Social good at Mana

Helping clients is just the beginning…

Our community matters to us at Mana. We believe in the power of charitable contributions and the donation of our time and services to make the world a better, more livable place. Below are some of our favorite charities, listed by topic.

A key feature that all of these organizations share is that they all accept donations of stock. Donating appreciated stock is a tax-efficient way of giving to charity: it allows you (and the charity!) to avoid incurring taxes when selling the stock.

Climate and the Environment

Natural Resources Defense Council - “The Earth’s best defense.” NRDC works to safeguard the earth - its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. The Wall Street Journal is quoted as calling them “the most effective lobbying and litigating group on environmental issues.” They’re a powerhouse nonprofit organization combining the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.

Ceres - “Sustainability is the bottom line.” Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to tackle sustainability challenges. Their mission is transforming the economy to build a sustainable future for people and the planet.

Ocean Conservancy - “Start a sea change.”  Ocean Conservancy works to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. They create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.

Gender Equality

Malala Fund - “I believe we will see every girl in school in my lifetime.” Research since the 1980s has almost universally shown that women with higher levels of good quality education marry later, have fewer and healthier children, live longer and enjoy greater economic prosperity. And uplifting women benefits us all - socially, environmentally and economically. Malala Fund is working to break down barriers that hold more than 130 million girls back from going to school. They’re working for a world where every girl can learn and lead. 

The Representation Project - “Changing culture. Challenging gender stereotypes.” The Representation Project (TRP) is a leading global non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring all humans achieve their full potential, unencumbered by limiting gender norms. They use documentary films, education, and activism to shift the public’s attitudes and behavior around gender in order to transform culture.

Futures Without Violence - “Our name is our vision.” For more than 30 years, FUTURES has been providing groundbreaking programs, policies, and campaigns that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children around the world.

Racial Equality

American Civil Liberties Union - “We the People.” The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union - beyond one person, party or side. Their mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees. This excerpt from their website sums it up: “When the Constitution was written, ‘We the People’ did not mean all of us. Slavery created a legacy of oppression for Black people that is woven into our institutions today — from education and health care to the criminal legal system. We need structural reform to dismantle the deep-seated racism and inequity that permeates our institutions — including law enforcement.”

Center for Constitutional Rights - “Dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.” The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, they’ve taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach.

Amnesty International USA - “Action for human rights. Hope for humanity.” Amnesty USA is the U.S. section of Amnesty International, which is a Nobel-Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 8 million members and supporters worldwide. Their vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. They investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilize the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world.

LGBTQ+ Equality

SAGE - “We refuse to be invisible.” SAGE is the world’s oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors. Since its inception, SAGE has pioneered programs and services for seniors in the LGBT community, provided technical assistance and training to expand opportunities for LGBT older people across the country, and provided a national voice on LGBT aging issues. 

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center - “Providing a home for the birth, nurture and celebration of LGBT organizations.”  Established in 1983, the Center has grown to become the largest LGBT multi-service organization on the East Coast and second largest LGBT community center in the world. Every week, 6,000 people visit the Center, and more than 300 groups meet there. They provide groundbreaking social service, public policy, educational and cultural/recreational programs.

Lambda Legal - “Making the case for equality.” Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

Financial Literacy and Empowerment

Foundation for Financial Planning - “Helping people take control of their financial lives.” The Foundation for Financial Planning works to help people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community with people in need. They achieve this by supporting pro bono advice and outreach activities.

Opportunity Fund Community Development - “Working capital for working people.” Opportunity Fund, the nation's leading nonprofit microfinance and small business lender, believes affordable and responsible capital helps working class entrepreneurs make lasting change in their own lives and build stronger communities by growing businesses and creating jobs. Opportunity Fund's community of donors and investors is creating an inclusive financial system that empowers women, minority, veteran, immigrant and other underserved small business owners.

DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation - “Building a better tomorrow by educating students today, in order to forge a financially literate America. - DoughMain focuses on providing financial education to high schools and communities that need it most. One of the ways they do this is by designing a turnkey personal finance curriculum that they provide to the many teachers across America who are beginning to teach this topic for the first time and thus are finding themselves ill-equipped to do so.

DACA / Immigration & Social Justice

American Immigration Council - “Honoring our immigrant past; shaping our immigrant future.” The American Immigration Council works to shape how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring.

National Immigration Law Center - “Protecting and promoting the rights of low income immigrants and their family members.” The NILC is the only national legal advocacy organization in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their families. Over the past 34 years, NILC has won landmark legal decisions protecting fundamental rights, thwarted policies that would have devastated the well-being of low-income immigrants and their family members, and advanced policies that reinforce and promote equality, opportunity, and justice for all.

CARE - “Defending dignity, fighting poverty.” - CARE is doing work to address a whole spectrum of global issues - from aiding refugees to empowering women to addressing food security - their mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. They facilitate lasting change by strengthening the capacity for self-help, providing economic opportunity, delivering emergency relief, influencing policy and addressing discrimination in all its forms. 

Together Rising - “Turning heartache into action.” Whether it’s pulling children out of the sea outside refugee camps in Greece, helping abandoned kids on the streets in Indianapolis, establishing the first opioid recovery home for pregnant teens in New Hampshire, building a maternal health wing in Port-au-Prince, providing a single mother access to breast cancer treatment, or keeping a foster family’s heat on in Texas — Together Rising identifies what is breaking the hearts of givers and then connects their generosity with the people and organizations who are effectively addressing that critical need.