Center for Biological Diversity
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"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: San Francisco, CA
Founded: 1993
Mission: The Center for Biological Diversity believes that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in the world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, they work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. They do so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive.
Tags:
bay area, climate change, advocacy, research, policy, biodiversity, endangered species protection, ocean conservation, urban wildlands, greenhouse gas reduction, public land protection
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Kieran Suckling.
Kierán Suckling, Executive Director, founded the Center. In addition to overseeing its conservation and financial programs, he created and maintains the country's most comprehensive endangered species database. Kierán acts as liaison between the Center and other environmental groups, negotiates with government agencies, and writes and lectures; he has authored scientific articles and critical essays on biodiversity issues. He holds a…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
15.60%
Total Revenue:
$9,178,681
From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Website:
E-Mail:
center AT biologicaldiversity.org
Phone:
415-436-9682
Facebook:
Address:
351 California St., Ste. 600
San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
Story:
How can parents get their kids more involved with giving? Read what a donor who's 12 year-old son got involved with Center for Biological Diversity has to say:
I was introduced to the Center for Biological Diversity by my 12 year old son. He discovered the Center through his interest in environmental issues and a school project to participate in saving Nevada’s Amargosa toads. From there, his own independent research and his admiration of the Center’s work, which is so beautifully documented on their website, led him to initiate a project that would raise money for them.
What so impresses me about this organization is that they understand the importance of supporting and nurturing the passions of children who are coming of age and who need a forum and a structure to help channel their not insignificant energy to fix what we are so dangerously close to destroying. The Center treated him with respect and kindness as he organized a benefit concert to raise money to aid in the Gulf disaster. They highlighted his efforts on their Activist Spotlight page and were always responsive and courteous in their communications with him.
As I parent, I was apprehensive that his idealism and his fierce desire to find a way to do some good, to be effective in bringing about positive changes, would be thwarted by an encounter with an impersonal bureaucracy. In my mind, this would be the worst possible outcome for him and would have been a very sad omen for all of us who hope to stem the tide of species loss and environmental damage. Thanks to the Center, quite the opposite happened. His concert was a success, he raised well over $1,000 for the Center and, to use a bit of a worn phase –he feels empowered. What this world needs now, more than anything, is youth that feel empowered to do public good and I congratulate the Center for having the wisdom to see the long view.
(Read more reviews at: http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/center-for-biological-diversity-inc)
Expert Reviews of Center for Biological Diversity
Evidence of Impact Summary:
CBD is known to use innovative and effective ways to existing laws to address climate change. CBD linked legally recognized endangered species' such as the polar bear and California pika's to being threatened by climate change. CBD has expanded its territory and type of species to gain protection. They now cover protection of species as remote as the North and South poles. CBD claims a 93% success rate for their lawsuits.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
The Center for Biological Diversity have an incredibly talented staff of experienced litigators which makes them very effective at influencing policy and being advocates for their cause. Because of their size, they can send a strong message of a larger organization and yet still take the bold position of a smaller grassroots group.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Generally, experts think CBD has grown well as an organization, but some worry this means can't be ask risky with their work. Some experts think they should focus less on their successful work with the Endangered Species Act in favor or more directly focused climate change work.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Impact |
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The Center for Biological Diversity has an innovative and effective use of litigation to employ underutilized provisions of existing laws to address climate concerns. For example, they are currently successfully challenging the climate impact of clear cutting plans on private forestlands in California. Also, they used the federal Endangered Species Act and state-level California Endangered Species Act to increase tools to protect species imperiled by global warming, such as the pika in the mountains of California. | ||
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The Center for Biological Diversity is a pioneer in legal initiatives. Examples are the CEQA litigation and the federal Endangered Species Act listing of the polar bear. | ||
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The Center for Biological Diversity came up with using the Endangered Species Act as a tool to fight climate change and carbon emissions, linking charismatic species like the polar bear to carbon. They are as important as Al Gore to the global movement. | ||
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The Center for Biological Diversity is effective at legal advocacy against many destructive fossil fuel projects, and they have innovative strategies on using the endangered species act to fight climate change. | ||
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CBD exploits current law to bring about reductions in greenhouse gas emissions now. Their policy principles are extremely disciplined and based on sound science--not current political fashion (I find the opposite to be true among most mainstream groups). In the last year, CBD hired a very effective campaigner, Rose Braz, who has helped steer a new progressive climate policy network which has provided very timely information to my organization and many others. CBD works in a bit of niche field and as such gains fairly decent attention for its efforts, considering its small relative size. | ||
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Brilliant legal and scientific minds join at the Center for Biological Diversity to undertake truly innovative and often effective strategies like arguing that a legally recognized endangered species' (i.e. polar bear's) habitat is threatened by climate change. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Effective Leaders and Advocates for Climate Change |
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The Center for Biological Diversity's leadership within the environmental movement is one of their greatest strengths. The Center often advocates for stronger measures than most other larger environmental organizations; it has become the most prominent voice in advocating for what is ecologically necessary to prevent climate catastrophe, unlike other organizations that are often just promoting partial or even counterproductive measures that are simply seen as politically expedient. While often the boldest voices come from small grassroots groups, I think that the size of the Center as an organization has helped it to reach a larger audience with a strong message on climate issues. As such, the Center is unique organizationally, combining the size-benefits of larger, but more tepid organizations, with the bold positions and actions of a grassroots group. | ||
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They do an incredible job of articulating what is needed to start to slow the damage done by climate change. Because they are so outspoken, they are often dismissed by the main stream environmental groups and others. | ||
Legal Expertise and Knowledgeable Staff |
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CBD has an excellent staff and are very experienced litigators. | ||
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The staff is truly expert; they are also creative and dedicated to their work. They appropriately include scientists and lawyers. | ||
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They have visionary leaders, take bold actions, and have smart lawyers. | ||
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They have a strong legal and political capacity. | ||
Influence Policy |
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I'm very impressed by the level of engagement and skill in the CBD staff. The strategic advice and council of CBD attorneys has helped influence many policy decisions with my organization, enabling us to continue to focus almost exclusively on campaigning and communications. | ||
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Their lawsuits are very high-impact and positive. They seem to be quite effective for their size. | ||
Effective Campaigns |
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They have been very effective using the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to date by tying it to Climate Change and related issues. | ||
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CBD campaigns with a great deal of integrity, speaking out in favor of science in spite of what the Washington groups insist upon as being politically practical. I think this helps generate a more honest debate around policy, and provides decision-makers with more information. | ||
Effective Marketing |
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They are great at getting publicity for legal victories--the polar bear case, for example, was featured in Time. CBD also sends out unusually well-crafted e-mail alerts to supporters that strike the ideal balance between providing enough details and not overwhelming folks with too much info. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Being Careful About Growth |
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Organizational growth has often lead environmental groups to weaken their advocacy. So far, the Center for Biological Diversity has largely avoided this pitfall, despite substantial organizational growth over the past decade. But it will require continual watchfulness and deliberation to maintain the bold approach of a grassroots group as the Center continues to grow. | ||
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As they grow, their ability to take risks is diminishing. | ||
Focus More or Less on Endangered Species? |
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As an organization they have failed to internalize the tradeoffs that must be made in order to significantly and immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sectors. They appear to be more focused on mitigating impacts to sensitive species than they are on promoting solutions to climate change by working proactively to make sure that clean energy projects that meet environmental sitting criteria are allowed to move forward expeditiously. This approach is narrow-minded and borderline obstructionist, and unless the organization changes its perspective to internalize the tradeoffs that are required to mitigate catastrophic climate change, its work will constitute a tremendous disservice to the sector. As a result, donors who care first and foremost about climate change should devote their resources elsewhere. | ||
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My concerns about CBD's approach are not at all their "fault." One is that Congress is going to roll back the Endangered Species Act because CBD has been so good (too good?) at using it. The other is that the focus on endangered species doesn't play well with mainstream audiences who don't really care about climate change unless it affects them directly. But there are plenty of people who DO care about wildlife and so it's appropriate for CBD to tap those supporters and leave the broader messaging to other groups. | ||
Collaborate More |
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They have a very gutsy and philosophically pure brand of advocacy, but don't work as well as others in a coalition (a go it alone approach to strategy can be annoying for the greater good). They have a huge facade without a lot of depth, but hats off to the hardworking staff. | ||
Expand their Reach |
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They should have a stronger presence in Sacramento. | ||
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CBD has a reputation for being too radical as to be slightly marginalized. I think that's a blessing and a curse--but with so much to contribute, I wish they had a broader reach for their legal work. | ||
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They need to move on beyond the Endangered Species Act to other avenues to affect climate change. | ||
Leadership
Kieran Suckling
Executive Director
Executive Director
From the Nonprofit
The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at
feedback@myphilanthropedia.org
with your request.