New Year, New Giving Resolutions?

Spotlight on Our Favorite Environmental Nonprofits

Written by
Kerri Stenson
Published on
January 26, 2022 at 3:41:20 PM PST January 26, 2022 at 3:41:20 PM PSTth, January 26, 2022 at 3:41:20 PM PST

We know that lifestyle changes, even small ones, can make a big difference for the environment — and we do our part by shopping local, using nontoxic and sustainable products, conserving water, driving less, using reusables (our Urban Market Bags of course!), the list goes on … But this year when thinking “what else can we do,” we remembered that there are teams of dedicated organizations and people working tirelessly to move the needle with climate change and the environment, and they can use our support! So we turned to Charity Navigator to help us and thought we’d highlight our top six favorites for you. 🌎🧡


Environmental Advocacy

Natural Resources Defense Council 

Mission:

The Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends. We work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life - air, land, and water - and to defend endangered natural places. We seek to establish sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth as central ethical imperatives of human society. NRDC affirms the integral place of human beings in the environment. We strive to protect nature in ways that advance the long-term welfare of present and future generations. We work to foster the fundamental right of all people to have a voice in decisions that affect their environment.


Natural Resources Defense Council is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1970, and donations are tax-deductible.


Sierra Club Foundation

Mission:

The Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy. We partner with individual and institutional donors to align financial resources with strategic outcomes, provide flexible funding for innovation, build capacity in the environmental movement, and create partnerships with a broad spectrum of allied organizations around shared values and goals. As the fiscal sponsor of the charitable programs of the Sierra Club, we provide resources to it and other nonprofit organizations to support scientific, educational, literary, organizing, advocacy, and legal programs that further our goals.


Sierra Club Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1962, and donations are tax-deductible.


Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Conservation

Oceana

Mission:

Founded in 2001, Oceana is the largest international group focused solely on ocean conservation. Our offices in North America, South America and Europe, work together on a limited number of strategic, directed campaigns to achieve measurable outcomes that will help return our oceans to former levels of abundance. We believe in the importance of science in identifying problems and solutions. Our scientists lead our team of economists, lawyers, and advocates focused on achieving tangible results for the oceans. Saving the oceans may take decades, but in each of our campaigns we aim to accomplish an important milestone in that effort within two to five years.


Oceana is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 2000, and donations are tax-deductible.


National Forest Foundation 

Mission:

Our National Forests span 193 million acres from Alaska to Puerto Rico. Truly "The People's Lands," these forests, grasslands, deserts, and snow-capped mountains are our most cherished outdoor spaces that offer unparalleled recreation opportunities. They also support local economies, provide critical natural resources, clean our water and air, and host wildlife. The National Forest Foundation is the only conservation organization solely dedicated to improving these public lands for today's and future generations. Our efficient, effective, and creative approaches to conservation reach millions of Americans annually. We accomplish our work through signature conservation initiatives, tree planting, grant programs as we empower communities to work together and inspire millions of Americans to care for their backyard National Forests.


National Forest Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1993, and donations are tax-deductible.


Environmental Health and Justice

Environmental Working Group

Mission:

Founded in 1993, the mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. Our team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers pores over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and our own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions. Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know. It shames and shakes up polluters and their lobbyists. It rattles politicians and shapes policy. It persuades bureaucracies to rethink science and strengthen regulation. It provides practical information you can use to protect your family and community.


Environmental Working Group is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1999, and donations are tax-deductible.


Environmental Education 

Captain Planet Foundation

Mission: 

The Captain Planet Foundation works collaboratively to engage and empower young people to be ChangeMakers for the planet. For 30 years, we have been activating generations of environmentally literate citizens empowered to protect and sustain the natural systems upon which all life depends. CPF is both a grant-making foundation and a programmatic foundation. Through its small grant program, it has funded over 2,700 hands-on environmental education projects with schools and non-profits that serve children in all 50 U.S. states and in 35 countries internationally. More than 1.6 million children have directly participated in and benefited from these educational projects. In addition to providing small grants, CPF operates the following programs: Project Learning Garden (providing schools with onsite learning laboratories and healthy food access); Project Hero (a web-based and project-based learning platform for students to save locally threatened species & ecosystems); and Changemakers.


Captain Planet Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1992, and donations are tax-deductible.