About the Campaign
Founded 2017. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to make civic outrage carbon-neutral, durable, and accountable.
Our Mission
We do not believe in suppressing outrage. We believe in budgeting it.
The Campaign exists because the modern outrage economy generates an unsustainable volume of civic energy expenditure. Our work is not to silence that energy — it is to make sure it is allocated, measured, and accounted for in the same way any other carbon-intensive activity should be.
We operate eight active programs spanning prevention, infrastructure, offsets, methodology, and credentialing. Every program is independently audited annually. Our 990 filings, our methodology documentation, and our annual State of Responsible Outrage report are all publicly available.
Founding Story
2017: The North Marin Zoning Meeting
The Campaign was founded in late 2017 by Hollis Penderwick, then a climate-communications strategist between roles, who attended a routine zoning meeting in North Marin and witnessed a single attendee's outburst burn enough kinetic energy to power a coastal town for fourteen minutes. The event was logged, in passing, by a local stringer for the regional paper. Hollis read the article that evening and could not stop thinking about it.
Within six months, Hollis had assembled a four-person research collective: a former methane-capture analyst, a behavioral psychologist, a civic-tech operator, and a graphic designer. Their first publication — a methodology brief titled Toward a Carbon-Equivalent Framework for Civic Overreaction — circulated quietly through climate-communications networks before being formally adopted by three regional foundations as a basis for grant making.
The Campaign was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in early 2018. It now employs 47 staff across regional offices in Portland, Philadelphia, and Boulder, with operating support from foundations and a growing base of individual donors.
Theory of Change
Three Pillars
Measure
We have spent six years building the methodology to convert qualitative outrage into auditable kg CO₂e. The Tantrum Footprint methodology is in its 4th major version and underwrites the entire offset registry.
Offset
Verified Outrage Offsets™ correspond to real-world reduction projects in our 23-partner network. Every credit issued is matched 1:1 against measured emissions reductions.
Credentialed Practice
Through the Certified Responsible Overreactor™ program, we establish a durable professional standard for sustainable overreaction practice — the only credential of its kind in the sector.
Financial Transparency
Our most recent IRS Form 990 is available for public review. Audited financials and our annual State of Responsible Outrage report are also published each spring.
Most recent 990 filing: FY 2024. Audited financials current through FY 2024. Report cycle: published annually in April.