5 Timely Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season

While the holiday season is, yes, traditionally the time to shop until you drop, it also presents an excellent opportunity to make a bigger impact, and fight back against the ongoing disenfranchisement of marginalized communities in the United States. This winter, as the Biden administration cedes ground to another Trump one, why not consider donating to charities and nonprofits that are working to safeguard LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access, climate justice, protections for immigrants and incarcerated people, and a host of other vital issues?

Of course, there are plenty of ways to take a stand in your community if you don’t have the money to spare. But if you’re looking to purchase gifts this season that are sure to go a long way, look no further: Below, find a roundup five organizations whose tireless work ensures that some of America’s most disenfranchised groups—from people in need of reproductive care in states with abortion bans to the communities of color who are hardest-hit by climate change—have access to sorely needed social safety nets as we lead into 2025.

This network of almost 100 independent abortion funds works to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access—an issue that’s become increasingly urgent since the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. NNAF supports member abortion funds by providing grants, leadership development, infrastructure support, and technical assistance.

This trans-led organization connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive, cultivating trans community at a time of unprecedented transphobic legislation and rhetoric.

This Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers, and activists is building a community-based movement with the goal of abolishing pretrial detention systems and dismantling the prison industrial complex.

This nonprofit dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers provides direct legal services to and advocates for those populations through policy reform, impact litigation, and public education.

This organization works across the United States to advance equitable climate resilience and sustainability outcomes and the natural systems on which they depend.