The recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have spurred nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality. It's time to take action and demand justice for Black lives right now.
As a product recommendation website that usually guides you where to spend your hard-earned dollars, this time we're asking you to donate, not buy.
We are committed to supporting the Black community and using our media platform for social good, and we ask you to show up, take action, and help out. However, we know that simply donating alone won't put an end to racial injustice. It's a small step we're taking now, and we're asking you to do the same.
In alphabetical order below are a number of organizations that benefit social justice and support the Black community on national and local levels. Here's what they do and where you can donate to help their cause:
Act Blue
Donate Here
From their site: "As a nonprofit, we’re driven by the belief that our democracy works better when more people participate in civic life and when our campaigns and nonprofits are powered by the people they serve. That’s why we’ve built a powerful online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, progressive organizations, and nonprofits. Our tools make it possible for anyone to build a grassroots campaign or movement and give donors an easy and secure way to support their favorite candidates and causes."
Black Lives Matter
Donate Here
From their site: "#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives."
Black Visions Collective
Donate Here
From their site: “Black Visions Collective envisions a world in which ALL Black Lives Matter. We use the guidance and brilliance of our ancestors as well as the teachings of our own experiences to pursue our commitment to dismantling systems of oppression and violence. We are determined in our pursuit of dignity and equity for all."
Campaign ZERO
From their site: "Campaign ZERO was developed with contributions from activists, protesters and researchers across the nation. This data-informed platform presents comprehensive solutions to end police violence in America. It integrates community demands and policy recommendations from research organizations and President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Together, we will win."
Color Of Change
From their site: “Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 1.7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.”
Community Justice Exchange
From their site: “The Community Justice Exchange is a national hub for developing, sharing, and experimenting with tactical interventions, strategic organizing practices, and innovative organizing tools to end mass incarceration. We provide support to community-based organizations that are building a new vision of community justice through bottom-up interventions in the criminal legal and immigration detention systems.”
Emergency Release Fund
From their site: "The Emergency Release Fund is a grassroots response to grave public safety issues. 100% of your contribution is used to post bail for trans persons, people of color, and underrepresented communities at risk of injury and death."
Equal Justice Initiative
From their site: "The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society."
Freedom Fund
From their site: "Each day, tens of thousands of LGBTQ people are held in jail or immigration detention because they cannot afford bail—for immigration status or charges like sleeping in public. With your help, the Freedom Fund posts bail to secure their release and safety. In tandem, we raise awareness of the epidemic of LGBTQ overincarceration. We strive towards a critical mass against mass detention."
Loveland Foundation
From their site: "Loveland Foundation is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls. Our resources and initiatives are collaborative and they prioritize opportunity, access, validation, and healing. We are becoming the ones we’ve been waiting for."
Marsha P. Johnson Institute
From their site: "The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of Black transgender people. We do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power. We intend to reclaim Marsha P. Johnson and our relationship as Black trans people to her life and legacy. It is in our reclaiming of Marsha that we give ourselves permission to reclaim autonomy to our minds, to our bodies, and to our futures. We were founded both as a response to the murders of Black trans women and women of color and how that is connected to our exclusion from social justice issues, namely racial, gender, and reproductive justice, as well as gun violence."
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
From their site: “The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.”
National Bail Out
From their site: "The National Bail Out collective is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration. We are people who have been impacted by cages — either by being in them ourselves or witnessing our families and loved ones be encaged. We are queer, trans, young, elder, and immigrant.”
National Black Disability Coalition
From their site: "The National Black Disability Coalition (NBDC) is a response to the need for Blacks with Disabilities in America to organize around issues of mutual concern and use our collective strength to address disability issues with an emphasis on people who live in poverty."
North Star Health Collective
From their site: “Our organizing collective core includes health providers — physicians, nurses, healers, herbalists, doulas. Many of us are also long term community organizers with diverse experience across a range of social sectors — affordable housing, environmental justice, women’s health, human rights ... We work in alliance with mainstream and anti-authoritarian organizations to create a safe and healthy events. We stand in solidarity with the need for diverse strategies and tactics. We will not denounce fellow activists or organizations. That said, we believe in harm reduction. We are working behind the scenes to reduce risks. We believe in maintaining open lines of communication.”
Reclaim the Block
Donate Here
From their site: "Reclaim the Block began in 2018 and organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety."
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
From their site: "The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. SRLP is a collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice. Therefore, we seek to increase the political voice and visibility of low-income people and people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming. SRLP works to improve access to respectful and affirming social, health, and legal services for our communities. We believe that in order to create meaningful political participation and leadership, we must have access to basic means of survival and safety from violence."
Check Out More Resources Here:
- Here’s What You Can Do to Demand Justice for Black Lives and Support Protestors Right Now
- How to Protest Safely During the Pandemic
- Barack Obama Issues a Call to Action in the Aftermath of George Floyd's Death
- Oprah and Gayle Discuss George Floyd: "If You Pretend You Didn't See It, You're Part of the Problem"
- The Anti-Racist Reading List
- Why You Need to Stop Saying "All Lives Matter"
Danielle is the former food & drink editor for BestProducts.com, where she put her knowledge as a cocktail consultant and connoisseur to use; her work can also be spotted on Thrillist, Food & Wine, and Delish. Prior to joining BestProducts.com in 2016, she was slinging fancy cocktails in Brooklyn, reporting on the best bars and restaurants in the country for Food & Wine magazine, and drinking all the whiskey New York has to offer. Outside of work, you’ll most likely find her catching the end of happy hour at her favorite bars in New York or dreaming up pretty new drink recipes.
Melanie Yates is the senior service editor of Best Products, where she writes and reports pieces pertaining to the etiquette, dilemmas, and how-tos of gift-giving for different occasions. Previously, she was the site's senior home editor, covering all things decor- and bedding-related since 2015. Her digital byline can also be found on Bustle, House Beautiful, and Elle Decor. A longtime classical-music enthusiast, Melanie spends her off-hours enjoying performances big and small across New York City.
