Climate 200 is a community crowd-funded initiative that supports independent political candidates committed to:
Climate 200 supports pro-climate community-backed independents with a leg up to help them compete.
We do this through:
Every dollar that comes in through our website goes toward supporting independent community campaigns and their candidates.
Climate 200's administrative costs are covered by a small group of donors who have expressed specific interest in supporting our small team.
There are different disclosure obligations in each jurisdiction. Currently at the federal level, donations above $15,200 must be disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). At the recent Victorian (2022) and New South Wales (2023) state elections, donations above the disclosure thresholds of $1,080 and $1,000 respectively needed to be disclosed to the respective state electoral commissions.
As a Significant Third Party, Climate 200 is required to submit annual disclosure returns detailing our total receipts, donors over the disclosure threshold, debts, and expenditure for the financial year, which are then published on the AEC website in the case of a federal election, or on state electoral commission websites in the case of state elections.
For people who come in through our website and social media advertising, we guarantee that every cent given will go to the community campaigns we support, without us taking anything out of that income stream for admin. Our other activities are funded by donors who have engaged directly with our fundraising team.
C200 does not choose candidates. We offer support to independent political candidates who are chosen by community groups. To receive support from us, candidates must be independent, supported by a local community group (such as a ‘Voices of’ group), have a viable pathway to success, and demonstrate that they are committed to advancing:
They must also complete a vetting process and prove that they have the right team and leadership abilities needed to run a successful campaign.
Running as an independent candidate is not easy. Major parties have huge resources, brand recognition and well-oiled party machines.
C200 supports pro-climate community-backed independents with a leg up to help them compete.
We do this through:
We have featured some of the best resources written by the people who have established and run successful community campaigns. Have a look at campaign support page.
11,200 individuals have donated to C200, and thousands more have donated directly to the independent campaigns we have supported. These donors come from all over the country, and one third are from rural and regional areas.
The national, Victorian and NSW electoral commissions list the names of donors who have donated above the donation threshold in different jurisdictions. Our website also lists donors who opted to be listed on our website (70% of donors have chosen to have their names published).
Climate 200 is not a party. We do not start campaigns, select candidates, speak for candidates, dictate policies, or have members. We simply give strong community campaigns a leg up with funding and support.
Simon Holmes à Court founded Climate 200 in the lead up to the 2019 federal election, in an effort to support community-backed independent candidates who would champion action on climate change. Simon contributes his time to Climate 200 on a voluntary basis and receives no salary. His contribution to the organisation represents 2% of the total funds received from about 11,200 unique donors.
Donations are managed through email receipts, which are sent to your email address every time a donation is processed. In these receipts there is a “manage my donations” button, which will take you to our donation platform Raisely. From there, please click the “settings” icon and select “payment method”. This is where you can change your card details, as well as pause, alter, or cancel your recurring donation.
Receipts sometimes end up in spam or junk folders, so please check there if you have trouble finding your receipt!
