalCars-News list each contribute $95, we raise $245,765.

It's tax-deductible, and you can do it by credit card, PayPal or check at http://www.calcars.org/­sponsor.html.

THE COMING WEEKS ARE ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL. Have you ever given generously to a cause or candidate? Think of CalCars as a package, blending a national political campaign and a humanitarian rescue operation -- and consider contributing accordingly.

Thanks as always for your support and for the help you've given in so many ways. -- Felix


Copyright © 2003-09 California Cars Initiative, an activity of the International Humanities Center | Site Map