Benefits of Donating to Your Local Climate Organization
In previous blog posts, we’ve touched on the various ways that you can get involved with your local climate community-based organization, or how to start one if there isn’t already one in your community. But most people find themselves with a lot on their plates already and have no time or energy to take on yet another obligation. In that case, a low-commitment, yet critical, way to support your local climate organizations is through donating. And whether you’re able to make a large recurring gift or have only a couple of dollars to spare, any amount counts.
Besides being a potential opportunity for a tax deduction, donating to local climate organizations that work in your community — as opposed to larger state, national, or international organizations — offers many other benefits as well.
1. Seeing the direct impact of your dollar
When you donate to your local climate organization or any local nonprofit, you can more easily see what that money is being used for. It might manifest in free pollinator kit give-aways, free subscriptions to a curbside compost service, or as a community event. While national or larger-scale nonprofits are doing great work, there is an inherent lack of clarity with how donations are used simply due to the size and organizational structure of these groups. They might list on their website what your donation is funding, but there’s no way to feel or experience that in an up-close and personal way as you can by talking with the staff of a local organization.
2. Keep the money local
Donating to local organizations keeps the money in your community. Consider it a form of investing in your community. The benefits are going to come back to you in a tangible way as services in the community, and also as benefits that are harder to quantify but just as important — like a healthier, more connected, more climate-aware community. It’s the same logic as shopping local: It’s far more likely that your mom-and-pop store down the road, versus the Walmart, is going to sponsor your child’s Little League game. When you invest in your community, you see the results directly.
3. Local donors can provide critical “unrestricted” funding
Organizations receive two types of funding: Restricted & Unrestricted.
Restricted funding typically comes in the form of grants. As its name implies, it is restricted for use on specific activities, projects, or programs. This type of funding fuels many of the major initiatives that an organization might engage in in the community.
But CBOs also need unrestricted funding for basic administrative or logistical needs, and to keep the organization running smoothly. Unrestricted funding is used for expenses like rent or utilities for an office space, tax preparation services, insurance, payroll services, and staff salaries. It also supports the growth of the organization by enabling staff to create new initiatives and apply for their implementation funding, which as we mentioned is typically restricted. Local organizations are reliant upon individual private donations for these expenses because these expenses often don’t qualify for grants, underscoring the importance of local donors.
4. Strengthening the organization during volatile times
Inconsistent funding and canceled grants can be highly disruptive to an organization’s long-term projects, and as such, it is crucial that there is a robust coalition of local donors to step in and fill the gap when needed. As the past few months have revealed, federal priorities and funding can shift with different political administrations, making federal grants a fairly volatile source of funding for community-based organizations. Over 400 federal grants totaling $1.7 billion have been canceled since the start of 2025, which would have funded nonprofits and programs that provide services like air pollution control, water quality improvements, extreme weather adaptation, and more. States also receive federal dollars that are then awarded to local municipalities and/or organizations. This reduces the opportunities for community-based organizations to receive funding.
5. Pride in supporting an organization that serves your community
Often thinking about climate change brings us down, but supporting local organizations that work to improve our environment can give us hope. Knowing our contributions are making an impact locally should make us proud.
The bottom line is that we need hyperlocal climate organizations, and they need donations that are both large and small; restricted and unrestricted to serve our communities. While most individual donations cannot replace federal or state funding, (and there must be a continued effort to preserve various grant programs) we should not underestimate the impact that the collective donations from individuals can make. If each person in a mid-sized town contributed just a few dollars annually, it could be enough to fund a CBOs unrestricted expense requirements.
So, in the spirit of buying local, donate to your community’s climate organizations as well.