Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday right after Thanksgiving, is the perfect time to show some love and support for some awesome causes. Created in 2012 by NYC’s 92nd Street Y community center and the United Nations Foundation, this day encourages charitable donations in response to consumerism.
While it’s not necessary to donate on this day alone, the unofficial holiday grows more popular year after year. In the spirit of giving, here are seven charities committed to making life better for people, the planet, and animals.
9 Vegan Charities to Consider for Your Holiday Donations
1. Chilis on Wheels
Chilis on Wheels strives to make veganism accessible to low-income communities throughout the U.S. Offering a range of services from meal shares, clothing drives, youth engagement, and a micro sanctuary for rescue animals, the organization builds healthy and empowered communities.
This Thanksgiving Day, the organization will serve over a thousand meals to New Yorkers for the fourth year running. Based in Tompkins Square Park, the group will offer free vegan food, clothing, cruelty-free personal care packages, and information on veganism, local community, and social service resources. Beyond that, Chilis on Wheels branches in NYC and across the nation serve free vegan meals on a weekly basis.
Chilis on Wheels also offers its charitable services abroad, for example helping Puerto Rico communities in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
Find out more and donate to Chilis on Wheels here.
2. Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is an all-volunteer global movement that protests poverty and war in the most delicious way—by serving free vegan food that would otherwise be thrown away by grocery stores.
The group is committed to serving only meat-free meals, and works on the basis that food is a right, “not a privilege.” Explaining its name, Food Not Bombs is also dedicated to nonviolence.
Furthermore, in a bid to fight waste, each Food Not Bombs chapter sources surplus food from grocery stores, bakeries, and markets and prepares community meals which are then served, free of charge, to anyone who is hungry. Its meals are sustainably sourced, nutritious, and served with kindness.
Find out more and donate to Food Not Bombs here.
3. Food Empowerment Project
Food Empowerment Project wants to “create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one’s food choices.” Believing that “Food is Power,” the vegan food justice organization fosters dietary choices that will best secure about justice in the world.
The group draws attention to a range of issues linked to dietary choices, including the suffering prevalent in the animal agriculture industry, the unsustainable depletion of natural resources, links between ill-health and poverty, and the child and slave labor present in the chocolate industry. The organization’s chocolate list details vegan chocolates from brands that treat workers fairly.
However, providing citizens with a solution to these problems, the group helps individuals to become—you guessed it—empowered in their food choices. For example, the group recently released a Vegan Mexican Food recipe booklet, available in both English and Spanish, to help people transition to a more ethical and sustainable way of eating.
Find out more and donate to Food Empowerment Project here.
4. The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
This award-winning international charity plants fruitful trees in impoverished regions. Orchards are purposefully planted where the harvest will best serve communities in the long-run, for example at public schools, city parks, low-income neighborhoods, Native American reservations, international hunger relief sites, and animal sanctuaries.
The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation ultimately aims to “alleviate world hunger, combat climate change, strengthen communities, and improve the surrounding air, soil, and water.“
Find out more and donate to The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation here.
5. Sea Shepherd
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is an international non-profit group dedicated to conserving marine wildlife. The vegan organization was founded in 1977 by Captain Paul Watson, an early and influential former member of Greenpeace.
Sea Shepherd says its mission is to “end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.“
The direct action group, known for its anti-poaching campaigns, uses physical, non-violent action to enforce the international marine laws, and has successfully shut down infamous illegal fishing vessels.
Find out more and donate to Sea Shepherd here.
6. Jane Goodall Institute
Dr. Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist and environmentalist, founded the institute. The Jane Goodall Institute promotes both understanding and conservation of great apes and their habitat.
According to the group, “Whether we’re restoring chimpanzee habitat, improving women’s health in a nearby village, or working with our Roots & Shoots youth groups in nearly 100 countries, we find practical ways to make the greatest lasting impact for people, animals, and the environment.”
Find out more and donate to the Jane Goodall Institute here.
7. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Founded in 1977, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust protects and conserves the African wilderness and its most threatened species. The organization particularly works to protect elephants and black rhinos.
The group prides itself on being the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world; it is also one of the pioneering conservation groups for both wildlife and habitat preservation in East Africa.
Its work includes anti-poaching, building awareness among local communities, conserving natural habitats, providing veterinary care to sick and injured animals, and rescuing and hand-rearing elephant and rhino orphans.
Find out more and donate to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust here.
8. Food for Life Global
Founded in 1974, Food for Life Global is one of the largest plant-based food relief programs in the world. The organization has thousands of volunteers in 60 countries and, over the years, has provided billions of free meals. By 2017, Food for Life Global affiliates reached a major milestone by serving more than four billion meals
The charity’s goal is to create peace and prosperity throughout the world through the “liberal distribution of plant-based meals prepared with loving intention.” The charity and its affiliates currently has more than 200 projects that serve up to two million meals daily.
Find out more and donate to Food for Life Global here.
9. Adopt a Reindeer Foundation
The Adopt a Reindeer Foundation envisions a world where reindeer thrive alongside the Sami people, a Finno-Ugric group that inhabits Sápmi, which encompasses large parts of Norway and Sweden, parts of Finland, and Russia’s Murmansk Oblast.
The charity helps the Sami people preserve their culture and traditions. It also ensures the survival of the reindeer. By adopting a reindeer, donators help cover the costs of their care.
Find out more about the Adopt a Reindeer Foundation here.
