10 Best Charities for This Year’s Earth Day (Complete 2024 List)

10 Best Charities for This Year’s Earth Day (Complete 2024 List)

By
Diana Stancu

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Stay impactful,

We celebrate Earth Day on April 22 every year to bring awareness to environmental problems engulfing our planet. For instance, we have lost over one-third of our forests since the ice age while still losing 11 football fields of forest per minute. In addition, species are experiencing the greatest extinction rate in 60 million years while our plastic waste increases by 350 million tons annually. Fortunately, charities worldwide are fighting to stop these critical threats to our ecosystems and help our planet thrive. So we had to ask: What are the best charities for this year’s Earth Day?

The best charities for this year’s Earth Day are Neighborhood Forest, EARTHDAY.ORG, and Re:wild. Other charities, like the Sierra Club Foundation and the Global Footprint Network advance eco-friendly policies to protect our planet. 

Whether you want to help conserve and protect green lands worldwide, help our oceans and rivers to thrive, or lower your carbon footprint to fight against climate change, there is a charity for you. Keep reading to learn more about what the best charities for this year’s Earth Day are all about, how they work, and what would be your best way to make a contribution.

Here’s What All the Best Charities for This Year’s Earth Day Have in Common

The charities on this list were chosen based on their impact, transparency ratings, and the diverse ways they help our planet prosper. They operate all over the world, from North America to Asia, innovating environmental sustainability.

Most of the charities below work to conserve the biodiversity of plants and animals, especially endangered ones, across all ecosystems. They also plant trees through reforestation projects and help to breed threatened species to support ecological balance.

Furthermore, some of the charities fight to decrease our carbon footprint and minimize carbon emissions from fuels to stop global warming. 

Moreover, other charities clean Earth’s waters of plastic and other debris, to protect habitats from toxins and help us thrive. 

Yet, all these charities share the same goal; to help our planet flourish and serve all of us – humans, animals, and plants – in this pursuit.

These Are the 10 Best Charities for This Year’s Earth Day in 2024

Below are our favorite charities for this year’s Earth Day (you can click on their link to directly jump to their section in this article):

(At the end of this article we’ll also share our six-step approach on how you can select the best charity to support.)

1

Neighborhood Forest: We Give Free Trees to Kids – Every Earth Day

Logo for Neighborhood Forest
It's Raining Trees!

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Their transparency & ratings:

Neighborhood Forest holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We love trees. We love planting them and watching them grow. We want to give every child this joy.”

Neighborhood Forest

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What they do:

Neighborhood Forest partners with schools, libraries, and other youth institutions nationwide to distribute free trees and planting instructions that help children plant trees across their cities. In addition, they collaborate directly with families to support their child’s planting opportunity. The charity does a tree planting project each year during Earth Week, starting with Earth Day. They also provide online resources to support planting program coordinators and offer detailed planting guides. They also explain the benefits of trees and particular species while promoting nature-based activities to instill a love for conservation in schoolchildren. 

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What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, Neighborhood Forest has engaged over 500,000 children and parents to plant over 130,000 trees across urban and residential areas. In addition, they have reached more than 1,500 libraries, schools, and youth groups spanning 48 US states and 5 Canadian provinces. For example, in 2023, they supported 100,000 volunteers from 600 youth-focused institutions to plant 42,000 trees. Moreover, the trees they planted that year can absorb 250,000 tons of CO2 when grown.

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to Neighborhood Forest via their website. You can also contribute by joining their campaign Plant One Give One or by following them on Instagram

2

EARTHDAY.ORG: The Birth of the Modern Environmental Movement

Logo for EARTHDAY.ORG
Giving Tuesday - Donate to Earth Day and Support Our Mission

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Their transparency & ratings:

EARTHDAY.ORG has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator

“Our world needs transformational change. Every Earth Day can drive a year of energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to create a new plan of action for our planet.”

EARTHDAY.ORG

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What they do:

EARTHDAY.ORG fights against plastic pollution by promoting less plastic use and more recycling. In addition, they do yearly cleanups of plastic waste worldwide and promote climate protection campaigns for the general public. Furthermore, they run tree-planting projects in forests and endangered green spaces while conserving marine ecosystems and their biodiversity across oceans. Moreover, they fight for more regenerative agriculture and advance sustainable fashion to protect the Earth’s soil and its communities. They also provide youth with climate and environmental education to help them become advocates for change.

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What they’ve achieved:

To date, EARTHDAY.ORG has expanded their network to serve 190 countries worldwide. Also, their advocacy efforts helped establish the Environmental Protection Agency and create the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Furthermore, they have launched Earth Day Schools in 149 countries, reaching almost 1 million students, to increase environmental and climate awareness. They have also planted tens of millions of trees with The Canopy Project. Moreover, in 2022 alone, they collected 145 million pounds of trash from the environment, mobilizing 12 million people worldwide. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to EARTHDAY.ORG via their website. You can also support them by accessing their Earth Hub, volunteering, or joining their live event series about environmental awareness. 

3

Re:wild – Biodiversity is the Solution 

Logo for Re:Wild
Welcome to Re:wild

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Their transparency & ratings:

Re:wild has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We don’t need to reinvent the planet. We need to rewild it.”

Re:wild

⚒️

What they do:

Re:wild conserves ecosystems worldwide by restoring degraded areas of biodiversity and advocating against further exploitation of wild places, especially Key Biodiversity Areas. In this way, they allow nature to rebalance its wildlands and be able to store vast amounts of carbon, thus slowing global warming. Furthermore, they protect threatened animal species by preventing wildlife crime and supporting conservation breeding programs. In addition, they provide mentorship and resources to rangers and other protected areas personnel to ensure that their rewilding efforts are sustainable for future generations. 

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, Re:wild has created over 100 new conservation areas across 86 countries, measuring 800,000 square miles of wildlife ecosystems. Furthermore, they have supported more than 33,000 species of animals and helped conserve 200 endangered species. Through all their programs, they helped nature store over 75 gigatons of carbon and slow down climate change. For example, in 2022, their coalition Connect to Protect Eastern Tropical Pacific invested almost $120 million to support conservation in the marine areas and islands of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to Re:wild via their website. You can also contribute by joining their Re:wild Your Life challenge or attending their awareness events

4

The Ocean Cleanup: The Largest Cleanup in History

Logo for The Ocean Cleanup
This Is The Largest Cleanup in History | The Ocean Cleanup

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Their transparency & ratings:

The Ocean Cleanup has a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“Big problems require big solutions, and we must use this ticking time bomb to our benefit. Our aim is to put ourselves out of business once the oceans are clean.”

The Ocean Cleanup

⚒️

What they do:

The Ocean Cleanup researches how plastic waste ends up in the ocean and how it affects marine ecosystems to find the best solutions to tackle it. In this way, they create projects like the floating systems to capture ocean plastics ranging from millimetric pieces up to massive debris. In addition, they clear up rivers worldwide, as a lot of waste ending up in oceans comes from rivers. They do this by using Interceptor Barriers and Tenders, as well as other cutting-edge technology, to trap waste in banks and easily extract it from moving waters. Moreover, they work to recycle the plastic they collect and offset carbon emissions from their projects.

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, The Ocean Cleanup has removed over 8.1 million lbs of trash from Earth’s oceans and 1,000 rivers across 7 countries. Furthermore, they have improved their technologies to be able to remove 25,000 pounds of debris during a single catch – equivalent to the area of a football field. For example, in 2022, they extracted the first 220,000 lbs of plastic waste from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. In the same year, they caught and removed over 2 million lbs of plastics from oceans and rivers while deploying 10 new river cleanup machines worldwide. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to The Ocean Cleanup via their website. In addition, you can join their team or shop through their online store

5

Sierra Club Foundation: The Foundation for a Healthy Planet

Logo for Sierra Club Foundation
Sierra Club Foundation Commercial

🔎

Their transparency & ratings:

The Sierra Club Foundation has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We expand opportunities for more people to explore and enjoy the planet, promote healthy ecosystems and communities, as well as fight for clean air and water,”

Sierra Club Foundation

⚒️

What they do:

The Sierra Club Foundation protects natural habitats and green spaces nationwide, such as national parks, to conserve their biodiversity. They also work to minimize the development of fossil fuels factories and utilities near natural areas, to shield them from emissions and pollutants. Furthermore, they run projects to reduce greenhouse emissions by closing coal mines and urging the public to switch to electric vehicles. In addition, they work to eliminate fossil gas from homes and switch to electrical technologies. Moreover, they advocate with governments to accelerate impact and organize environmental programs for the public. 

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, the Sierra Club Foundation has continued to advance conservation and clean energy. For example, their Beyond Coal Campaign has closed over 300 US coal plants worth 150,000 megawatts of coal power and saved thousands of lives from toxic pollutants. This campaign became one of the largest and most impactful environmental campaigns in history. Furthermore, in 2015, they helped create the most far-reaching climate agreement in history, with 196 countries making country-specific pledges to minimize carbon offsets. Moreover, in 2022, they invested nearly $100 million in 40 environmental projects worldwide. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to the Sierra Club Foundation via their website. You can also support them by offering employer-matching gifts or donating your personal vehicle

6

National Forest Foundation: Protecting the Centerpiece of America’s Public Lands

Logo for National Forest Foundation
National Forest Foundation - See Your Somewhere

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Their transparency & ratings:

The National Forest Foundation has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We believe that our forests, and all they provide, are an American treasure and are vital to the health of our communities.”

National Forest Foundation

⚒️

What they do:

The National Forest Foundation protects America’s watersheds across forests and grasslands to give quality drinking water to communities and support wildlife diversity. Furthermore, they run projects to plant trees across regions affected by deforestation. Moreover, they focus on specific wild areas nationwide, like Sierra Nevada’s mountain range and other Californian forests, to protect against fuel exploitation or other threats. They also work in the eastern regions and southwest states to preserve biodiversity. In addition, their programs ensure the conservation of large-scale mountainous areas, such as the Rocky Mountains and Alaskan mountains

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, the National Forest Foundation has invested $13 million to conserve and rehabilitate 5,300 miles of watersheds nationwide through 450 individual projects. For example, in 2022, they invested $30 million in 290 grants to increase biodiversity and conserve national forests. In the same year, they restored and rebuilt nearly 7,000 miles of mountain trails while improving 15 square miles of wildlife ecosystems. Moreover, in 2023, on Earth Day, they raised $50 million and started planting 50 million trees across America’s forests. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to the National Forest Foundation via their website. You can also support their tree-planting efforts by donating or fundraising directly to this project. In addition, you can join their National Forest Week

7

Global Footprint Network: Advancing the Science of Sustainability

Logo for Global Footprint Network
What is Ecological Overshoot? (Updated 2014)

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Their transparency & ratings:

The Global Footprint Network has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We say: measure what you treasure. We are changing how the world manages its natural resources and envisioning a future where all can thrive within the means of our one planet.”

Global Footprint Network

⚒️

What they do:

The Global Footprint Network works with governments and companies worldwide to calculate their carbon footprint and sustainability level while helping them decrease their emissions. In addition, they help institutions with strategies for sustainable development. They also provide online tools for individuals and businesses to assess and improve their environmental impact. Furthermore, they run projects that raise awareness of global warming and its connection to people’s increased ecological footprint. Moreover, they conserve biodiversity in endangered areas and organize the Earth Overshoot Day to stop our ecological deficit. 

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, the Global Footprint Network has worked with over 80 global partners across 50 countries and 6 continents to support eco-friendly policies and business decisions. Also, they have helped 70 country governments apply their carbon metric in national policies and reduce their carbon footprint. In addition, their Ecological Footprint Calculator has reached 18 million users since its launch, helping the public assess their environmental impact. Moreover, in 2022, their “Earth Overshoot Day” received over 7 billion media impressions in 100 countries and raised awareness of ecological resource abuse. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to the Global Footprint Network via their website. In addition, you can support them with employer-matching gifts or by assessing your own carbon footprint

8

One Tree Planted: Together, Planting a Forest

Logo for One Tree Planted
How We Planted 100 Million Trees | One Tree Planted

🔎

Their transparency & ratings:

One Tree Planted has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“Truthfully, planting trees is anything but simple because, as we often say, it’s about more than planting trees. It’s about growing healthy forests, creating jobs, building communities, and protecting habitat for wildlife.”

One Tree Planted

⚒️

What they do:

One Tree Planted works within diverse ecosystems worldwide to fund large-scale reforestation projects to conserve plant and animal species while rebuilding the soil. In addition, they run Urban Forestry programs to increase the health and well-being of urban populations while addressing environmental justice issues. To do these projects, they plan the entire plantation process in advance to ensure a high impact. They also collaborate with international planting partners to deliver the best projects locally and monitor all programs to ensure sustainable results. 

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, One Tree Planted has helped plant over 100 million trees in 80 countries from 6 continents. For example, in 2022 alone, they planted 52 million trees with the help of 700 reforestation and urban partners worldwide. In the same year, they invested nearly $50 million to plant across 400 square miles of land through 327 environmental projects. In addition, they created working opportunities for 50,000 indigenous families and supported 700,000 urban residents by planting 20,000 trees in 38 cities worldwide. Furthermore, all the trees they planted can capture over 10 million tons of carbon when fully grown. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to One Tree Planted via their website. You can also contribute by buying their merchandise or Tree Kits, to start planting by yourself. 

9

The Nature Conservancy: A World Where People & Nature Thrive

Logo for The Nature Conservancy
Nature is Our Solution

🔎

Their transparency & ratings:

The Nature Conservancy has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We envision a world where the diversity of life thrives, and people act to conserve nature for its own sake. We’re overcoming barriers to the change our planet needs.”

The Nature Conservancy

⚒️

What they do:

The Nature Conservancy conserves and restores natural habitats while managing farmland to increase carbon storage worldwide. Furthermore, their projects protect biodiversity in ecosystems across oceans, lands, and fresh waters to tackle the climate crisis. For this, they fund resources and workforce in places that contain particularly diverse ecosystems. In addition, they help secure food and water sustainability for communities worldwide in the face of climate change and loss of agricultural lands. They also advocate with policymakers to fund their technologies and guide the youth to bring public awareness to conservation issues. 

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, the Nature Conservancy has expanded their work to all 50 US states and 70 countries across 6 continents. For example, in 2016, they helped permanently conserve 30,000 square miles of the Pacific coast between Vancouver Island and Alaska to preserve biodiversity. Furthermore, in 2022, they influenced political leaders in Barbados and Mongolia to pledge protection for 30% of their country’s land. In this way, they helped conserve 150,000 square miles of soil in Barbados and 55,000 square miles in Mongolia. 

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to The Nature Conservancy via their website. You can also contribute by volunteering or signing their online petitions. In addition, you can learn how to protect nature in your daily life

10

Clean Air Task Force: Catalyzing Solutions To Meet the Climate Challenge

Logo for Clean Air Task Force
CATF – Driving Impact

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Their transparency & ratings:

The Clean Air Task Force has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and holds the Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar

“We’re not just environmental advocates; We’re pragmatic problem solvers. We provide hope through bold, durable climate solutions.”

Clean Air Task Force

⚒️

What they do:

The Clean Air Task Force advances policies and technologies to decarbonize the global energy system and stop climate change. For this, they innovate zero-carbon energy options to reduce emissions from the energy sector and create a carbon-free global economy. Furthermore, they improve world transportation through zero-carbon fuels and fight to decarbonize heavy industries like cement, steel, and glass. In addition, their projects improve infrastructure and create greener cities to help maintain the balance between active social lives and minimized carbon emissions

🚀

What they’ve achieved:

Since their founding, the Clean Air Task Force has continued to fight against air pollution and carbon emissions. For example, their Power Plant Pollution Campaign has implemented regulations that save 13,000 lives per year and avoid hundreds of thousands of illnesses from air pollutants. Moreover, they pushed the US Congress to implement carbon captures nationwide and fight against global warming. Also, they have formed the Carbon Capture Coalition to expand this strategy worldwide. Furthermore, in 2022, they secured $370 billion in clean energy funding and expanded their network in 46 countries to engage with over 100 policymakers.

Ways to contribute:

You can donate to the Clean Air Task Force via their website. You can also support them by applying for a job or subscribing to their newsletter

How Can You Select the Best Charities to Support?

The charities on the list are, we deem, the best charities for this year’s Earth Day. However, you may have a particular charity you want to support. Let’s look at what you can do to ensure your contribution has the most significant impact.

  • Check out the charity website. Charities that are worthy of your donations are transparent in their mission and their figures. Familiarize yourself with their history, mission, and values. Their website usually is the best place to start.
  • Identify the charity’s mission. Without a goal, the charity is likely to fail. If the charity’s mission isn’t clear, it’s probably worth looking for a charity that does have a clear mission. 
  • Check if the charity has measurable goals. An effective charity has clear goals. You want to know your donation will help the charity reach its goals. But if it doesn’t have targets, it’s likely to fail or squander your gift. The charity should be able to account for its spending and supply evidence of the work they do.
  • Assess the successes or goals the charity has achieved. You wouldn’t invest in a business if it kept missing its targets. In the same way, charities are like this too. If no one is assessing a charity’s progress in reaching its targets, the chances are they’re not making a substantial positive change.
  • Check the charity’s financials and stats. Trustworthy organizations will publish financial statements and reports each year. Some might be exempt from having to do so, but they should be able to provide them to public members who are interested in donating.
  • Locate sources who work with or benefit from the charity. Word of mouth and first-hand experience of a charity’s work lets you know the charity’s quality. If you’re able to do so, check out the charity for yourself or speak to someone familiar with it. This way, your donation will go to the right place. 

How Can You Best Support These Charities?

After you’ve made your decision, it’s time for you to decide on how you’d like to help the charities you’ve chosen. Check how you can help – each charity runs specific programs that have unique aims. Find out what the aim of such programs is and whether they are right for you. 

Here are a few ways you can help your chosen charity:

  • Donate money. You can find donation pages on the website of most charities. Your donation can be a one-time payment, or you can set it to be deducted regularly at different intervals. You can mostly pay via credit card, but some charities also take PayPal or Bitcoin payments.
  • Buy their official merchandise. Charities can also raise money by selling merchandise. So, you can support them by buying the mugs, shirts, caps, pens, pencils, and any other such items they may be selling. Ideally, you should buy as much as you can to share and spread the word about the charity’s activities.
  • Engage in volunteer work. As you’ve seen from our descriptions above, some charities engage in a lot of local and grassroots programs. You can help by taking on and organizing the program in your local area.
  • Help their fundraising efforts. You can spread the word about the charity in your workplace, school, church, etc., and hold creative fundraising drives on social media or offline within your small circles.
  • Share their stories. Most charities have compelling stories that you can share with your audience to attract more people to the cause.

Final Thoughts

Now it is up to you to select the charity that resonates most with you. And whichever charity you end up choosing and contributing to, we are sure that they will immensely appreciate your support. Hopefully, the information within this article has made this selection process a bit easier for you to support charities dedicated to this year’s Earth Day—based on the causes that matter most to you.

Stay impactful,

Illustration of a signature for Diana

PS: Finally, I want to leave you with a thought-provoking TED talk from Dan Pallotta, a leading philanthropic activist and fundraiser, about what is wrong with the way we think about charities – and what we can do about it:

The way we think about charity is dead wrong | Dan Pallotta

Sources

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