On green donations

On green donations

14 Jan 2008

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Hey Umbra,

With strict instructions from me, my parents decided to skip most of the presents this Christmas and give me the big-ticket item I had requested: money to give away. They've given me $1,000, far more than I expected, to donate to the charity of my choice. What environmental organizations would you recommend? (Other than Grist, of course!) Large groups like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club do wonderful work, but $1,000 is a drop in the bucket to them. How can I make this money go the farthest?

Emily
Ojai, Calif.

Dearest Emily,

Holy cow. Genius. Great idea, and good follow-through by parents. You reversed the normal eco-gift dilemma. Usually the eco-head risks ire for giving nothing or donating to charity (which I did this Christmas, to mixed results). Switcheroo. Didn't you have a charity in mind when you requested the money? Or perhaps you daredn't hope.

Pass the bucks.

Photo: iStockphoto

I don't have a specific charity to suggest (other than Grist, of course!), because that would be irresponsible of me. But I do have sundry comments and potentially helpful tips as per usual. Firstly, no decent nonprofit would sneer at your $1,000. Any nonprofit worth supporting will gratefully take your money, use it well, and respectfully court you as a lifelong funder who will potentially increase annual donations. If an organization raises operating funds from both individuals and grantors, they may additionally benefit from mid-smallish donors like yourself by demonstrating a diversity of stakeholder participation to funders.

Following on that thought, it wouldn't be necessarily bad to donate to a large org, which should have a good economy of scale if it's well run and also may have high effectiveness due to high profile and good reputation. That is to say, your money would go far despite being a "drop in the bucket."

Perhaps start your decision process by writing down the charities you are considering, and adding to that list with a little research. Ask friends and family if they have environmental organizations they respect, particularly local ones. To jog your memory for other orgs you've heard of but forgotten, think about the issues most important to you and search the internet; Wikipedia of course has a list of environmental organizations, as does Yahoo, and various green groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council keep good link lists.

Consider whether you are getting ready to make a long-term relationship with an organization. It will benefit them to know they have a new reliable donor, and it may benefit you in that you will feel involved and not have to go through this decision process each time you have money to spare. Visit the websites of organizations on your list and learn more about their projects, get a sense of how well organized and transparent they are, how they set and meet goals or measure their progress toward goals, whether they are effective. Call them and ask these questions if you feel bold enough, or at least get an annual report.

Ask Umbra continues below

ADVERTISING POLICY

If you find an organization and are not sure of its legitimacy, you could check the National Association of State Charity Officials for links to IRS and state information on charitable orgs. An interesting and well traveled site is Charity Navigator, which evaluates the efficiency of nonprofits and has a lot of helpful, clear information about choosing where to spend your money. They have an "environment" section, in which you could search for previously unknown groups (this would probably also assuage any concerns about legitimacy). Charity Navigator does not evaluate program performance, but rather looks at tax return-based information as an indicator of organizational health and efficiency.

All that sounds like a lot of work, but it doesn't have to be. Here's what I'd suggest: If you have an organization in mind right now whose work you think you admire, just look over their website to get a more thorough idea of their structure and achievements. Check them out at Charity Navigator and if you like what you see, go ahead and donate. It doesn't have to be too complicated. And congratulations.

Financially,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (21 comments)

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Friends of the River

This is a shameless plug for the group I work at: Friends of the River, California's statewide river preservation group. We'll take your money and put it to good use! Check us out at www.friendsoftheriver.org.

On a less self-centered note, think about your food bank. My wife and I also work with local farmers, and food and land use are big issues to us. Our gift to each other this year was a donation to our local food bank, which does a good job of using surplus food from local farmers. That, in turn, promotes local, small famers and their environmentally friendly practices.

by tonybogar at 10:24 AM on 14 Jan 2008

Matching gifts...?

This could easily be used as a gimmick, and may, as a result, not even be true (of course, Grist would never do such a thing), but many charities woo donors with double or triple matching gifts, promising that an anonymous donor will match any amount given during a particular time period. If, in fact, this is true, you could multiply your donation this way by using it to shoehorn money out of a volunteer rich person... :-)

On a side note, Umbra (or anyone else), do you know if there are laws requiring matching gifts to be real?

by andrewbacon at 10:46 AM on 14 Jan 2008

Turn that cash into supplies

I like to go with small monthly monetary donations to the larger charities (eg Enviro Defense, ahem Grist, etc), and give resources/time to my local organizations. Here is another idea for your money - check out the website of your local charity (or charities) of choice, because they usually post a "wish list," or call them directly, and find out what they need, and then buy it. For example, our local homeless teen shelter needs toiletries, warm clothes, sleeping bags, books, school supplies, etc. The local animal shelter needs towels, blankets, food, cleaning supplies, etc. You could take that $1,000 bucks (your parents rock!), and buy items directly, so you know exactly where your money went. It would take a little more time, but then you know your money goes directly to those in need. Happy "shopping!"

by inkedbuddha at 11:06 AM on 14 Jan 2008

Charitable Gifts

Hi Emily
My suggestion is maybe that you add to this generous gift by giving a gift yourself...that of your time. The best way to ensure that your charitable giving is used effectively is to become involved in the local chapter of social services or environmental organization. You'll have the chance to see how the financial contributions directly affect people and you'll perhaps have the opportunity to decide where the organization targets its resources. If you are like me, you won't have any regrets about the time you volunteer.
- Jeff

by JeffB at 12:12 PM on 14 Jan 2008

How about your own matching donation?

Ok, I had another idea. This one is admittedly more complicated, but meshing the ideas of Jeff and Andrew (and me). Consider hitting up friends, family and coworkers for your own one-year volunteer-a-thon. Here is how it could work: 1. Ask for donations. Tell people that for every $10 you get, you'll volunteer one hour, and donate $5 of your own (a 50% match, from the original $1000). So, if I am doing the math correctly (forgive me, it is Monday, after all), when all is said and done, you'll have $3,000 to donate, plus 100 volunteer hours! Wow, what a win-win-win! Like I said, it is more complicated, but what a way to leverage that $1,000.

"Engineers: Making things extra complicated for the greater good!"

by inkedbuddha at 12:42 PM on 14 Jan 2008

Charity Navigator is for the Big Boys

Be aware that Charity Navigator doesn't review organizations with budgets under 1/2 $million. So if you limit yourself to only those orgs that are passed by them, you're omitting all of the small and local groups. Of course, in the greater scheme of things, these are the groups that probably have the largest impact on land use and that are most starved for funding, because most environmental funding goes to the Inside-the-Beltway DC crowd. The small local groups have the lowest overhead. They just lurch from crisis-to-crisis. That's what made the "Death of Environmentalism" PR campaign to sell what's-their-faces book so funny. The local grassroots groups are as effective as ever, and as starved for resources as ever. Think globablly, act locally.

Steve E. Whidbey Environmental Action Network

by paintbrush at 1:13 PM on 14 Jan 2008

choices

There are lots of choices of great grassroots groups to support (including Tony's recommended Friends of the River) here: seach by state or keyword:

http://www.orionsociety.org/members

70% of these groups function on $499,000 or less...in fact, 20% of our non-profit members have annual budgets of under $25,000! So your donation to them would mean MUCH more than it would to a big group. And would translate into more change on the ground. The big groups have enormous overhead costs.

Have fun! A nice task to have.

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

by Erik Hoffner at 2:11 PM on 14 Jan 2008

Ooo, ooo -- NRDC!

Umbra happened to mention one of my favorite organizations, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). I've supported them for years now, and they seem to be a lean & green organization with very effective results. They consist mainly of a highly skilled group of attorneys, scientific experts, and supporting staff who are able to accomplish amazing things, in many cases just by filing lawsuits, but also by negotiating and working with government officials at the local, state, national, and even international levels. You can tell them I sent you. :-)

by mduruss at 8:18 PM on 14 Jan 2008

global giving

I highly recommend global giving (www.globalgiving.com), an organization that I just discovered.

They have a rigorous vetting process, have all sorts of categories of projects, and though I've just posted my first donation there, it looks as though I'll receive ongoing updates as to the status of the project to which I donated. Also, a lot of the projects are quite modest in scale, though have the potential for real long-term benefits, which appeals to me.

Good luck!

by fiatluxe at 8:17 AM on 15 Jan 2008

Environmental groups donations

Giving to local nonprofits is always best as it keeps the money in your community. Check out sustainability groups or local growers groups or local green, affordable building groups or simple-living groups. I believe these types of nonprofit organizations have the most personal and immediate effect on helping to change behaviors and outcomes in communities.

by bpcaul at 8:24 AM on 15 Jan 2008

Donate to Playgrounds for Palestine

A Palestinian-American woman, Susan Abulhawa, started a foundation to buy playground equipment, at discount, in the U.S. which she then ships, via Israel, to Palestinian villages in Gaza and the West Bank. Living conditions in those areas are very very very hard and often the kids have nothing to do after school (if they even can get to school through the roadblocks and walls and barriers that Israel has set up to make Palestinian lives as miserable as they can). So far Susie has installed about 8 playgrounds and plans to install two more this spring. She hires local residents to assemble the playground equipment. They then assume responsibility for maintaining it. They plant flowers around the playground, keep it in good order, and take great pride in it. Go to www.PlaygroundsforPalestine.org. (I am Jewish.)

by evesegal at 9:06 AM on 15 Jan 2008

political giving is environmental too!

It's important to remember how much politics impacts our environment too. If you don't need your gift to be tax deductible, you should definitely consider making a political gift -- either to a good green candidate or, even better, an organization that influences politics and candidates for office, like the organization I work for -- Washington Conservation Voters. http://www.wcvoters.org (League of Conservation Voters is a good one nationally)
You can also check out http://www.newprogressivecoalition.com/
They have an energy and environment section and have a better assessment of organizations than the big, formulaic assessment of sites like charity navigator.
Giving politically is often something that environmental donors miss, but it is hugely important if we wish to build power for our issues.

by nsudha at 2:53 PM on 15 Jan 2008

nrdc wants to kill the wilderness

please do NOT give any money to the NRDC or the Sierra Club and please tell them that you have the money and aren't giving it to them as long as they support total obliteration of hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile desert wilderness to support new faraway utility-owned power plants and power lines on pristine land (and have the nerve to call it "green!!"), when all they would have to do to save the planet from global warming WITHOUT KILLING OFF ENTIRE ECOSYSTEMS is steer all that govt. money and political advocacy towards local, decentralized power generation on previously developed land (rooftop PV, for example) which benefits the planet AND ratepayers. oh, AND the kennedy's view!!

dennis kucinich is ridiculously ahead of all other candidates on environmental vision if you want to donate politically, and if i had $1,000, i would probably give at least part of it to those modest lending associations which help people in poor areas start small businesses, and part towards water sanitation in the third world. just my 2 cents.

the greenest energy is that which you needn't ever produce.

by stopgreenpath at 6:04 PM on 16 Jan 2008

That amazing group in Tucson

I only learned about the Center for Biological Diversity a few years ago. They have singlehandedly forced the US Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries to actually comply with the Endangered Species Act as required by law, prodding those agencies to list and protect many species that otherwise would be ignored (and possibly extinct by now).

The CBD won my enduring love when they uncovered and showed a spotlight on the damning evidence regarding Julie MacDonald and her sleazebag role at Department of Interior in undermining biologists and other scientists within F&WS who are trying to do the right thing. Dear Julie is now long-gone from DOI, after being forced to resign. (Probably basking on a beach somewhere, but at least not doing any more damage.)

CBD seems like a small group that accomplishes amazing things. If endangered species and their disappearing habitat happens to be a priority for you, this seems like a cost-effective group to support. (And, no, I am not affiliated with CBD in any way ... exept that I now donate to them regularly myself.)

by GonzoDon at 3:35 PM on 17 Jan 2008

Greenwashing

I would also check out PETA's greenwash website:

http://www.peta.org/feat/greenwash/grades.html

Where they grade some eco groups based on their track record regarding animal testing (I used to donate to some of these groups, thinking, "they're helping animals as well as the environment," until I read these reports and discovered otherwise). NRDC gets an "F" (that's one of the ones I quit donating to). Meanwhile, Sierra Club got a B- and Greenpeace got a B+. World WILDLIFE Fund (emphasis mine) also gets an F. So... I don't know if this is a huge emphasis for you, but it is for me, so I thought I'd throw it out there.

Also, you could consider donating the money to more than one org (no one mentioned that yet, so I thought I would say that too).

Have fun, and vast quantities of kudos to your parents (and you, for coming up with the idea in the first place)!! : )

save the world, one click at a time: http://www.thehungersite.com (and link to their other sites while there!) : )

by Wren at 12:19 AM on 18 Jan 2008

Nonprofit Watershed groups

I recommend working locally with a watershed group in the drainage area where you live. Get connected to this powerful thing you have in common with others in the river basin area (watershed). The group I'm involved with, www.friendsofalumcreek.org in central Ohio, has a budget well under $250k and one paid staffer. Highly leveraged and efficient using grant money to move obstacles to a free flowing, healthy river. The group uses hundreds of volunteers a year to do projects like cleanups and native species planting. In my area, $1k would buy thousands of native seedlings from the soil and water conservation district bareroot stock sale now underway. These could be planted by volunteers in sensitive riparian areas to restore and enhance them as natural habitat for all to enjoy.

River groups are the least well funded, and most rivers are quite far from meeting the elusive goals of the Clean Water Act. Unfortunately the answers don't depend on us pinning blame and accountability on "them". They require everyone in the community to take personal responsibility to make the changes in their own lives and landscapes to achieve and practice environmental sustainability. Because the actions are local, the results are immediate. Try it, you will see how effective your own "drop in a bucket" is. You will be hooked, and you will be plugged in making a difference-- not just supporting a lifetime of junk mail from some group trying to hit you up for more cashola.

Everyone lives in a watershed. Get into yours, and make a positive difference locally today.

by 2wheelsgood at 1:41 PM on 18 Jan 2008

Try loans, not gifts

Consider Kiva.org. No-interest microloans you make to aid third-world development are repaid so that the money can be used again and again. And again.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

by spaceshaper at 5:19 PM on 18 Jan 2008

Give $100 donation...FREE (for you)

Recommended by a Grister some time back. I like the work of SELF, and use them for carbon offsets, as needed:

The Solar Electric Light Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help off-grid rural villagers in developing countries power a brighter future through clean, renewable energy and modern communications. SELFs projects are shaped by local priorities and led by local people often women and address critical needs in homes, clinics, schools, agriculture, and microenterprise. SELF seeks strategies that are holistic, sustainable, and replicable, and freely shares its learning and insights. Learn more about our work at http://www.self.org.

Also, you can read a few pages of energy education and, by doing so, $100 will be donated to SELF by Hinkle Foundation.

The Hinkle Pure Waste Challenge - Save Energy and Help SELF!

Read a bit about three ways that each of us can lessen global warming.

Email a pledge to take such steps to: purewaste@thehcf.org .

SELF receives $100.

It's just that easy. Truly. The Hinkle Charitable Foundation has designated $100,000 for SELF, but only if we help spread the word to a thousand people about not idling in your car, installing a tankless hot water heater, and using compact fluorescents -- all practical actions that can significantly affect climate change. Visit the Hinkle website for details. Give them five minutes, and they'll give us one hundred bucks!

[quoted from SELF e-newsletter]

Greta

P.S. -- I'm hoping that those Hinkle people are legit and not misusing the email addresses they collect. (If not, SELF just lost my support.)

NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org

by Greta at 9:40 AM on 22 Jan 2008

avoid the big ones

Most give way too much money to their CEO's and compromise way too much. If you talk to the people in the trenches in your local area, they'll have bitter things to say about WWF and NRDC and sometimes the Sierra Club (I have seen the Sierra Club's Environmental Justice wing and Sierra Student Coalition doing good things, however). If you lived in WV, I'd suggest Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the foremost group fighting mountaintop removal coal mining. But I would agree that you're better off dividing it into several gifts, and giving it to small groups fighting for specific things you care about, probably in your own local area.

by mwildfire at 4:13 PM on 29 Jan 2008

Another evaluation resource

Guidestar (www.guidestar.org) has past tax forms and such available; you do have to register but basic access is free.

by dancingwolfgrrl at 10:17 AM on 31 Jan 2008

Ecological Foot Print

for people like me who are mathematically disinclined, EFA is a great tool that makes me understand math.

by Vitamin at 2:19 PM on 17 Apr 2008

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