Happy Giving Tuesday (evening), friends.
In the twelve months since we sent last year’s end-of-year charitable giving guide, almost 25,000 people have used What Can I Do?, from 166 countries around the world.
Goddamn.
Along the way, we’ve made vital improvements to the app, our processes, and our data, and I’m proud that as of today, almost 50% of our recommended actions operate in countries outside of the United States.
Not that everything is well in the United States.
We purposefully make it very expensive to be poor here. The paperwork alone is insane.
We have since day one made it very difficult and dangerous — on a sliding scale, of course — to identify as anything other than a white man.
And — for better and/or worse — in 2025, the United States still has significant influence over the health and lives of billions of other people across the globe.
Should your personal charity have to carry the weight of the world’s burdens, to make up for the crimes of the corrupt and wealthy?
Of course not. But here we are.
And as James Baldwin said, “I have always felt that a human being could only be saved by another human being. I am aware that we do not save each other very often. But I am also aware that we save each other some of the time.“
I’ve lots to share about our platform and roadmap in 2026, but I’ll leave those for a later note. In the meantime: while we stand by every action we recommend, and you can access them all, day or night, from anywhere, I hope some of the selections below — offered in no particular order — earn your contribution this year.
And last — if you simply cannot contribute this year, for whatever reason, understand that we hear you, that you are enough, and that there are a million other ways to measurably show up, when you’re ready.
We are behind you.
Let’s fuckin’ go.
— Quinn
PS — this might get clipped, so if you want to make sure you can read the whole thing or want to bookmark it for later, smash the button below.
✨ Cheat code pick ✨
Give Directly: Send money directly to the world’s poorest households — and let them use it however they need to.
Food? Shelter? Water? To start a business? Sometimes it depends on the day. The model works, and it gives people agency.
📝 Donate to a free press
The 19th: an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy.
BONUS: Listen to my new convo with 19th reporter Jennifer Gerson, here!
The Markup: an award-winning nonprofit newsroom that investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change our society.
ProPublica: this independent, nonprofit newsroom produces exceptional investigative journalism with moral force
Civil Eats: a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. They publish stories that shift the conversation around sustainable agriculture in an effort to build economically and socially just communities
Capital B News: a local-national, nonprofit news organization — this one (featuring friend of the pod Adam Mahoney) centers Black voices, audience needs and experiences, and partners with the communities it serves
Grist: independent, nonprofit media outlet — this one’s dedicated to reporting on climate, climate justice and solutions.
📚 Donate to classrooms, kids, and teachers around the world
DonorsChoose: connects teachers in high-need communities with donors who want to help. Few things bring me more joy than donating through DC.
CAMFED: The goal? 5 million African girls educated by 2030. The lever? Reshape the educational system. Donate now to help them get there.
Malala Fund: Malala’s essential foundation supports the work of educators and advocates and helps bolster girls’ secondary education around the world
Room to Read: Helps children from low-income communities develop literacy skills so they can thrive in school and life. Education compounds
National Diaper Bank Network: Contribute to a diaper bank near you. You get it.
Pratham: They collaborate with local governments, parents, and teachers to increase education equality across India
Alliance for Period Supplies: Period poverty drives me fucking crazy. It forces makes it harder for people who are already struggling to thrive - students miss school, and adults miss work. Everyone should have access to basic necessities, including period supplies. Period (sorry, had to do it.) Donate to the Alliance for Period Supplies or host a product drive.
⏰ Want to give, but got no time?
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🧑🌾 Donate to our food systems, the people who feed us, and the people who need to be fed
Unsplash
Feeding America: a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and community-based organizations in the United States working to create a future where no one is hungry. It’s that time of year.
World Central Kitchen: if it feels like they’re everywhere, you’re right. WCK provides meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises, from Gaza to North Carolina.
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund: Get immediate and long term relief to families directly affected by the conflict in Gaza.
Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive: a QBPOC-led organization that partners with young folks of color from poor and working-class backgrounds to meet our communities’ needs through food and land co-ops
National Family Farm Coalition: Support family farmers, ranchers, and fishers by supporting policies that embody the principles of food sovereignty.
Water for South Sudan: over a million people - including hundreds of thousands of kids - die from contaminated water every year. Access to clean water and sanitation is a game changer for public health, and this org drills wells in remote villages.
Farmers of Color Land Trust: Support efforts to advance land sovereignty through permanent and secure land tenure for Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian farmers and land stewards.
EarthJustice: the premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization.
Mutual Aid Disaster Relief: Provides disaster relief based on the principles of solidarity, mutual aid, and autonomous direct action. An essential model going forward.
Aga Khan Development Network: help meet immediate needs like food provision and disaster rescue across India, Kenya, and Pakistan, while also taking a long-term approach to development that contribute to lasting well-being for communities.
✊ Donate to defend our friends
KIND (Kids in Need of Defense): KIND works to make sure every child has legal representation, social services, and a just future, through policy and advocacy that reflects the experiences and conditions that children who migrate alone endure.
The ACLU: The ACLU fights government abuse and defends individual freedoms including speech, religion, the right to choose, to due process, right to privacy and more.
The Trevor Project: provides 24/7 text/chat/call crisis support services to LGBTQ young people
Coalition for the Homeless: They’re the US’s oldest advocacy and direct service org. Help fund long-term solutions to our most wide-ranging problem.
Catholic Legal Immigration Network: CLINIC promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants, with a dedicated network of Catholic and community legal immigration programs.
Equality Florida: Equality Florida fights for the rights of LGBTQ+ people through lobbying, grassroots organizing, educaton, and coalition building.
American Immigration Council: Fund coordinated approaches to advance change — litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications.
Freedom Oklahoma: Freedom Oklahoma advocates and organizes for the LGBTQ+ community by building power and engaging in education to achieve collective, community-based safety.
The Florence Project: The Florence Project provides free legal services, social services, and advocacy to immigrants facing detention and potential deportation.
Out Memphis: Support the largest and longest-running LGBTQ+ nonprofit serving folks in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Support peer support groups, community center, and programs that keep LGBTQ+ youth housed and cared for.
Migrant Clinicians Network: My favorite kind of two-sided marketplace: connecting migrants to the clinicians who want to help them.
✊ Buy a shirt, fund the ACLU
The US constitution guarantees immigrant rights. Help spread the word and defend our friends with our exclusive shirts. Every cent of profits goes to the ACLU.
🌍 Donate to the planet and her stewards
Urban Ocean Lab: longtime friend of the pod Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and her team cultivate rigorous, creative, equitable, and practical climate and ocean policies for the future of coastal cities
RELP: Scaling up cheaper and faster renewable energy deployment in emerging economies
Environmental Voter Project: identifies millions of non-voting environmentalists and turns them into consistent voters. They’ve done exceptional work the past few elections.
😷 Donate to a longer healthspan — for everyone
Against Malaria: Protects people from malaria by funding nets and ensuring they’re distributed and used. Shares where the nets go, monitors and reports their use and impact. Maybe the most effective nonprofit on the planet!
Lead Exposure Elimination Project: just typing these words makes me go insane. This group works with governments worldwide to implement lead paint regulations while providing technical assistance to help paint manufacturers switch to lead-free.
BONUS: Listen to my new pod “Running for Water” with Run for Something candidates and alumni
Undue Medical Debt: buys medical debt in bundles at a fraction of the original cost so that your $100 donated relieves $10,000 in medical debt
Measles and Rubella Partnership: Donate to the Measles and Rubella Partnership to help prevent these terrible and WILDLY contagious childhood diseases.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand: dedicated to changing children's lives through impactful research, raising awareness and supporting families to help cure pediatric cancer. One of my longest-standing charitable destinations. Fuck cancer. Especially fuck kids cancer.
Project HOPE: on the ground in 20+ countries in Africa delivering comprehensive training programs (online and offline) for health workers on the frontlines
Partners in Health: everyone deserves access to quality health care, regardless of where they were born. PIH combines social justice and medical work, empowering communities on a global scale
National Black Doulas Association: dedicated to connecting Black (BIPOC) birthing families with Black (BIPOC) Doulas across the nation
Birth in Color: fights for reproductive justice and maternal health in the US by providing services that range from expert birth workers for pregnant families to racial bias training for healthcare professionals.
Doctors Without Borders: On the ground in 70+ countries providing urgently needed humanitarian aid in moments of crisis and conflict
That’s it!
Remember: you can find everything, anytime, at What Can I Do? — for free.
Thank you — as always — for giving a shit.
— Quinn
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