9 Charities That Support The Amazon Rainforest

If you're looking to donate money, here are some truly worthy causes.

1. Rainforest Trust

Rainforest Trust / Via rainforesttrust.org

Rainforest Trust began in 1988 with a mission to purchase and protect threatened rainforests and save endangered wildlife through community engagement and local partnerships. They do this through land acquisition, land designation, and community-managed land areas and work in 49 different countries.

You can donate to the Rainforest Trust here.

2. Amazon Conservation Association

Amazon Conservation Association / Via amazonconservation.org

The Amazon Conservation Association is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that started in 1999 focusing on conservation and restoration in Peru and Bolivia specifically. They first started their program to provide support specifically for Brazil Nut harvesters and since then have protected over 4 million acres of rainforest.

You can donate to the Amazon Conservation Association here.

3. Survival International

Survival International / Via survivalinternational.org

Survival International works in partnership with tribes to amplify their voices on a global stage and help them to "change the world in their favor." The group was founded in 1969, after people appalled by a piece in the Sunday Times about the genocide of native Amazon people formed this group. They help by lobbying powerful people and giving a larger platform for tribal people and are also a 501(c)(3) organization.

You can donate to the Survival International here.

4. Rainforest Action Network

Rainforest Action Network / Via ran.org

Rainforest Action Network (aka RAN) works on the front lines of indigenous communities to help them survive the impact of profit-driven systems ruining our environment. They also focus on racial justice and incorporate an analysis of racial inequity for their programs. And for you tree-huggers (like me), you'll be happy to know that they honor the "intrinsic value of biodiversity and wildness" and use systems that "maintain the integrity, richness and abundance of life in all its forms."

You can donate to the Rainforest Action Network here.

5. Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance / Via rainforest-alliance.org

The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (aka NGO) founded in 1987 to bring "real, measurable benefits to forests, communities, and biodiverstity around the world." You might recognize their Rainforest Alliance Certified seal from products you've purchased in the past. Their green frog seal on a product means that the company has been audited to meet standards that require environmental, social, and economic sustainability — aka, good for the planet.

You can donate to the Rainforest Alliance here.

6. Amazon Watch

Amazon Watch / Via amazonwatch.org

Amazon Watch began in 1996 and their work is focused on three main priorities: stopping the Amazon destruction, advancing indigenous solutions, and supporting climate justice. They do this through supporting Earth Defenders (otherwise known as land defenders or environmental activists) and targeting corporations and governments to hold them accountable.

You can donate to Amazon Watch here.

7. The Amazon Conservation Team

The Amazon Conservation Team / Via amazonteam.org

The Amazon Conservation Team has existed for over twenty-four years and their mission is to "partner with indigenous and other local communities to protect tropical forests and strengthen traditional culture." They currently work in the Northwest and Northeast Amazon areas and throughout Brazil.

You can donate to the Amazon Conservation Team here.

8. Cool Earth

Cool Earth / Via coolearth.org

Cool Earth works with communities who want to protect their local forests by setting them up with a team that works directly with local charities, or as they put it, "placing forest in the hands of the people who rely on its survival for their survival." Since their inception, they've empowered 118 different villages and have saved over 900,000 acres of land.

You can donate to Cool Earth here.

9. Rainforest Foundation

Rainforest Foundation / Via rainforestfoundation.org

The Rainforest Foundation protects the rainforests of South and Central America by working with the indigenous people and securing their rights to their land. They train these communities to use technology to protect the forests and strengthen security. They were founded over thirty years ago based on the question, "What if indigenous people of the rainforest – those intimately connected to their ancestral lands – had the legal right to protect the forests we all depend on?"

You can donate to the Rainforest Foundation here.

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