The Climate Action Gift That Keeps On Giving
By: Krista Kurth Ph.D.
Tags: Nonprofit, Climate Action, Holidays, Gift Ideas, Climate Change

The Climate Action Gift That Keeps On Giving

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As the end of the year approaches, many of us are thinking about what gifts we want to give our loved ones over the holidays. If we have financial means, we may also be looking at charities to which we want to give year-end contributions. Why not combine the two and give a donation in someone’s name to a non-profit working on climate solutions?

For the past five years or more, my husband and I have been doing just that. In honor of our 20 nieces and nephews, we give donations to organizations working on creating a sustainable world in which the next generations can thrive.

To make it easier for you to find and select climate-solution focused organizations that resonate with you, I’ve compiled a list of 30 organizations I think are doing great work. Note: This is not a comprehensive list of all organizations working on the climate crisis. However, Charity Navigator rates most of the ones I’ve listed very highly (a few are not yet rated). I’ve organized the list into categories (in alphabetical order) to help you identify ones that best fit your climate action focus areas.

Climate Communication

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1. The Climate Reality Project focuses on mobilizing urgent action to address the climate crisis across every level of society. They aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by scaling and speeding up the global use of renewable energy. They also support activists in demanding “world leaders strengthen and honor their Paris Agreement commitments.” They provide them with tools, training, and a collaborative network to help them advocate for solutions across the globe.

2. The Carbon Underground’s mission is to “accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture at scale to help reverse the climate crisis.” They do that by educating the world about the power of healthy soil to combat climate change. They also work to facilitate the transition of enough farms and grasslands globally to restore a healthy climate. They focus on five key areas: Corporate Impact, Education & Training, Policy, Communications, and Adopt-a-Meter.

3. World War Zero, co-founded by John Kerry, the new U.S. climate envoy, fights climate change by enlisting, engaging, and mobilizing “scientists, entrepreneurs, four-star generals, youth activists, global leaders, popular artists, and global leaders, Democrats and Republicans, and millions of people.” They have been holding a multitude of conversations across the world on the climate crisis. Their goal is to stop disinformation and change the message on climate change.

Removing Carbon from the Atmosphere

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4. Project Drawdown seeks to help the world reach “Drawdown — the future point when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start steadily to decline.” Since 2017, when they published the seminal book, Drawdown, they have become a prominent source of information on climate solutions. They continue to perform rigorous reviews and assessments of climate solutions and partner with others working to scale them up around the world. They aim to support the growing number of efforts to address climate change and remove carbon from the atmosphere quickly, safely, and equitably.

5. Pachamama Alliance is “a global community that offers people the chance to learn, connect, engage, travel and cherish life” with a goal of generating a significant commitment to creating a thriving, just, and sustainable planet. They are committed “to transforming human systems and structures that separate us, and to transforming our relationships with ourselves, with one another, and with the natural world.” In 2019 they launched the Drawdown Initiative; a series of workshops that support individuals in acting in their local communities to reverse global warming.

Environmental Justice

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6. Center for Race, Poverty, and the Environment is a “national environmental justice organization providing legal, organizing, and technical help to grassroots groups in low-income communities and communities of color.” They focus on sustainable agriculture, climate justice, toxic-free communities, and forgotten voices.

7. The Dream Corps “closes prison doors and opens doors of opportunity.” They “bring people together across racial, social, and partisan lines to create a future with freedom and dignity for all.” They promote climate action while building a green economy for all, reforming criminal justice, and creating equity in tech.

8. Earthjustice is a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization. They “wield the power of the law and strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change.” When litigating environmental issues, they represent their clients pro bono, which is possible due to generous donors.

9. Indigenous Environmental Network (Indigenous Educational Network of Turtle Island) is a network of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. Their activities include building the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments to create ways to protect sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, and the health of all living things. Their goal is to develop economically sustainable communities. They convene local, regional, and national meetings on environmental and economic justice issues and provide support, resources, and referral to Indigenous communities and youth worldwide.

Forests and Climate

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10. Coalition for Rainforest Nations is an intergovernmental organization of over 50 rainforest nations around the world. Since 2005, it’s partnered directly with governments and communities to protect their rainforests. They played a key role in securing an agreement on forestry in the Paris agreement have championed the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.

11. Nature Conservancy is “a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.” Their work supports conservation in 79 countries. Their priorities are to tackle climate change, protect land and water, provide food and water sustainably, and build healthy cities. They have a Plant a Billion Trees campaign where you can give the gift of trees.

12. Rainforest Foundation US works to “support indigenous and traditional people of the world’s rainforests in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfill their rights.” This foundation focuses its efforts in Central and South America by partnering with communities in these regions who are deeply motivated to protect their lands. The foundation supplies them with legal support, and equipment, and training to help them monitor and stop illegal logging and mining.

International Climate

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13. 350.org is “an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.” Their goal is to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350ppm. They work in almost every country in the world on campaigns like to support a fast and just transition to renewable energy, stopping new fossil fuel projects, and defunding dirty energy.

14. Conservation International works to “protect the nature in all its forms — for the benefit of everyone on Earth.” Since their inception, they’ve helped to protect over 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of land and sea across over 70 countries. They use science, partnerships, and fieldwork to help people adapt to the effects of climate change that are already happening. They also work to prevent further climate change by reducing emissions, enhancing carbon storage, and other natural solutions like forest protection and ocean conservation.

15. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has been using science and collaborative partnerships to make the environment safer and healthier for over 50 years. They work on issues like global warming, ecosystem restoration, oceans, and human health and advocate using sound science, economics, and law to develop solutions.

16. Greenpeace is a “global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.” They have offices in over 39 countries and a general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. They use direct action, lobbying, and research to achieve their goals and campaign on worldwide issues such as climate change, deforestation, and overfishing.

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17. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) “works to safeguard the earth — its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.” They draw on scientific, legal, and policy expertise and their more than three million members and online activists “to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.” Their programs focus on clean air, global warming, transportation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, electric-industry restructuring, and more.

18. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) collaborates with people worldwide to “conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.” They have over five million supporters worldwide, working in over 100 countries. They support around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects focused on climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and oceans.

19. World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research nonprofit working in over 60 countries to move human society to live in ways that protect the environment and its ability to provide for current and future generations. They use a threefold approach (Count it, Change it, Scale it) to work with governments, businesses, and communities to reduce poverty, grow economies, and protect natural systems. They focus on seven key areas: Climate, Energy, Food, Forests, Water, Sustainable Cities, and Oceans. (Note: I am a member of WRI’s Global Leadership Council).

Oceans and Climate

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20. The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is “on a mission to save the world’s coral reefs. They work collaboratively with communities to reduce direct threats to reefs in ways that provide long-term benefits to people and wildlife.” They also work to enhance the scientific understanding of how corals adapt to climate change and how to support them in thriving.

21. Oceana focuses exclusively on protecting and restoring oceans around the world. They conduct specific, science-based policy efforts that have clear and time-limited goals. Since its founding, Oceana has won more than 225 victories and protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean.

22. Ocean Conservancy works “to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges.” For over forty years, they’ve worked to protect ocean ecosystems, defend important legislation, and organize large efforts to remove trash from beaches worldwide. They currently focus on confronting climate change, reducing ocean acidification, instituting smart ocean planning, building sustainable fisheries, and creating trash-free seas. They believe “a healthy ocean means a healthy planet.”

23. Waterkeeper Alliance preserves and protects water by connecting over 300 local Waterkeeper groups worldwide that work to ensure “drinkable, fishable, swimmable water everywhere.” These groups protect over 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes, and coastal waterways. They work to stop pollution, enforce environmental laws, and advocate for progress and education in their local communities. “Waterkeepers speak for the waters they defend — with the collective strength of Waterkeeper Alliance and the backing of their local communities.”

U.S. Focused Climate Action

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24. Green America “harnesses economic power — the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace — to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.” They incorporate social justice and environmental health into four areas of broad scale change: climate and clean energy, sustainable food, and agriculture, responsible investing, and fair labor. (Note: I am the former Director of Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions and current Senior Fellow)

25. Sierra Club champions solutions to the climate crisis; works for clean air, safe water, land protection, and a vibrant natural world; fights for environmental and social justice; and believes in getting people outside to enjoy the outdoors. They have more than 3.8 million members.

26. U.S. Climate Action Network is a network of over 17 organizations actively working together to meet and exceed the US targets outlined in the Paris Agreement. They work to address climate change in a just and equitable way. They have action teams working on coordinating policy to affect broader change; building power from the grassroots up; organizing, mobilizing, and winning elections with social distancing; and working towards a socially and economically just response and recovery.

Women and Climate

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27. Global Greengrants Fund is a global network of activists and donors that support grassroots-led efforts to protect the planet and work toward a more equitable world. They put “resources directly in the hands of the best stewards of our environment — local people.” They focus on climate justice; healthy eco-systems and communities; local livelihoods; the right to land, water, and resources; women’s environmental action, and the right to defend the environment.

28. Women’s Environment & Development Organization “promotes and protects human rights, gender equality, and the integrity of the environment.” In that context, they work on global climate policy, sustainable cities and transport, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, and peace, conflict, and natural resources. They mobilize women for climate justice and work to have governments adopt gender-responsive climate policies.

Youth and Climate

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29. Power Shift Network is a network of over 90 organizations working to “mobilize the collective power of young people to mitigate climate change and create a just, clean energy future and resilient, thriving communities for all.” They focus on combatting climate and environmental injustice, stopping dirty energy projects, divesting from fossil fuels, fixing democracy, and building a just, clean energy-powered future. They understand that these issues deeply interconnect and believe they can best work on them as a coordinated network.

30. The Sunrise Movement is a network of youth movement hubs working “to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs.” They’re building a cadre of young people who advocate for climate change being an urgent issue across the country. They are pushing for an end to oil and gas company executives exerting undue influence in the political arena and work to elect representatives “who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.”