Meet Amber Becerra
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN THAT SAVED MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER
By Kristin Borden
Photo by Erik Jay
“I immediately set a 6 month goal to raise 1 million dollars with the thought that if we can raise This money we can promise the community we can keep the center open for one more year."
Amber Becerra has always had a love for animals and the environment. This passion combined with her intelligent “indigenous-hustle-fundraising” as she calls it, shouldn’t be a shock to anyone she was able to take a financially strapped and almost defunct organization, Marine Mammal Care Center, reorganize it and host a savvy, mostly online fundraising campaign during a pandemic. She has helped the organization surpass a one million dollar goal which was what they needed to keep the doors open and the animals fed for another year.
In November of 2019, shortly after moving to Rancho Palos Verdes, Amber was called on by a former colleague (who was the Executive Director of the Board at the time) to help Marine Mammal Care Center. After taking a close look at the financials, she quickly realized that the center was in dire financial straights and on the verge of closure. “Do we give up on this thing or can I strap into this role, even though I have zero nonprofit management experience, and make this work?” She had to immediately lay off six employees and slash the budget from 1.6 million to 1 million dollars a year which also required the board to step up and take on more responsibilities and expand their volunteer roles.
Her fundraising tactics and marketing have included daily creative social media posts with a direct live stream plea to the animal lovers in the community and new sources of revenue for the center which include things like adopting a seal and purchasing merchandise from the gift shop. They have now raised over 1.6 million dollars in less than a year. She does give credit and thanks to some of the larger donations but also says that the cumulative of the average smaller donation is what made the most significant difference because she has succeeded in raising a community’s awareness of the value of the center. She hopes this will sustain it for future generations.
Amber attended the University of California, Berkley where she studied law. She has always had a huge interest in environmental justice and while at Berkley was involved in many environmental organizations. Currently Amber works in real estate development and has two young boys.
See website: marinemammalcare.org/
