About GlobalGiving Green

GlobalGiving Green is made up of grassroots projects that have been evaluated based on how they are positively affecting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and as a result, have earned GlobalGiving Green's "leaf" of approval.

Why give green?

The developing world faces a double burden. Climate change threatens poor communities with economic devastation in the form of floods, droughts, and ruined harvests. But traditionally, many of the solutions that fight poverty have also contributed to climate change - so as countries develop, there is huge potential for them to add to the crisis.

As a global community, we're at a crucial time. We have the technology and know-how to create development projects that don't add to climate change - projects that reduce emissions, don't deplete our natural resources, and don't harm the health and well being of our global neighbors. But we need to find ways to fund this type of smart development and get it implemented quickly.

Through GlobalGiving Green, you can direct your charitable donations to the people and projects that are creating positive change, developing responsibly, and reducing harmful emissions.

What makes these projects "green"?

We've evaluated each project according to how well it helps reduce harmful emissions, plus how it stacks up in areas such as providing sustainable, positive economic growth, aiding the culture and environment of a community, educating future generations on green techniques, and more.

The evaluation process was developed with the respected consulting organization Eco-Securities, which has over a decade of experience structuring and guiding greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. We worked together to carefully review each project and present a summary of key emissions-reductions and other benefits, including (click to learn more):

• "Additional" Impact
• Ecology-friendly Economics
• Other Environmental Benefits
• Social and Cultural Benefits
• "Adaptation" Benefits

If you're interested in all the technical detail supporting each project's evaluation, click on the project's green leaf to drill down further.

Additional Impact

The term "additionality" is used to describe how much a project reduces harmful emissions above and beyond what would be "business as usual" in that area. In other words, if emissions are already being reduced, how much more good does this project do? What would have happened if the project didn't exist?

Ecology-Friendly Economics

This measures how much a project supports the local economy while also being mindful of the ecology. For instance, these projects replace current economic activities with more sustainable alternatives. Or, they may increase efficiency of existing technology and spur investment in new technology.

Other Environmental Benefits

This measures the number of other benefits the project creates beyond just emission reductions. These projects not only reduce emissions, they may offer direct/indirect health or safety benefits, reduce other pollutants, or reduce or avoid additional environmental impacts.

Social and Cultural Benefits

This measures the benefits to the community beyond emission reduction. While these projects are great for the environment, they may also offer educational opportunities, or increased independence and empowerment for community members.

Adaptation Benefits

Extent to which the project assists a community and its people to adapt to the ways climate change has affected their culture.

About GlobalGiving

At GlobalGiving you can browse ways to help others around the world, pick the causes you are most passionate about, and give to the solutions.

Much like eBay's approach to online commerce, GlobalGiving is changing the way people give. We make it simple for you to connect and donate to projects addressing challenges around the world, and track the impact of your generosity. And, we're creating a new source of funding for project leaders who are turning big ideas into reality.

Vision

Unleash the potential of people around the world to make positive change happen.

Mission

Build an efficient, open, thriving marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them.

A quick overview of how GlobalGiving works:

We connect donors to projects via our website, www.globalgiving.com, as well as through custom giving services--helping corporations, foundations, affinity groups, and other institutions with their specific giving needs. All donations are tax-deductible through the GlobalGiving Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 organization. Learn more about how GlobalGiving works.

Donations made through GlobalGiving are higher impact because:

• Your money goes to a well-defined project versus general operating expenses.
• Projects on globalgiving.com have exposure to thousands of donors, combining many sources of giving (like yours!) and creating a bigger impact.
• Most projects on globalgiving.com are located in the developing world where a little money goes a long way.
• You can give with full confidence - guaranteed!

All projects satisfy IRS guidelines for international grant-making, meet requirements for tax deductibility, and follow guidelines for anti-terrorism.

Our history

In 1997, World Bank executives Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle were asked to develop innovative ways to combat poverty. They created the Bank's Development Marketplace, a first-of-its-kind event where people from around the world competed for World Bank funds. The event's success unveiled the enormous potential of a global marketplace for philanthropy, and participants asked for a real marketplace that was open year round and operated virtually. Mari and Dennis saw the brilliance of this idea, left the World Bank and launched GlobalGiving.

GlobalGiving is a unique collaboration between two entities, a US 501(c)3 registered non-profit and a social enterprise, ManyFutures, Inc.