It’s Giving Tuesday
It’s Giving Tuesday and we have, for the past few years, used the blog to talk about some charitable organizations we love in case you are in a position to give and need some ideas. If this isn’t the year for you to give freely (we’ve all had those years), then feel free to tuck these away for another day. If you have great charities you like to donate to, fantastic (and let us know on socials so maybe we can feature them next year! This year, we’re featuring a variety of charities that we as a team or we as individuals love and support.
We’ll organize our list by category.
Music-related charities
It probably goes without saying that music is near and dear to us, and if you’re reading this, it’s probably something important in your life too. We’ve pulled together a few of our favorite organizations helping make music accessible to more people and helping professional artists. There are loads of great options, but here are a few. Where they have Charity Navigator ratings, we’ve provided these as well.
Afrorack
Afrorack empower youths to become the problem solvers of the future, impacting how they engage in school and their communities. They use modular synthesizers in their workshops and seminars. They have developed an entire suite of tools centered around STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. They're running a Giving Tuesday campaign if you're thinking of supporting.
Composers Diversity Collective
Our pal René G. Boscio introduced us to the Composers Diversity Collective last year and we were so excited to meet these folks. The CDC aims to eliminate the industry’s challenge to find culturally diverse music creators, supervisors, engineers, and musicians. One of their goals is to dispel misconceptions about the stylistic range of any minority composer. They also host fun events for members to get to know each other, including workshops like the one we did with René on using modular synths in scoring.
Musicians Foundation
Formed to foster the interests, to advance the condition and social welfare, and to provide voluntary assistance to professional musicians and their families, Musicians Foundation provides grants when life hands artists a curveball. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
We Make Noise (formerly Beats by Girlz)
With over 30 chapters globally, We Make Noise blends music creation, technology training, community building, and career development to instill the mindset and abilities needed for success in the music industry and beyond. They do this with dedicated curricula on a variety of topics from music production to live performance.
Willie Mae Rock Camp
Based in Brooklyn, NY, Willie Mae Rock Camp integrates music, technology and STEM to empower girls and gender-expansive youth with the skills and confidence to thrive as creative leaders in a tech-driven future. WMRC offers a range of interdisciplinary music technology programs for in-school, after-school, summer camp and online learning, plus community workshops and events in their Brooklyn music laboratory. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Conservation
Environmental conservation is a core tenet of who we are at NE, and here are a few charities we love.
1% for the Planet
Kind of a meta-charity, 1% for the Planet oversees members to make sure that we live up to our commitment to donate at least 1% of our annual revenue. They also do the hard work of evaluating environmental charities so we know we are donating to legitimate organizations. One feature I love is their search: you can search Environmental Partners and find organizations to donate to. If money is tight but you have time, use the map feature to find organizations where you can go volunteer! That’s how we found an opportunity to help the National Parks Foundation. Last fall, NE’s Patrick volunteered some of his time cleaning up picnic areas at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Northeast Trees
Northeast Trees is an urban greening nonprofit, dedicated to increasing tree canopy and green spaces in underinvested communities throughout Los Angeles. This is Kris’s favorite charity to volunteer with. They are dedicated to making Los Angeles a healthier, greener place by developing stewards of our parks and designing a sustainable LA.
SeaTrees by Sustainable Surf
SeaTrees makes it easy for anyone who cares about the ocean (don’t we all) to directly support communities planting and protecting blue-carbon coastal ecosystems. Sustainable Surf also has a program called Ocean Positive holding companies accountable for their climate impact. Their approach blends traditional carbon credits with direct restoration. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Bat Conservation International
Bats are vital to our world’s ecosystems and economy, but hundreds of species face threats to their existence. Bat Conservation International is a globally recognized conservation organization dedicated to ending bat extinctions. Their goal is to redefine what is possible in global conservation, through the use of cutting-edge tools, technology, and training to create a real, measurable impact. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Amphibian Foundation
Amphibians are declining globally at an alarming rate. Amphibian Foundation is dedicated to connecting individuals, communities, and organizations in order to create and implement lasting solutions to the global amphibian extinction crisis. From their Critter Cafes aimed at kids 5 and under to their year-long gap-year immersive training program, AF is training the next generation of amphibian researchers while carrying out and supporting cutting-edge research in amphibian conservation.
Macaw Recovery Network
Macaw Recovery Network works to protect and recover endangered parrot populations in the Americas through both in-situ and ex-situ methods. MRN’s breeding center houses rescued Scarlet and Great Green Macaws, providing them with the opportunity to form partner bonds and breed as they would in the wild. The rescue parrots raise the next generation of wild macaws. Chicks get to learn from wild parents, and benefit from full health checks prior to release in the wild. Last year, they were also able to procure a 208 hectare parcel of forest (20% of which is being reforested!) for parrot habitat. This parcel abuts a bunch of other protected areas, meaning that the impact is even greater! To cap it all off, the reforestation project is run by their Women Rangers program which trains women in the region who lost employment during the pandemic to assist with parrot conservation. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Save Pangolins
Our first conservation partnership was with Save Pangolins back in 2017 when Stephen named our Manis Iteritas oscillator and Kris said, “hey, that’s a pangolin!” We got in touch and have worked with them ever since! Save Pangolins supports conservation projects around the world that are working to ensure no pangolin goes extinct. In addition to raising awareness of pangolins through social media and facilitating greater collaboration and communication between conservation organizations, they fund a wide range of effective pangolin conservation efforts. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Non-music, non-conservation
Camp One Step
Camp One Step by Children’s Oncology Services is a leader in providing empowering, supportive, educational and fun experiences for children (ages birth -19) who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families. They offer free in-person camps, as well as their CONNECTED digital programs throughout the year serving pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and their families. Thanks to over 400 annual volunteers, including medical professionals, children who are in different stages of treatment have the ability to attend Camp One Step camps and digital programs. In over 40 years, our organization has served more than 19,000 campers.
Brave Trails
Brave Trails is a national non-profit organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth leadership. They offer accredited summer camps, backpacking trips, family camps, mental health services, meet-up groups, and year-round leadership programming. Their programs focus on helping LGBTQ+ youth find what they need most to thrive: their people, their place, and their passion. They have served kids from all 50 states and 17 countries, and have provided over $100k in financial support for campers in need. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Susan G. Komen Foundation
The Susan G. Komen Foundation is on a quest for a future free from breast cancer. They have helped fuel research on the biology of breast cancer, more effective risk-reduction strategies, earlier detection methods and innovative treatments. invested nearly $3.6 billion in groundbreaking research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 60 countries. Due to investments in research, 19 new drugs for breast cancer were approved in the past decade. Their efforts have helped reduce breast cancer mortality by more than 42%. Results. I have personally benefited from their existence, and given the prevalence of breast cancer, you probably know someone who has, too. Click here for their Charity Navigator rating.
Do you have a favorite organization that you support? Tell us (and others!) about it on our social media post for this blog.
