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- According to data from Benevity, climate-related nonprofits received 3.2% of all donations in 2021 despite the climate emergency
- Benevity commits up to $1 million in matching funds to help people “invest in the planet”
CALGARY, Alberta (GLOBE NEWSWIRE), April 21, 2022 Benevity Inc., a leading provider of global corporate purpose software, today announced it is bringing together some of the world’s most high-profile and passionate advocates for sustainability and climate justice to boost support for climate-related nonprofits. The campaign includes the following: Mark Ruffalo, Emmy®-winning actor, advocate and co-founder of The Solutions Project and Christiana FigueresOutrage+Optimism co-host and former Executive Secretary for the UN Climate Change Convention share their personal lists and encourage others to donate to environmental causes.
The initiative supports the Earth Day 2022 theme, “invest in our planet” and focuses on the power of charitable giving as a way to address environmental issues and support nonprofits in mitigating the climate crisis to help preserve and protect the health of the planet and humankind.
Even though climate change remains a “problem,”Humanity’s greatest health risk”, affecting all social and environmental determinants – from clean air, to safe drinking water, sufficient food and safe shelter – Benevity’s own data shows that in 2021 only a small fraction of philanthropy was directed at addressing climate-related issues. Environmental and ecological causes received just 3.2% of the $2.3 billion in donations via the Benevity platform in 2021. This amount amounts to $72 million. 41% of the funds donated were made from donations by individuals, while 59% came from corporate direct funding or matching. These numbers demonstrate the potential for citizen and corporate philanthropy, as well as advocacy and conservation, to help mitigate climate change and other natural disasters.
Benevity, its majority owner, has committed $1 million to match funds for climate action campaigns in order to encourage further investment in the planet. Hg Capital, an investor in software and services, and its partners are donating the matching amounts. For every dollar donated from the public via Benevity’s Community Impact PortalBenevity will contribute another dollar to this campaign, up to $250,000, until May 6. Benevity will partner with non-profits as well as its growing network of 850+ corporate customers to leverage employee and client giving as a powerful tool for activating their ESG initiatives throughout the year. You can find more information about Climate Champions and donating. Find it here.
Mark Ruffalo and Christiana Fugueres will be joining forces Adam McKay, Academy Award-winning writer, director and producer, most recently of the film, “Don’t Look Up,” and a vocal advocate for urgent, collective climate action, and Zamzam IbrahimVice President of European Students Union. He is also co-founder of Students Organising for Sustainability UK. He is a leading voice on European issues of climate change and racial inequity. Each of the climate champions has created a personalized giving list that includes high-impact climate organizations, working on everything from climate justice to conservation and Indigenous land right. This initiative will bring together up to 20 organizations.
“Making donations to environmentally focused nonprofits is often overlooked as a way of mitigating the severe impacts of climate change and injustice. And yet, it is an incredibly effective way of supporting organizations on the ground protecting our land and water, providing food sustainability, supporting wildlife, driving health equity, conducting research, advocating for changes in policy and regulations, and more,” said Sona Khosla, Benevity Chief Impact Officer. “Working with like-minded climate champions like Christiana, Mark, Adam and Zamzam, ensures that companies and their people have more opportunities to support trusted organizations and communities working on the frontlines to save our planet.”
“We have all seen the stark warnings coming from the scientific community on climate change and we must act to protect our environment,” said Nic Humphries, Senior Partner at Hg. “Donations are a crucial way that we can support the essential work of NGOs in tackling the climate crisis and supporting the people and landscapes devastated by its consequences. I’m proud to be supporting this great initiative to raise money for these important causes as well as raising awareness of the importance of investing in our planet.”
Supporting quotes
“Black, Indigenous and other communities of color across the United States and Turtle Island are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and organizing campaigns, developing local economies, and showing what’s possible for people and the planet when we invest at the forefront of climate justice. Let’s create the future we want, together by rapidly scaling resources for communities that today receive less than 1.5% of climate philanthropy despite being the most effective path to an equitable, sustainable world.”
– Mark Ruffalo, Emmy®-winning actor, advocate and co-founder of The Solutions Project
“It is now time to put everything on the table – from simple to complex, from individual to systemic. This is an everyone-everywhere mission, we all have a role to play.”
– Christiana Figueres, cohost of Outrage+Optimism’s climate podcast and former Executive Secretary to the UN Climate Change Convention, is now Christiana Figueres
“It’s great to be a part of this initiative in which Benevity is supporting and promoting climate NGOs. In addition to demanding that our governments do more for the most pressing issue we’ve ever known, we must encourage more people, companies and philanthropists to get behind climate scientists, activists and organizations to ensure we do the urgent work needed to save the planet from a truly catastrophic crisis.”
– Adam McKay, Academy Award-winning writer, director and producer whose most recent work includes “Don’t Look Up,” a metaphorical comedy about humanity’s response to the climate crisis
“The climate crisis is not pending, it is here. All the charities that I have chosen are grassroot and realize that the solution to climate change is collective. They draw attention to the systemic inequalities and the disparities between communities. Climate justice is based in understanding and recognizing that to build a future that is just and sustainable you need to bring everyone along on that vision.”
Vice President of European Students Union Zamzam Ibrahim is co-founder of Students Organising for Sustainability UK. He is a leading voice in Europe regarding climate change and racial injustice.
For more information, please visit https://benevity.com/press-releases/invest-in-our-planet-climate-champions
About Benevity
BenevityB Corporation certified, enables you to provide the best integrated suite of community investment, employee, customer and non-profit engagement solutions. Recognized as one of Fortune’s Impact 20, Benevity offers cloud solutions that power purpose for many iconic brands in ways that better attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce, embed social action into their customer experiences and positively impact their communities. Benevity’s software is available in 22 languages. The company has processed more than $8Billion in donations and 43M hours of volunteer time to support 326,000 non-profits worldwide. The company’s solutions have also facilitated 530,000 positive actions and awarded 1.2 million grants worth $12 billion. Visit www.stackoverflow.com for more information. benevity.com.
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Lauren Stewart
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You can find a photo to accompany this announcement at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4856a51e-e540-42c5-bd5f-c1f8c0922400
