Donating for Change

Donate to Those You Trust

This site is packed with organizations from around the world, but we encourage you to always do your research before giving to any organization.

We recommend starting with their own site or other media such as pamphlets or even talking to or working with them yourself if possible to assess their effectiveness and sincerity.

There are also 3rd party resources such as Charity Watch which can give you an idea of the organizations' spending, ethics, and other metrics. Even these can be a little tricky to interoperate, as some major corporations can get a good rating for programs that may be more of a greenwashing scam than doing much good. Other times it may be hard to research an organization bellow a certain size or age.

So dig for evidence and if something feels off, trust your gut!

International

• GiveWell "We search for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar.
  
  Our goal is to produce the world's top research on where to give. Free, for everyone. We recommend a small number of charities that do an incredible amount of good."

• GlobalGiving "connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country in the world. We help fellow nonprofits access the funding, tools, training, and support they need to serve their communities."

Apps & Blockchains

Apps can make tracking our money and environmental or social impact a little easier. 

Blockchains can be used with apps (behind the scenes) to track important data securely, ensuring fair wages and other important goals are fairly and honestly met.

• Plastic Bank "Our proprietary blockchain-secured platform records every transaction and gives traceability to your impact."
  
  "By partnering with Plastic Bank, you are enabling plastic collection within 50 kilometers of ocean-bound waterways and coastlines. Our communities gather plastic waste directly from local beaches, riverbanks, neighbourhoods, and even households – so we are able stop ocean plastic directly at source.
  
  Together, we are revealing value in plastic waste and improving lives. Our members exchange plastic waste as currency at local Plastic Bank branches for bonuses that help provide basic family necessities, such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, health insurance, digital connectivity, and fintech services. By offering safe, secure, and traceable sources of income, we’re empowering communities in vulnerable areas with a path out of poverty."

Tools & Calculators

• En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator "is a fast, powerful climate solutions scenario tool for understanding how we can achieve our climate goals through changes in energy, land use, consumption, agriculture, and other policies. The simulator focuses on how changes in global GDP, energy efficiency, technological innovation, and carbon price influence carbon emissions, global temperature, and other factors. It is designed to provide a synthesis of the best available science on climate solutions and put it at the fingertips of groups in policy workshops and roleplaying games. These experiences enable people to explore the long-term climate impacts of global policy and investment decisions.
  
  En-ROADS is being developed by Climate Interactive, Ventana Systems, UML Climate Change Initiative, and MIT Sloan.
  
  This guide provides background on the dynamics of En-ROADS, tips for using the simulator, general descriptions, real-world examples, slider settings, and model structure notes for the different sliders in En-ROADS."

Reviews & Ratings

This section includes reviews, ratings, and some are just sites listing companies according to their impact on the planet. For example the Forest500: List of Companies which are causing driving deforestation, and Cruelty Free Investing which lists companies with and without animal cruelty.

International

• Forest500: List of Companies  🔥 🌳 🪓 Learn which 500 companies care causing the deforestation. 

• GiveWell 🎁"Our goal is to produce the world's top research on where to give. Free, for everyone. We recommend a small number of charities that do an incredible amount of good."

• How Sustainable to Me (no registration; FREE) "Scan dozens of ETFs and mutual funds and find those that best align with your convictions."

North America

USA

• Charity Navigator 🎁"Use our ratings to find and support nonprofits that align with your passions and values." This organization uses self-reported information from the organizations themselves, and some other concerns have been raised about their updates.

• CharityWatch 🎁 "is the pit bull of watchdogs. Its staff members dig deeper than most other overseers, going to state and federal records to get information that charities do not volunteer, honing in on program efficiency and exposing abuses."

• Cruelty Free Investing  💹 🐷"is a non profit organization that makes it easy to align your investments with your values.  Our research team has looked at every publicly traded company in America."

Legal Resources

North America

USA

Organizations

International

• Beyond Animal "Where investors and vegan businesses meet" "Using technology, for online funding, networking and business services, to accelerate the transition to an economy free of animal exploitation. Our vision: a kinder, cleaner, healthier world."

• Calvert Impact "is a global nonprofit investment firm that helps all types of investors and financial professionals invest in solutions that people and our planet need. We're proud of our 25+ year track record of providing positive social and environmental impact and financial returns — without compromising either."

Asia

• The Asia Society Policy Institute "works with policymakers, scientists, economists, business leaders, and experts from other fields to enhance the regional and global fight against climate change through accelerating the transition to net zero emissions, carbon pricing, clean energy and climate diplomacy."

Europe

UK

• Make My Money Matter "Our banks and pension funds financially support almost every sector. Lots of them put money into industries like fossil fuels, tobacco, and arms. We’re here to make sure they do better. After all, what’s the point in retiring in a world on fire?"

North America

• Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.

Canada

• Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.

British Colombia

• PovNet "is an online community of advocates and front-line workers that addresses poverty and promotes access to justice for vulnerable residents of British Columbia."

Grants, Funding, & Reparations

International

• Beyond Animal "Where investors and vegan businesses meet" "Using technology, for online funding, networking and business services, to accelerate the transition to an economy free of animal exploitation. Our vision: a kinder, cleaner, healthier world."

Asia

• Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:

  • ASEAN Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund

  • Cities Development Initiative for Asia

  • Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.

  • Urban Environmental Infrastructure Fund (UEIF)

North America

Canada

• Grants to Reimburse Treaty Negotiation Loans to Indigenous Groups Who Have Settled a Comprehensive Land Claim "The overall objective is to ensure that Indigenous groups, who have repaid their comprehensive land claim negotiation loan debt resulting from their comprehensive claims settlements, are treated fairly and compensated for this amount.
  
  The nature of the repayment of loan debt repaid to Canada as a result of a settled comprehensive land claim does not lend itself to the development of direct targets/indicators as it is funding provided for a unique one-time transaction and gesture of reconciliation, ensuring fair treatment between groups for which loans were forgiven and those groups who have already settled their claims by reimbursing any monies already repaid to Canada and providing the means with which to further their achievements in gap-closing investment opportunities.
  
  The expected result is that all groups who have repaid their comprehensive land claim negotiation loan debt are reimbursed according to the schedule of payments contained in the letter sent to each Indigenous group.
  
  Performance results will be reported in Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s (CIRNAC) Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Report.
  
  In the Departmental Results Framework, this authority falls under the core responsibility, Rights and Self-Determination."

Oceana

Australia

• New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme and Funeral Assistance Fund "The New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme provides ex-gratia payments of $75,000 to living Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families and committed to the care of the New South Wales Aborigines Protection or Welfare Boards. This payment is made in recognition of the harm that these removals caused.
  
  The Funeral Assistance Fund provides one-off payments of $7,000 to Stolen Generations survivors to assist with the cost of funerals."

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• Downsizing for Dummies "...provides you with strategies to downsize your life by moving to a smaller home, decluttering, simplifying your budget, and saving more money. You’ll find tips to help decrease your cost of living, lower your home maintenance costs, protect and leverage your assets, and decide whether downsizing is right for you and your family. After downsizing your life, you’ll save time on household chores and gain the freedom and flexibility that come with having fewer possessions. What will you do with all the time you save? ..."