Coming at you on a very special Monday because tomorrow is…Giving Tuesday! Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012 at the 92nd Street Y, held always on the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday (...today). The idea was to set aside a single day to counter consumerism by giving back.

If you’re still trying to hit your minimum philanthropy quota, tomorrow is a great time to do it. I’m including a roundup of our favorite NGOs to support, which are all environmentally-focused. We track all of our recommendations with Charity Navigator.

350.org (CN Score: 100):

350.org is building a global grassroots climate movement that can hold our leaders accountable to the realities of science and the principles of justice. That movement is rising from the bottom up all over the world, and is uniting to create the solutions that will ensure a better future for all. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions bring together a global network active in over 188 countries.

Natural Resources Defense Council (CN Score: 99):

The Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends. We work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life - air, land, and water - and to defend endangered natural places. We seek to establish sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth as central ethical imperatives of human society. NRDC affirms the integral place of human beings in the environment. We strive to protect nature in ways that advance the long-term welfare of present and future generations. We work to foster the fundamental right of all people to have a voice in decisions that affect their environment.

Center for Biological Diversity (CN Score: 99):

The Center for Biological Diversity believes that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature - to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive. The Center has ten program areas: Endangered Species, Climate, Oceans, Public Lands, Urban Wildlands, Population and Sustainability, International, Environmental Health, Energy Justice, and Carnivore Conservation. The Center looks forward to a future of continued expansion, creativity, and no-holds-barred action on behalf of the world's most critically endangered animals and plants.

Sierra Club (CN Score: 97):

The Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy. We partner with individual and institutional donors to align financial resources with strategic outcomes, provide flexible funding for innovation, build capacity in the environmental movement, and create partnerships with a broad spectrum of allied organizations around shared values and goals. As the fiscal sponsor of the charitable programs of the Sierra Club, we provide resources to it and other nonprofit organizations to support scientific, educational, literary, organizing, advocacy, and legal programs that further our goals.

The Nature Conservancy (CN Score: 96):

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. Founded in the U.S. through grassroots action in 1951, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has grown to become one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than a million members and the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff and over 400 scientists, we impact conservation in 81 countries and territories: 40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners.

If you’re unable to donate financially, there are plenty of ways to volunteer your time on Giving Tuesday’s website.

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