[Source: Washington Examiner] Most major environmental groups have received millions more in donations since President Trump took office.
The Trump administration has rolled back dozens of environmental regulations that have burdened agriculture and industry as part of its deregulatory agenda. Environmental groups such as Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club are some of the loudest critics of the Trump agenda and have made huge fundraising gains off their activism.
From 2015 to 2017, the top 10 most influential environmental groups in the United States have received between 20% and 149% more in fundraising dollars adjusted for inflation, according to Axios. Oceana received the largest bump, pulling in about $50 million in 2017 compared to just $20 million two years prior.
Most of the groups say Trump’s election is directly tied to their increase in fundraising.
Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless credited his group’s resistance to Trump’s offshore drilling agenda for the boost in fundraising, as well as two large donations from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Wyss Foundation to support Oceana’s agenda internationally.
“Americans see the damage the Trump administration is doing to our environment and know that we are nearing a point of no return on climate,” Earthjustice senior vice president Sam Sankar said. Sankar’s organization increased fundraising from $50 million in 2015 to $76 million in 2017.
Source: Washington Examiner
September 9, 2019
