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Our DG+ 1% for the Planet 2024 beneficiaries
As a marketing and creative agency focused on elevating the important work of cleantech and sustainable brands that fight climate change, we have conflicting feelings about Earth Day. Don’t get us wrong, the day was established with good intentions. But as more businesses come under the microscope of consumers (and in some cases, regulators) who are demanding innovative, low-carbon products and services, greenwashing has become all the more prevalent, especially this time of year, as some companies seek to showcase their planet-friendly credentials through short-term or one-off initiatives that don’t always align with their year-round business practices.
We respectfully disagree with the idea of only one day dedicated to such an important topic. As the good folks over at 1% for the Planet (1% FTP) put it: “Not just Earth Month. Not just Earth Day. Every day.” Supporting people and the planet is a lifelong commitment, and one that requires attention throughout the year.
Which is why, for the third year in a row, DG+ has donated 1% of our gross sales through 1% FTP to a select group of nonprofit organizations who are on the ground doing the work to support people and the planet — every day.
Our approach is relatively simple: Each DG+ employee chooses a recipient nonprofit organization to receive funding. Then, our total donations are split equally among these nonprofits.
Here are 2023’s beneficiaries:
Back on My Feet empowers people to achieve economic independence through fitness and community. Operating in 16 cities nationwide, Back on My Feet has been breaking cycles of poverty and addiction across the country. They believe long-term transformation can happen, but it needs a new approach, one that combines community and accountability to achieve economic stability.
Back on My Feet states that 580,000+ people are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. right now, and 30% of those people are chronically homeless. I wanted my donation to go to help a serious and worsening problem that affects every city in America. The volunteers from Back on My Feet are doing incredible work by providing these people long term support and resources.
Their volunteers run and walk every week with people experiencing homelessness or addiction to help create positive relationships and install responsibility. Members are provided access to workshops, personalized support, and one-on-one mentors. Back on my Feet truly serves to create long term solutions to help these people integrate back into society.
I started running last year, and it has helped me physically and mentally. Using exercise to heal is a natural remedy to creating a happy, healthier person. I appreciate that this organization instills healthy solutions as a way for members to focus on self sufficiency. I hope that Back on My Feet continues to strive as a resource for helping these individuals push toward a better life.”
Big Reuse's mission is to fight climate change through community-based zero-waste initiatives. We pursue our mission through reuse and transformation. The Big Reuse Center takes in tens of thousands of donated items that are resold and kept in use by thousands of new owners, keeping them out of the landfill. Through the NYC Compost Project and Curbside Composting Outreach, we help New Yorkers sustain city-wide composting programs that collect food scraps and turn them into compost used to enrich soil across NYC and strengthen our green infrastructure against climate change.
Each time I walk through the bustling streets of New York City, I am starkly confronted with the vast amounts of waste we generate. At times, sanitation issues can be overwhelming; perhaps that's why NYC hired its first-ever Rat Czar. Another group tackling this issue head-on is the Big Reuse, who are promoting a culture of reuse over disposal. They've successfully diverted millions of pounds of waste from landfills and breathed new life into items like books, furniture, clothing, and home goods, demonstrating the practical impact of sustainable practices. Their achievements in New York City give me hope that globally, we can embrace and advance towards a more sustainable future.
Citizens Climate Education Corporation
Citizens' Climate Education (CCE) is a grassroots organization that builds political will for a livable world. CCE creates change by organizing people around shared values and goals. CCE is nonpartisan, people-centered, relationship-based, and committed to long-term solutions.
I volunteered with CCE's sister organization, Citizens Climate Lobby in Syracuse, NY, and Portland, OR, to engage local senators and representatives on the issue of the carbon fee and dividend. I want to support the good work that these organizations are doing to make a price on carbon a political reality.
Farm Discovery at Live Earth is a nonprofit organization working in the Pajaro Valley to empower youth and families to build and sustain healthy food, farming, social, and natural systems. Our home, Live Earth Farm, is a 150-acre patchwork of working organic farm, riparian corridor, oak and redwood forest in the Pajaro Valley of Santa Cruz County, California.
We believe that we can transform personal and community health and improve our impact on Earth by building and sustaining collaborative agricultural, ecological, and social systems. We believe that communities armed with knowledge and the skills of inquiry can transform food, farming, and natural systems for the better.
Food: Farm Discovery offers educational programs that inspire youth and families to transform their relationship to food, farming, and nature.
Farming & Nature: We steward our working farm and its wild spaces as an environmentally and economically viable piece of the food system and a learning space.
Community: We collaborate with community partners to learn from each other and extend our collective impact in the community.
While I now live in Los Angeles, I lived in Santa Cruz for nearly 15 years, and it will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I love supporting organizations that help make Santa Cruz so wonderful. I initially learned about Santa Cruz County-based Farm Discovery years ago from a friend who works for one of its local sponsors, Allterra Solar. I came across Farm Discovery again when researching organizations for my 2023 1% for the Planet nomination. I was compelled to select Farm Discovery for two reasons in particular: 1) the hands-on educational programs that offer local youth a unique opportunity to participate in a sustainable food system, and 2) that a portion of its host farm's organic harvest goes to residents in need, including foster youth. These two elements resonate with me because of my past work with youth in Santa Cruz and surrounding areas.
My first job out of college was teaching hands-on environmental science to students in grades K-6. This experience showed me the undeniable power of experiential learning, especially in nature. Not all students learn the same way; a student who struggles to concentrate in a classroom may be laser-focused in the field. Furthermore, any education that gets kids outside is a win in my book. Given this background, I am a huge proponent of Farm Discovery’s hands-on educational programs.
Another job I held shortly after college was as a support counselor for at-risk foster teenage girls. Prior to this role, I had a limited understanding of the foster care system. In my time working with these phenomenal young women, I was exposed to some jarring realities, including their often limited access to healthy, fresh meals. That Farm Discovery’s host farm donates a portion of its organic harvest to this community is important to me.
The Honnold Foundation partners with marginalized communities to expand equitable solar energy access. We work alongside grassroots and community-based organizations that are using solar energy solutions to improve the well-being of their communities, fostering sustainable, positive impacts for people and the planet. Our programs and approach are rooted in the knowledge that communities know best and that change only happens when we commit to supporting our partners through long-term, holistic partnerships.
It’s no surprise that I first heard about the Honnold Foundation through Alex Honnold, the rock climber who famously (wildly) climbed El Capitan in Yosemite without any ropes or safety equipment. After seeing low-income families struggle around the world with energy poverty, he started the Honnold Foundation to spread clean, easy-to-access, and affordable energy.
The Honnold Foundation receives proposals from partners around the world and distributes funding based on community impact. They essentially serve as a bridge between value-driven donors (like DG+) and small, local partners around the world. The fact that they work so closely with these community-based organizations was a big factor in choosing them for our DG+ holiday 2023 donation on behalf of our clients. Like Alex, I have also seen how electricity can transform the well-being of a household at a time, so I was excited to support them in their mission.
Ríos to Rivers inspires the protection of rivers worldwide by investing in underserved and Indigenous youth who are intimately connected to their local waters and supporting them in their development as the next generation of environmental stewards.
In 2019, I had the good fortune of attending COP25 in Madrid with Rios to Rivers in what was an eye-opening, humbling, and life-changing experience (one of which I detailed in a previous blog for DG+). I watched with awe (and sometimes despair) as this group of Indigenous youth from the U.S., Chile, and Bolivia navigated two weeks of climate negotiations, using their voices to draw attention to how some of these ‘false climate solutions’ within the Paris Agreement, like hydropower, directly impact their communities and destroy their food sources.
The approach that this organization takes with its cross-cultural exchanges resonates deeply with me, having participated in my own during my youth. In my case, I had the means and privilege that afforded me the opportunity. The young people who are involved with Rios to Rivers come from rural and Indigenous communities that are historically underrepresented. This organization provides them with the opportunity to travel and meet people from other cultures, participate in river recreation, and interact with scientists, politicians, and community leaders. It gives them a platform they might otherwise not have. Most importantly, it helps connect them to their local waters and instills a deeper sense of purpose while equipping them to become the next generation of passionate river stewards.
Ríos is a small but fierce and devoted team, and I have no doubt they will put any donation to good use to continue their important work
The San Marcos River Foundation protects and preserves a clean, flowing and accessible San Marcos River through water and land conservation, advocacy, and community engagement.
As a Texas State University alum, the San Marcos River holds a special significance for me. It's not just a waterway; it's a lifeline weaving through campus life and the vibrant tapestry of San Marcos culture. It serves as a place for relaxation during stressful midterm periods, fosters community bonding, and is famous for activities like tubing. For graduates, jumping into the river is a cherished tradition. Supporting the San Marcos River Foundation was an obvious choice for me, ensuring that future generations can continue to enjoy all the river has to offer.
Solar One’s mission is to design and deliver innovative education, training, and technical assistance that fosters sustainability and resiliency in diverse urban environments. We facilitate learning that changes the way people think about energy, sustainability, and resilience by engaging diverse program participants. Our programs help individuals and communities explore new ways of living and working that are more adaptive to a climate-change impacted world.
Advancing the energy transition means a) inspiring people to explore new ways of living and b) making sure those new ways are available to everyone. Solar One helps communities in and around my city — New York — do just that through educational programs for young people, workforce training for adults, technical support for underserved communities to adopt cleantech, and stewardship of the Stuy Cove Park. Everyone deserves to be part of our transition to a better future, and the more voices we have — and the more diverse communities we include — in the push toward clean energy, the more sustainable that future will be.
Soul Fire Farm is an Afro-Indigenous community farm dedicated to combating racism and promoting food sovereignty. The organization works to end food apartheid by growing and distributing nutritious food, while honoring the land and the wisdom of their ancestors.
Soul Fire Farm brings together diverse communities to learn about sustainable agriculture, natural building, spiritual activism, health, and environmental justice. They train the next generation of activist-farmers and support movements for food sovereignty and community self-determination.
Their programs, which reach over 35,000 people annually, include farmer training for Black and Brown growers, reparations and land return initiatives, food justice workshops for urban youth, home gardens for those living under food apartheid, harvest delivery for food-insecure households, and education for public decision-makers on systems and policies.
I chose to support Soul Fire Farm with my donation because of their commitment to addressing the systemic inequities in our food system and their proximity to my local community. Soul Fire Farm's mission resonates with me, as they actively work to counter the historical injustices of land theft, genocide, and exploitation that have disproportionately affected Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. I strongly believe in their goal of promoting equity in access to land, sustenance, and power within the food system.
Working Bikes strengthens local and global communities by giving donated bicycles new life and redistributing them as tools for self-determination. They work toward a world where everyone has access to bicycle transportation — whether in Africa, Latin America, or Chicago — and where bicycles are the most reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly transportation available!
Since its inception in 1999, the amazing community of Working Bikes volunteers, staff, partners, and supporters have enabled new life for 100,000 bicycles across the globe and tens of thousands here in Chicago. Over 100,000 people have been empowered to access resources and opportunities that otherwise could have been out of reach — reducing waste, lessening pollution, and improving health in the process.
Bicycles are vehicles of empowerment, and they bring a wide range of benefits to the people and communities that have them and use them. As a cyclist in the city, I understand the value of mobility independence. There's a lot of uncertainty that comes along with full reliance on public transit, especially in areas where it isn't invested in, and access to a bike can really alleviate that.
Sustainable transportation goes way beyond electric vehicles, and Working Bikes is doing really amazing work to make bicycles a viable alternative option for people and communities both locally and abroad
Back on My Feet empowers people to achieve economic independence through fitness and community. Operating in 16 cities nationwide, Back on My Feet has been breaking cycles of poverty and addiction across the country. They believe long-term transformation can happen, but it needs a new approach, one that combines community and accountability to achieve economic stability.
Back on My Feet states that 580,000+ people are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. right now, and 30% of those people are chronically homeless. I wanted my donation to go to help a serious and worsening problem that affects every city in America. The volunteers from Back on My Feet are doing incredible work by providing these people long term support and resources.
Their volunteers run and walk every week with people experiencing homelessness or addiction to help create positive relationships and install responsibility. Members are provided access to workshops, personalized support, and one-on-one mentors. Back on my Feet truly serves to create long term solutions to help these people integrate back into society.
I started running last year, and it has helped me physically and mentally. Using exercise to heal is a natural remedy to creating a happy, healthier person. I appreciate that this organization instills healthy solutions as a way for members to focus on self sufficiency. I hope that Back on My Feet continues to strive as a resource for helping these individuals push toward a better life.”
Big Reuse's mission is to fight climate change through community-based zero-waste initiatives. We pursue our mission through reuse and transformation. The Big Reuse Center takes in tens of thousands of donated items that are resold and kept in use by thousands of new owners, keeping them out of the landfill. Through the NYC Compost Project and Curbside Composting Outreach, we help New Yorkers sustain city-wide composting programs that collect food scraps and turn them into compost used to enrich soil across NYC and strengthen our green infrastructure against climate change.
Each time I walk through the bustling streets of New York City, I am starkly confronted with the vast amounts of waste we generate. At times, sanitation issues can be overwhelming; perhaps that's why NYC hired its first-ever Rat Czar. Another group tackling this issue head-on is the Big Reuse, who are promoting a culture of reuse over disposal. They've successfully diverted millions of pounds of waste from landfills and breathed new life into items like books, furniture, clothing, and home goods, demonstrating the practical impact of sustainable practices. Their achievements in New York City give me hope that globally, we can embrace and advance towards a more sustainable future.
Citizens Climate Education Corporation
Citizens' Climate Education (CCE) is a grassroots organization that builds political will for a livable world. CCE creates change by organizing people around shared values and goals. CCE is nonpartisan, people-centered, relationship-based, and committed to long-term solutions.
I volunteered with CCE's sister organization, Citizens Climate Lobby in Syracuse, NY, and Portland, OR, to engage local senators and representatives on the issue of the carbon fee and dividend. I want to support the good work that these organizations are doing to make a price on carbon a political reality.
Farm Discovery at Live Earth is a nonprofit organization working in the Pajaro Valley to empower youth and families to build and sustain healthy food, farming, social, and natural systems. Our home, Live Earth Farm, is a 150-acre patchwork of working organic farm, riparian corridor, oak and redwood forest in the Pajaro Valley of Santa Cruz County, California.
We believe that we can transform personal and community health and improve our impact on Earth by building and sustaining collaborative agricultural, ecological, and social systems. We believe that communities armed with knowledge and the skills of inquiry can transform food, farming, and natural systems for the better.
Food: Farm Discovery offers educational programs that inspire youth and families to transform their relationship to food, farming, and nature.
Farming & Nature: We steward our working farm and its wild spaces as an environmentally and economically viable piece of the food system and a learning space.
Community: We collaborate with community partners to learn from each other and extend our collective impact in the community.
While I now live in Los Angeles, I lived in Santa Cruz for nearly 15 years, and it will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I love supporting organizations that help make Santa Cruz so wonderful. I initially learned about Santa Cruz County-based Farm Discovery years ago from a friend who works for one of its local sponsors, Allterra Solar. I came across Farm Discovery again when researching organizations for my 2023 1% for the Planet nomination. I was compelled to select Farm Discovery for two reasons in particular: 1) the hands-on educational programs that offer local youth a unique opportunity to participate in a sustainable food system, and 2) that a portion of its host farm's organic harvest goes to residents in need, including foster youth. These two elements resonate with me because of my past work with youth in Santa Cruz and surrounding areas.
My first job out of college was teaching hands-on environmental science to students in grades K-6. This experience showed me the undeniable power of experiential learning, especially in nature. Not all students learn the same way; a student who struggles to concentrate in a classroom may be laser-focused in the field. Furthermore, any education that gets kids outside is a win in my book. Given this background, I am a huge proponent of Farm Discovery’s hands-on educational programs.
Another job I held shortly after college was as a support counselor for at-risk foster teenage girls. Prior to this role, I had a limited understanding of the foster care system. In my time working with these phenomenal young women, I was exposed to some jarring realities, including their often limited access to healthy, fresh meals. That Farm Discovery’s host farm donates a portion of its organic harvest to this community is important to me.
The Honnold Foundation partners with marginalized communities to expand equitable solar energy access. We work alongside grassroots and community-based organizations that are using solar energy solutions to improve the well-being of their communities, fostering sustainable, positive impacts for people and the planet. Our programs and approach are rooted in the knowledge that communities know best and that change only happens when we commit to supporting our partners through long-term, holistic partnerships.
It’s no surprise that I first heard about the Honnold Foundation through Alex Honnold, the rock climber who famously (wildly) climbed El Capitan in Yosemite without any ropes or safety equipment. After seeing low-income families struggle around the world with energy poverty, he started the Honnold Foundation to spread clean, easy-to-access, and affordable energy.
The Honnold Foundation receives proposals from partners around the world and distributes funding based on community impact. They essentially serve as a bridge between value-driven donors (like DG+) and small, local partners around the world. The fact that they work so closely with these community-based organizations was a big factor in choosing them for our DG+ holiday 2023 donation on behalf of our clients. Like Alex, I have also seen how electricity can transform the well-being of a household at a time, so I was excited to support them in their mission.
Ríos to Rivers inspires the protection of rivers worldwide by investing in underserved and Indigenous youth who are intimately connected to their local waters and supporting them in their development as the next generation of environmental stewards.
In 2019, I had the good fortune of attending COP25 in Madrid with Rios to Rivers in what was an eye-opening, humbling, and life-changing experience (one of which I detailed in a previous blog for DG+). I watched with awe (and sometimes despair) as this group of Indigenous youth from the U.S., Chile, and Bolivia navigated two weeks of climate negotiations, using their voices to draw attention to how some of these ‘false climate solutions’ within the Paris Agreement, like hydropower, directly impact their communities and destroy their food sources.
The approach that this organization takes with its cross-cultural exchanges resonates deeply with me, having participated in my own during my youth. In my case, I had the means and privilege that afforded me the opportunity. The young people who are involved with Rios to Rivers come from rural and Indigenous communities that are historically underrepresented. This organization provides them with the opportunity to travel and meet people from other cultures, participate in river recreation, and interact with scientists, politicians, and community leaders. It gives them a platform they might otherwise not have. Most importantly, it helps connect them to their local waters and instills a deeper sense of purpose while equipping them to become the next generation of passionate river stewards.
Ríos is a small but fierce and devoted team, and I have no doubt they will put any donation to good use to continue their important work
The San Marcos River Foundation protects and preserves a clean, flowing and accessible San Marcos River through water and land conservation, advocacy, and community engagement.
As a Texas State University alum, the San Marcos River holds a special significance for me. It's not just a waterway; it's a lifeline weaving through campus life and the vibrant tapestry of San Marcos culture. It serves as a place for relaxation during stressful midterm periods, fosters community bonding, and is famous for activities like tubing. For graduates, jumping into the river is a cherished tradition. Supporting the San Marcos River Foundation was an obvious choice for me, ensuring that future generations can continue to enjoy all the river has to offer.
Solar One’s mission is to design and deliver innovative education, training, and technical assistance that fosters sustainability and resiliency in diverse urban environments. We facilitate learning that changes the way people think about energy, sustainability, and resilience by engaging diverse program participants. Our programs help individuals and communities explore new ways of living and working that are more adaptive to a climate-change impacted world.
Advancing the energy transition means a) inspiring people to explore new ways of living and b) making sure those new ways are available to everyone. Solar One helps communities in and around my city — New York — do just that through educational programs for young people, workforce training for adults, technical support for underserved communities to adopt cleantech, and stewardship of the Stuy Cove Park. Everyone deserves to be part of our transition to a better future, and the more voices we have — and the more diverse communities we include — in the push toward clean energy, the more sustainable that future will be.
Soul Fire Farm is an Afro-Indigenous community farm dedicated to combating racism and promoting food sovereignty. The organization works to end food apartheid by growing and distributing nutritious food, while honoring the land and the wisdom of their ancestors.
Soul Fire Farm brings together diverse communities to learn about sustainable agriculture, natural building, spiritual activism, health, and environmental justice. They train the next generation of activist-farmers and support movements for food sovereignty and community self-determination.
Their programs, which reach over 35,000 people annually, include farmer training for Black and Brown growers, reparations and land return initiatives, food justice workshops for urban youth, home gardens for those living under food apartheid, harvest delivery for food-insecure households, and education for public decision-makers on systems and policies.
I chose to support Soul Fire Farm with my donation because of their commitment to addressing the systemic inequities in our food system and their proximity to my local community. Soul Fire Farm's mission resonates with me, as they actively work to counter the historical injustices of land theft, genocide, and exploitation that have disproportionately affected Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. I strongly believe in their goal of promoting equity in access to land, sustenance, and power within the food system.
Working Bikes strengthens local and global communities by giving donated bicycles new life and redistributing them as tools for self-determination. They work toward a world where everyone has access to bicycle transportation — whether in Africa, Latin America, or Chicago — and where bicycles are the most reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly transportation available!
Since its inception in 1999, the amazing community of Working Bikes volunteers, staff, partners, and supporters have enabled new life for 100,000 bicycles across the globe and tens of thousands here in Chicago. Over 100,000 people have been empowered to access resources and opportunities that otherwise could have been out of reach — reducing waste, lessening pollution, and improving health in the process.
Bicycles are vehicles of empowerment, and they bring a wide range of benefits to the people and communities that have them and use them. As a cyclist in the city, I understand the value of mobility independence. There's a lot of uncertainty that comes along with full reliance on public transit, especially in areas where it isn't invested in, and access to a bike can really alleviate that.
Sustainable transportation goes way beyond electric vehicles, and Working Bikes is doing really amazing work to make bicycles a viable alternative option for people and communities both locally and abroad
If your business is interested in learning more about 1% for the Planet and how to get involved, if you know of an environmental organization who could benefit from such a network, or if you want to make a one-time donation, we encourage you to contact the organization today.
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