8 non-profits to donate to on Giving Tuesday

Today is the sixth annual Giving Tuesday, a movement that was started in 2012 to celebrate and encourage giving. In the United States, the Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and popular shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

This past Black Friday, Americans spent a record $5 billion, according to CNN, a 16.9-percent increase compared to last year’s Black Friday! If the country can afford to spend as much as it did on Black Friday, then we can - and should - definitely make room in our budgets to give back, too.

I love Giving Tuesday and have been participating in it over the past several years. Here are eight organizations I’ll be supporting today. If you are interested in donating to causes but are still browsing around for ones that are worthwhile, take a look at the brief descriptions below each organization listed and see if any resonate with you:

Environmental organizations

1. National Park Conservancy Association

Mount Rainier National Park

Since 1919, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has served as the nonpartisan voice to protect America’s national parks for current and future generations.

This year, national parks are facing some tough challenges ahead. Last month, government agencies rescinded climate and energy policies put in place by the previous administration and issued an order for federal agencies to eliminate policies that “potentially burden domestic energy development.”  In October, reports also stated that the president plans to shrink two national monuments to allow drilling.

If you donate before midnight today, your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000.

To learn more about what the National Parks Conservation Association does, click here.

2. National Park Foundation

Washburn Point, Yosemite National Park

The National Park Foundation is the only official nonprofit partner to the National Park service. It supports programs that protect these beautiful public lands, and launches campaigns and initiatives that increase awareness about national parks. Among these is National Park Week, when visitors can enter national parks on during National Park Week weekends for free!

Learn more about what the National Park Foundation does here.

3. Environmental Defense Fund

The Environmental Defense Fund is an environmental advocacy group that works to address pressing issues including climate change and pollution. It is also working to promote sustainable fishing (our oceans are overfished) and sustainable agriculture to support the world’s growing population.

Learn more about what the Environmental Defense Fund does here.

Educational/social cause organizations

4. Red Eye

For more than a decade, Red Eye has conducted a weekly youth mentoring program in the Imperial Courts Housing Projects in Watts. Watts is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles where about 3% of adults have college degrees and one that has been notorious for gang violence.

Every week, volunteers meet at a recreation center in the projects to build relationships with youth who live in the area and host fun activities like arts & crafts. But due to nationwide budget cuts, the center could lose its programming by the end of 2017 unless a viable solution is presented.

Red Eye has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to keep this center open & expand the programming it offers youth, such as SAT tutoring and music production.

To learn more about Red Eye, click here.

5. Project Pearls

Project Pearls helps feed and educate children in poverty. Its mission is to give them PEARLS: Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love and Smiles.

To learn more about Project Pearls, click here.

Journalism organizations

6. Southern California Public Radio

Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a non-profit organization that provides quality news for residents in various Southern California regions via radio and interactive media. I listen to SCPR  every so often while driving in my car and appreciate the objective coverage of a wide variety of issues.

To learn more about SCPR, click here.

7. Mother Jones

Mother Jones is a non-profit news organization that publishes quality investigative articles. If you subscribe to its award-winning print magazine, you’ll receive one in the mail every two months. Mother Jones is funded by its readers and advertising revenue, and isn’t beholden to any stockholders or corporations.

To learn more about Mother Jones, click here.

8. Asian American Journalists Association

The Asian American Journalists Association provides support, encouragement, and resources for Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists. It also provides scholarships for AAPI journalism students and programs that help students hone their skills.

To learn more about the Asian American Journalists Association, click here.

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If you’re interested in learning more about #GivingTuesday, click here. I hope you’ll all find or create some room in your finances to support a worthy cause, whether it’s something that was listed here or if it’s something else that matters to you. Whatever you can give counts - whether it’s $10, $5, $3, or even $1. If we all give a little, we can give a lot!

Have you participated in Giving Tuesday before? What organizations will you be supporting today? Let me know in the comments!