One way to mark Earth Day is with a credit card, by making donations to charities involved in environmental protection throughout the year.
And if you're going to give for April 22, you might as well get the most for your money. Charity Navigator, which evaluates nonprofits, has a handy list of highly rated three- and four-star organizations that provide education, draft legislation and lead efforts to protect the planet. What's more, you may have heard of many of these orgs, but the list also highlights a number of smaller groups working on innovative projects.
The list is divided into four categories, so you can choose your mission: Action & Advocacy, National Park Funds, Land and Water.
For instance, there's The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club Foundation, Earth Day Network and Greenpeace Fund under Action & Advocacy.
There's also Ecotrust of Portland, Oregon, which offers a Forest Planner to help landowners visualize harvest schemes in order to be more environmentally friendly before planting.
Under Water, there's the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in Atlanta, Georgia, which has a floating classroom on Lake Lanier to teach kids about water quality and lake ecology aboard a 40-foot catamaran. The program has been so well-received (with 40,000 students participating) that they've added to their fleet.
Also under Water, The Wetlands Initiative in Chicago, Illinois, is working on research to create nutrient credit trading markets that would encourage farmers to implement small wetlands designed to reduce nutrient runoff from their lands.
Whichever charity you choose, this list and the Charity Navigator site is a resource.
Three- and four-star organizations receive their ratings based on two categories of calculations: Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency. Most of the data comes from Form 990 tax documents that organizations file with the Internal Revenue Service.
"When an organization receives a three- or four-star rating, it means that they are an effective organization that is committed to maintaining financially-sound practices and to ensuring transparent operations for their donors and constituents," a Charity Navigator spokeswoman says.
Speaking of taxes, you may have read about changes to tax deductions that some predicted would lead to a decrease in donations.
Charity Navigator reps say they've actually seen the opposite effect. Traffic to the website, as well as donations made through the site, have increased year-over-year in the first quarter of 2018: an 8.3% increase in number of donations and 20.1% more dollars given to 30.8% more charities. The giving is expected to continue for Earth Day.
"Last year, we saw a rise in donations due to various political motivations of Americans across the country," said Larry Lieberman, Charity Navigator's chief operating officer.
"... We're watching as groups and individuals dig deep to create lasting change for their communities. This is an affirmation that compassion, generosity, and philanthropy are not driven by tax refunds."
