Here are 12 of Potential Energy’s favorite climate insights from 2022 data. First, human stories beat abstract concepts, every time. Second, science — and scientists — still matter a lot. Third, conservatives moved their climate beliefs… but education is critical. Fourth, what politicians love to say . . . had some real believability issues. Fifth, social, collectivist actions were much easier to create than individual behavior changes. Sixth, climate salience went down, but extreme weather was key. Seventh, the left and the right actually agreed on something: nuclear energy. Eighth, actually, the left and the right also happened to agree on one more thing: energy independence! Ninth, and one last thing we all happen to agree on: fairness and accountability. Tenth, the IRA was a massive climate win, but there’s a long road ahead. Eleventh, sadly, we found that stopping clean energy projects will be much easier than supporting them. Twelfth, lastly, we learned a lot about testing … and are even less enamored with the usual polls.

The nature of engagement with and donations to nonprofits have changed, as nonprofits’ digital presences have increased. Total online revenue for nonprofits decreased by 4% in 2022, and nonprofits reported especially sharp drops in revenue on Giving Tuesday and December 31. While one-time giving declined, monthly giving revenue increased by 12% — accounting for 28% of all online revenue in 2022. Digital advertising investment by nonprofits increased by 28%, and internet search remained the most reliable platform to generate a positive return on ad spend. Nonprofits sent 60 email messages per subscriber, including 29 fundraising appeals, and email generated 14% of all online revenue. While platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter dominated nonprofit social media engagement, 30% of participants reported being active on TikTok. Return on ad spending was highest for search ads: $2.75 for every dollar spent. Return on ad spending for Meta was $0.50 and $0.41 for Twitter. The majority of nonprofit website traffic came from users on mobile devices — 57%, with 43% of traffic from users on desktop devices. However, 75% of revenue came from users on desktop devices.

Based on political narratives in 2022, here are some key narrative predictions for 2023: the tension between American identity and personal identity, the ongoing erosion of trust in institutions, a lack of certainty about the future, precarity versus safety, and the type of experiences we are dreaming about in our communities and our lives. Some narratives within “American identity crisis” include “What is America?”, “Who is American?”, “The expanded self,” “Identity used to divide or unite,” “The never-ending woke wars,” and “Generational divides.” Some narratives within “Erosion of trust” include “Everything is broken,” “Ongoing attacks on media and journalism,” “The return of the moderate,” and “Taking care of us.” Other narrative categories include “Multipolar world,” “Big tech lives, big tech dies,” “Search for stability,” and “Experience and authenticity.”

Have you had concerns about a team project and didn’t share it with others? Or been part of a team where you couldn’t speak up with questions? These self-protective behaviors help us manage others’ perceptions of us. No one wants to look ignorant, incompetent, intrusive or negative. But withholding your voice can have significant negative consequences for the team. It deprives the team of the full range of the team members’ knowledge, skill and experience and makes it less likely that the team will learn and achieve its purpose.

Most protest movements have little success in achieving their aims, or otherwise positive outcomes—but a small percentage of protest movements will achieve outcomes large enough to warrant funding a portfolio of social movement organizations. This resource may be useful for grantmakers and advocates who want to pursue the most effective ways to bring about change for a given issue, particularly on climate change or animal welfare. There is solid evidence that protests can cause small changes in public opinion on an issue (swaying about 2-5% of the population). There is some evidence—but less—that protest movement activity can bring about policy change.

There are some key ways to improve on the current model for how to engage young people to vote. This report introduces and details a new framework for how institutions and communities can prepare young people—starting long before they turn 18—to become active and informed voters. There are profound inequities in access to civic learning and engagement opportunities for young people. Implementing a “growing voters” approach involves engaging potential (young) voters year-round, building culture of the importance of civic participation, contacting potential voters even before they turn 18, targeting young people who even haven’t voted before, and doing so everywhere (national and locally, not just in competitive electoral districts). This report describes these tactics in detail, for how to produce a long-term increase in young people voting.

2021 saw significant activity across the political tech space. This report describes relevant developments and trends. Social media platforms imposed limitations on individual targeting for political ads, forcing campaigns to explore alternative influencer-focused messaging strategies. Given recent underperformance at the ballot box, stakeholders dedicated more resources to studying the rightward shift of the Latinx voter base. Headlined by the acquisition of NGP VAN’s parent company EveryAction, merger and acquisition activity notably increased, demonstrating the growth and maturation of the political tech market. A small number of campaigns began to accept cryptocurrency donations, responding to our nation’s growing interest in emerging Web3 technologies.

Broadcast TV news mentioned a “socially marginalized community” in just 12% of its segments on environmental impacts or regulations in 2021. CBS aired the most environmental justice segments (13), followed by NBC (4), and ABC (2). The majority of environmental justice segments focused on government action (14) and the health impacts of pollution or chemical waste (9). National TV news shows missed key opportunities to apply an environmental justice lens to important national stories such as the 2021 Texas winter storm, a toxic wastewater leak in Florida, and the Colonial pipeline hack. Even segments about obvious environmental justice stories, such as the lead water crisis in Benton Harbor, Michigan, were mostly shallow and lacked important context.

The Forge—an online magazine for movement organizers and strategists—published many articles during 2021 that are useful for folks organizing across issues. “Building Power Through Policy” argues how the left can better utilize “policy feedback” in its political strategies. “Governing Together: Layers and Lessons”, an article series, catalogues the complementary roles of electoral strategies, policy priorities, governing tactics, and more. “The One-on-One” lays out the necessary ingredients for a successful one-on-one organizing conversation. “Here We Go Again: Philanthropy and Movement Capture” reminds contemporary movements about the risks of elite donor influence on grassroots power. This 2021 review includes many other articles about organizing, campaigns, policy, labor, police, and more.             

Make clear the urgency of responding to climate change. According to this poll, only 45 percent of Americans view global warming as an urgent problem requiring immediate action. The poll also finds that while perceptions about the threat of climate change haven’t changed much, the partisan divide on the issue has widened in recent years.