Causes Worth Supporting

I’m Todd L. Burns, and welcome to Music Journalism Insider, a newsletter about music journalism. I highlight some of the best stuff I hear, read, and watch every week; publish news about the industry; and interview writers, scholars, and editors about their work. My goal is to share knowledge, celebrate great work, and expand the idea of what music journalism is—and where it happens. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com.

As part of the newsletter, I ask the folks that I interview to recommend music and non-music causes that they feel are worthy of support. I’ll be publishing them one by one in the newsletter, but I figured it’d be nice to have a page that collects these recommendations in one place.

Aboriginal Legal Service NSW

Billy Coleman: ALS is an Aboriginal community-controlled organization that has been doing vital work for the past 50 years. They were the first free legal service in Australia, and they continue to provide culturally safe legal representation and advocacy for Aboriginal persons throughout the Australian state of New South Wales today. (August 2020)

Abortion Access Front

Jesse Jarnow: For obvious reasons. (November 2022)

Abortion Without Borders / Abortion Support Network

John Doran: Abortion Without Borders / Abortion Support Network provides information, support, accommodation etc. for women from countries including Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta and Poland who need to travel to access abortion services. (October 2021)

ACLU

Rebecca Cypess: In 2017, my husband and I became monthly contributors to the ACLU. There are many reasons—both deeply personal and very public—to support that and similar organizations these days. (September 2022)

African Digital Heritage

Dr. Joyce Nyairo: African Digital Heritage is a non-profit that works at the intersection of culture and technology. They undertake research with the aim of increasing access to cultural content, increasing engagement and reinterpretation of cultural pasts and archiving partly through reconstruction of sites and landscapes. This work is critical for a continent that is still trying to reclaim its stolen and forgotten pasts. (January 2021)

Alma Backyard Farms

Nina Eidsheim: Alma Backyard Farms, located in Los Angeles, provides job training in urban sustainable farming to the formerly incarcerated as well as provides fresh produce in food deserts. They also have a free youth curriculum to learn about planting, growing and eating healthy foods. This organization builds community and empowers those often neglected by society through nature and nourishment. Josh Kun (Professor and Chair in Cross-Cultural Communication) was integral to help me envisioning the PEER Lab, and introduced us to this organization, where he serves on the board. We are so glad he did, as we continue to learn from their attention to the land of Los Angeles and their commitment to equalize its resources. (January 2022)

Alzheimer’s Society

Dr. Lucy O’Brien: I’d like to highlight the Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading dementia charity. They campaign for change, fund research to find a cure, and support people living with dementia today. Your mind and memories are crucial to your identity and sense of self. We need greater social care and more funding to combat this cruel disease. (November 2020)

American Indian College Fund

Jen B. Larson: I want to promote the American Indian College Fund. I donate to it once a year. Donations provide financial support/scholarships for Native American students and 35 different tribal colleges and universities. Currently, only 15% of American Indians hold college degrees, but with this support we can ensure education for future generations. The organization also highlights other social and political causes related to Native Americans. (June 2022)

Andrea Lewis

Larisa Kingston Mann: My mentor in Jamaica has been battling cancer, and needs all the support she can get. (February 2022)

Animal Rescue

Steve Baltin: I am a huge proponent of animal rescue. Have a rescue dog and cat, have done stories with Tommy Lee, Mark Hoppus and more specifically on animal rescue. There are so many worthwhile organizations and shelters to donate to. I donate a lot through Cuddly and Network For Animals. But any local shelter is great. (October 2022)

Another Gulf Is Possible

Ashawnta Jackson: My parents, and really my whole family, is from Louisiana. If I had to pinpoint the thing that really made me love music, it’s probably because the spirit of that place lived in my home. It was in the food, the music, my parents’ voices. As everyone knows, the state was hit hard by hurricane Ida, and among many of the groups helping right now is Another Gulf is Possible. They have [an Ida-specific fund](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/anothergulfispossible), but also resources for their on-going work. (September 2021)

Anti-Defamation League

Evelyn McDonnell: Given recent events, I would say the Anti-Defamation League, because racial hatred is threatening our democracy, and our lives. (January 2021)

Apex For Youth

Gab Ginsberg: My pick is Apex for Youth, a nonprofit that delivers mentoring and educational programs to underserved Asian and immigrant youth from low-income families in New York City. Amid the disturbing surge in anti-Asian violence across the country, Apex for Youth is continuously addressing the needs of the community. (May 2021)

Art Angel

Jamie Wilde: The cause I’d like to highlight is based in my hometown of Dundee. The project is called Art Angel and for more than two decades they have been supporting people with mental health issues through active participation in the arts. A local electronic collective based in Dundee named Hilltown Disco have also run an Art Angel fundraiser series over the last few years with an online-only run of EPs where all proceeds are dedicated to the charity. You can find more on this via the Hilltown Disco Bandcamp page. (September 2020)

Arts Emergency

Jennifer Lucy Allan: There is so much that needs support right now, let's keep it specific to culture. Mentoring is a really crucial way of giving back once you're an established writer. It is much more difficult to stay in journalism now than when I was starting out, so if you're a stable professional, think about providing some form of mentorship or donating to organisations such as Arts Emergency in the UK. (July 2022)

Megan Townsend: It's funded by individuals and it gives young people a fair start in the arts. (November 2022)

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (Melbourne)

Lesley Chow: The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in my home town of Melbourne has been invaluable in supporting the rights of asylum seekers in Australia and in combating homelessness for people released from detention. (March 2021)

Bail X Fund

Lauron Kehrer: I’d like to advocate for the Bail Project, and specifically rapper Lil Nas X’s initiative through the project, the Bail X Fund. The cash bail system in the U.S. perpetuates racial and economic disparities in the criminal legal system. The Bail Project seeks to combat mass incarceration by providing free bail assistance and advocating for bail reform. (September 2022)

Banning Conversion Therapy

Yasmine Summan: Being non-binary, I’d appreciate it if you could take the time to email your MP about banning conversion therapy in the U.K. Conversion therapy is an aggressive, outdated method of abuse toward LGBTQ+ folk that relies on the idea that being gay or trans is a choice. It is still legal in the U.K. and needs to be outright banned. stonewall.org.uk has a handy website that creates an autofill letter to send to your MP. (April 2021)

Beth’s Furry Friends

Angie Martoccio: I regret to inform you that I am a cat person. Beth Stern has dedicated her life to rescuing, fostering, and facilitating adoptions for thousands of cats and kittens—including black cats, who are adopted a lot less than others. Read my interview with her about it, and donate here. (March 2023)

Black Alliance for Just Immigration

Elliott H. Powell: I’d encourage folks to donate to the Black Alliance for Just Immigration’s (BAJI) COVID-19 Mutual Aid Relief Fund. To quote their website: “BAJI is a Black-led racial justice and immigrant rights organization that educates, advocates and organizes on behalf of Black immigrants as well as building power with African Americans for racial, economic and social justice.” The COVID-19 Mutual Aid Relief Fund addresses the ways in which COVDI-19 has disproportionately affected Black immigrants in the U.S. as they are, among other things, “concentrated in the service industry as health care workers; domestic workers; grocery store workers; airport workers; delivery and ride share and restaurant workers.” (December 2020)

Black Lives Matter

Thomas Venker: I just read Another Country by James Baldwin. Such a fantastic book. And such a tough one, not only from the happenings on the pages itself but also as we see from today's perspective how little has changed. We need to address this. We need to reconstruct our societies based on equality and solidarity. Supporting Black Lives Matter is essential for that. (September 2021)

Alyssa Favreau: Please support Black Lives Matter, either the international movement or your local chapter (BLM Canada, for example, can redirect any donations to a specific region). Combating white supremacy and police brutality is crucial, era-defining work, and I really appreciate that BLM’s purview covers everything from local mutual aid to large-scale reimaginings of the world. We need what they do at every level. (October 2021)

Black Lives Matter DC’s Legal Defense Fund

Will Robin: I live in the DC suburbs; fortunately there is no cash bail in Washington, but since the spring I've been regularly donating to Black Lives Matter DC's legal defense fund, and you should do so as well. (August 2020)

Black Opera Alliance

Garrett McQueen: I’ll always encourage people to donate to TRILLOQUY—we believe in our work and can’t do it without continued support. There are countless Black creators “doing the work” that also need support. The two I’ll name here are the Black Opera Alliance and the International Society for Black Musicians. (May 2021)

The Black Opry

Marissa R. Moss: Support the Black Opry! Because the future of country music should represent everyone, not just a chosen few. (June 2022)

Will Groff: The Black Opry is an organization that works to create a home for Black musicians, fans and industry professionals in country music and related genres. They do amazing work in amplifying the voices of Black country, folk, blues and Americana artists, and the Black Opry Revue is a must-see live event. Please donate to support the amazing work Black Opry is doing! (March 2023)

Black Sabbath Black Lives Matter Campaign

Jordan Blum: I’d be remiss not to mention what Black Sabbath are doing with their Black Lives Matter shirt/campaign. It’s an awesome way to represent a band while also supporting an important cause (the fact that they incorporate the message into the Black Sabbath style is awesome), and 100% of the net proceeds go toward the BLM Global Network Foundation, Inc. Outside of that, I think the cause also helps dispel the stereotype that metal music is somehow exclusionary, weird, or anything like that. Sure, like every group, there is some negativity and elitism, but by and large, metal is one of the most inclusive, open-minded, friendly, and diverse communities in all of popular culture. From what I’ve seen, my colleagues, friends, and the overarching community are all about progress, acceptance, and the like; we have no tolerance for hateful speech or antiquated actions. Clearly, the metal scene’s support of BLM is among the greatest examples of that, and obviously Black Sabbath are among the most celebrated and important bands within the genre. (August 2020)

The Black Triage String Ensemble

Ronen Givony: The Black Triage String Ensemble is an all-volunteer organization based in Milwaukee that performs after shootings and at crime scenes in the region as a means of helping to heal the local community. You can read about their work in Kenosha and elsewhere here and here, and donate some money at this link. (September 2020)

Black Voters Matter

Rachel Brodsky: Most of my spare cash these days has been purchasing merch that supports Black Lives Matter (I definitely bought that Black Sabbath tee and one of Andre 3000’s shirts). I also want to plug Black Voters Matter, which helps fund voter registration efforts, staff training, candidate and network development, and other measures needed to increase voter awareness and turnout in communities of color. (July 2020)

Bol Worker Owned Bookstore

Derek Pardue: Washington, D.C.’s first worker-owned bookstore. Bol holds amazing events that mix a range of local, urban DC politics with global affairs. The organizers are super nice and committed to social justice. (January 2022)

Brave Space Alliance

Mark Reynolds: Black trans people are especially endangered these days, and have been for some time. They are often ostracized by their families and traditional community support systems like the Black church. Mainstream LGBTQ+ groups haven’t always been as present, or even available, for them as one might think. Crimes against them are often not vigorously investigated. In the last few years and especially since the pandemic, mutual aid groups like Chicago’s Brave Space Alliance have emerged to provide love and caring support to and within the Black trans community; perhaps there’s such a group near you? (October 2022)

Brigate Volontarie per l’Emergenza

Giacomo Botta: Brigate Volontarie per l’Emergenza is a collective from Milan, which has been active during the lockdown in providing food and help to people in economic distress. Milan and the rest of Lombardy has been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brigate work continues also now that the lockdown has been disbanded. Support their crowd funding here. (July 2020)

Buffalo String Works

Stephanie Vander Wel: Buffalo String Works is a non-profit music program serving refugee students from K-12 in Buffalo. Students who would otherwise not have access to music education and the gift of music in their lives are given the opportunity to be part of a music program that is about social change and development of community through music. (August 2020)

Campaign Zero

Megan Kaes Long: Right now, like many Americans who are tired of police brutality and state-sanctioned white supremacy, I'm directing my resources to Campaign Zero. I'm particularly impressed by their concrete, research-based policy suggestions. (July 2020)

Casa Da Paz

Sasha Geffen: I'd like to suggest a program local to Colorado, Casa de Paz. They provide material support and resources to people detained in ICE facilities and their families. The current pandemic especially affects incarcerated people, whose living conditions were intolerable even before COVID-19, so any organization working toward the health and safety of those who have been unjustly detained in nightmarish places deserves any money you can spare right now. (April 2020)

Castle of our Skins

Amanda Cook: Castle of our Skins is an amazing organization here in the Boston area dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. Led by Ashleigh Gordon and Anthony Green, this is an organization that has been walking the walk for years. (March 2021)

Center For Human Rights in Iran

Harry Levin: Please donate to the Center For Human Rights in Iran. There are almost 88 million people living in Iran and 8 million in the diaspora, all of whom are threatened in one way or another by the fascist and despotic rule of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since the murder of Mahsa Amini in September of 2022 Iranian women are leading a global movement that has real potential to challenge the IRI, and we can all do our part to help. (March 2023)

Changing the Conversation

Tristan Kneschke: I’ve been working with an organization named Changing the Conversation. They focus specifically on having deep conversations with swing voters in Pennsylvania to get people mobilized and voting for progressive causes. (June 2021)

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

Jack Riedy: Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is a legal advocacy organization working to end homelessness in Chicago and the state of Illinois. They advocate for public policies to curb and end homelessness, and help those experiencing homelessness receive the maximum amount of aid possible. To preserve their independent voice, CCH does not accept government grants, so all donations make a big difference. (August 2021)

The Chicago Independent Venue League

Carolyn Droke: The Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL) is an organization that acts as a union of all the city’s 40+ independent venues. It was instrumental in helping pass the Save Our Stages Act in 2020, which provided much-needed pandemic relief funding the music and performance spaces. During a time when massive companies continue dominating the live music industry, organizations like CIVL are paramount. (March 2022)

Chicago Reader

David Anthony: Donate to the Chicago Reader. We need to support alt-weeklies during this time when many are hurting and in danger of shuttering. Independent media with a local focus is something we’ve all taken for granted, and I’d hate to see this institution go away. (January 2021)

Miranda Reinert: Support the Chicago Reader. Alt-weeklies provide important, independent journalism that is constantly being threatened. The Reader is such an important institution within Chicago and so important to how I processed the world around me as a young person. I can't imagine what Chicago would be without it and I hope to never find out. (March 2021)

Chicaghoes for Sex Work

Jessi Roti: Chicaghoes for Sex Work is a Sex Workers’ Rights advocacy group and mutual aid resource centering Black and Brown sex workers in the city. Sex work has been an industry hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s been reported time and time again that people of color have been disproportionately affected by the virus. The industry is also constantly under attack by both local and federal governments, often putting workers in increased danger or limiting the avenues by which they can support themselves either online or in-person. Sex work should be acknowledged as work and benefits/aid resources need to be extended to these folks. (February 2021)

The Chinese-American Planning Council

Noah Yoo: The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) is a NYC-based social services nonprofit that’s focused on the empowerment of immigrant and low-income families through childcare services, senior centers, in-home care, and more. If you’re able, please donate to their COVID-19 relief fund. (November 2020)

Choral Arts Link

Ambre Dromgoole: Margaret Campbelle Holman is one of my most cherished mentors. She is the founder and artistic director of Choral Arts Link, an organization that has had an immeasurable impact on my life. Choral Arts Link works to ensure that public school students in the Metro Nashville Davidson County area have access to choral music education. They are certainly a cause worth supporting and donating to. (November 2022)

Christian Friends of Korea

Joel Heng Hartse: I recommend donating to causes that serve the people of North Korea, just because of the difficulties they’ve had to endure for so long. I personally have supported Christian Friends of Korea, which assists tuberculosis and hepatitis hospitals, and First Steps Health Society, which works on malnutrition. (March 2022)

Christine Kelley

Chris O'Leary: I’m not sure if this qualifies as a cause, but there’s a young writer I’d encourage people to support. Christine Kelley, a young trans woman, who’s been writing top-rank criticism of Kate Bush’s music and now the works of JRR Tolkien. The latter I could care less about, but Kelley makes it interesting! There’s a testimony for you. To see where she is already as a writer, compared to where I was at her age, is something. She’s a strong talent who should be encouraged and supported. (July 2021)

Coalition for Black Trans Economic Liberation

Larisa Kingston Mann: Coalition for Black Trans Economic Liberation is a grassroots organization based in Philadelphia, where I have lived for six years. I do my best to make my presence here a positive contribution and not one of pure displacement (though I know that’s not an individual dynamic), and this direct giving platform is one way to do it. Their Venmo is @CBTEL (February 2022)

Come Play With Me

Jenessa Williams: Based in Leeds, UK, Come Play With Me is a social enterprise that works hard to support emerging artists, particularly those of marginalised identity. They run a 7’’ singles club, a print magazine and put on various events and workshops that really help artists demystify the industry, putting them in contact with affordable producers, PR's and other resources that help get things going at the very beginnings of their journey. As a result, plenty of the Come Play With Me bands have gone on to do really great things. You can support them via Patreon here, or check out their releases here. (August 2020)

Committee to Protect Journalists

Roberta Cruger: During the pandemic and political upheaval, there are plenty of worthy causes to support, including my standard go-tos. But one issue that concerns me now is the importance of the freedom of the press. The media has been under attack, called the “enemy of the people” and fake news, while investigative journalists fight disinformation, uncovering deep dives into the truths every day to hold power accountable. It’s not just in the US where journalists were attacked during the recent protests for Black Lives Matter, and everywhere autocrats are on the rise, such as The Philippines where journalist Maria Ressa of The Rappler has been convicted of libel with accusations of tax evasion and spying, for criticizing President Duterte, and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi columnist for The Washington Post. Contribute to the Committee to Protect Journalists to support our colleagues under assault for doing their job. (August 2020)

Philip Watson: Over the past 20 years, more and more journalists have been censored, threatened, harassed, attacked, expelled, abducted, imprisoned and killed by such forces as rogue governments, terrorist groups and organised crime gangs, and in war zones and areas of armed conflict. In 2021 alone, 45 journalists were killed, 293 were imprisoned and 65 are missing. The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, non-profit organisation that “promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal”. It needs your support more than ever. (May 2022)

Cool Moms

Brooklyn White: I have a mutual aid-meets-media brand called Cool Moms. We offer community, information and resources to historically ignored moms. Donations will be used to pay writers and also give back to moms/families who need financial assistance. If you're interested in donating, reach out to info@coolmamasclub.com. (January 2023)

Cork Penny Dinners in Cork, Ireland

Philip Watson: Cork Penny Dinners in Cork, Ireland is one of the city’s oldest charitable organisations; it serves up to 2,000 invaluable, freshly-made meals per week at its open-door premises to “those who struggle or are in need”. Its motto says it all: “We never judge; we serve.” (May 2022)

COVID-19 In India

Prathyush Parasuraman: Right now India is seething through a deadly, bloody second wave of COVID-19 while also battling government apathy and repression. Twitter and Instagram have turned into help-lines looking for oxygen and hospital beds. If you can donate to any of these organizations, that would be wonderful. (April 2021)

Crossroad Pets

Tim Dillinger: Not directly music-related, but I do live in Music City, so everything is connected in some sense. Crossroads Pets is a great organization here that is doing incredible work not just finding loving homes for pets, but also providing paid internships for young adults who lack the experience and connections to break into the workforce and providing affordable housing for people on the brink of homelessness. Emmylou Harris is a founding board member (so there’s the music connection!). (December 2021)

The Debt Collective

Stephanie Doktor: I think all of this work we do on racial inequality and culture matters but I am more so concerned about the living conditions for Black people in this country. Given the state-sanctioned violence against, surveillance of, and unwarranted imprisonment of our nation’s Black population, I think the best thing we can do is support the activists groups trying to combat white supremacy. Donating to your local Black Lives Matter chapter or Prison Reform organization is an excellent way to support anti-racist work. I am (also) so very enthused about a new organization called The Debt Collective and their recent publication, Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay: The Case for Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition. It’s brilliant, and members of the collective are available for talks and interviews. (March 2021)

Denton Music and Arts Collaborative

Brian F. Wright: As we all know, most musicians are gig workers that don’t usually have access to employer-based healthcare. Where I live, there is a non-profit called the Denton Music and Arts Collaborative (DMAC) that subsidizes healthcare coverage for local musicians. Normally, they raise money through benefit concerts and in-person fundraising events, but the COVID crisis has made that impossible. If anyone has a little money to spare, I think this is a worthy cause. (May 2021)

DJs Against Hunger

Beth Kirkbride: There’s a Liverpool DJ called Josh Davies who set up an initiative called DJs Against Hunger in 2020, which is raising money for FareShare and also highlighting the lack of adequate government support for the UK’s hospitality sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He chatted to one of The Indiependent team about the project, which was inspired by the political activism of footballer Marcus Rashford. You can learn more here. (December 2020)

Dogs

Kevin Williams: If you can, help PAWS Chicago or donate to the Anti-Cruelty Society. My wife's late mother believed that dogs are angels, sent down to help us become the people they think we are. The longer I live, the more I believe that. (March 2021)

Drake Music

Dr. Shara Rambarran: Drake Music is a UK organization and charity working in music, disability, and technology. Drake Music encourages and supports people with a disability to create and perform music with accessible music technology. (August 2021)

DrawChange

Abe James: A charity I think is important to support is DrawChange. They help bring art into the lives of children in Atlanta who can't afford it, and every kid should be able to express themself. (September 2022)

East Coast Maine Coon Rescue

Anna Heflin: East Coast Maine Coon Rescue is a 501c3 non-profit headquartered in New Jersey that saves Maine Coon and Maine Coon mixed cats and kittens from kill shelters and other bad situations. They are fundraising to open a cat café in Monmouth County, NJ, you can read more about that and support that cause here. (September 2022)

Fair Fight

Evelyn McDonnell: Given recent events, I would Fair Fight, because Stacey Abrams is changing the world one election at a time. (January 2021)

Favelas

Beatriz Miranda: The great news platform Rio On Watch has put together a list of campaigns aimed at raising funds for various favelas to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 in their communities. Some of them accept donations via PayPal and other digital money transfer websites. (October 2020)

Feed The Second Line

Emily Ruth Allen: Donate to Feed the Second Line—it supports New Orleans cultural performers in the face of natural disasters. It’s been a great resource over the past few years. (March 2022)

Filipino Cultural School

Mary Talusan: Filipino Cultural School, a nonprofit organization, that has existed for over 50 years through the volunteer work of community members to develop pride and a strong sense of identity for Filipino American children. (January 2022)

First Steps Health Society

The Florrie

Jim Ottewill: We live in Liverpool and the Florrie is a great cause. It’s a community centre in Toxteth which offers loads of ace support, music and networks. (June 2022)

The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness

Camille Augustin: The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness is a cause that hits home for me. The organization focuses on providing resources and support for pregnant black women and helping them get quality care as maternal mortality deaths among black women continue to rise. Especially now, as even more people are understanding the severe impact of COVID-19 in black communities, analyzing the healthcare system should certainly include pregnancy-related deaths amongst black women. (May 2020)

Foundation for Puerto Rico

Jayson Rodriguez: I regularly donate to Foundation for Puerto Rico. Our education system didn’t do a great job of teaching students about the history of the island before the pandemic and with this revolt that’s happening now to ban books and limit teachings, I don't know if our country will ever truly know. But Puerto Rico really has been under America’s thumb for over 100 years and it’s made it such a challenge to install a functioning government. Add in the hurricane and earthquakes of recent years and outside of San Juan, you have a lot of people still trying to rebuild in a New Orleans type of way. They could use help. (February 2022)

Foundations of Music

Leor Galil: Chicago music nonprofit Foundations of Music sends teaching artists to public schools throughout the city. The program works with thousands of students, most of whom are from low-income households, and the more advanced programs focus on production and songwriting—it's the kind of music education I wish I could have had access to growing up! (October 2020)

The Free Black University

Julia Toppin: The Free Black University are rethinking the model for Higher Education and that is so cool. They are daring to think of radical solutions to the real-world problems that structural racism causes in universities. Like me, they believe that education is at the heart of transforming society as we know it. (December 2020)

Free Books Campaign

Christian Adofo: I would like to highlight the Free Books Campaign which started in 2020 led by Sofia Akel who gets books by authors of colour—who are typically underrepresented in the publishing industry and education system—to those who are unable to access them, by donating books to individuals, families, youth clubs, community centres, charities and schools in the UK. (April 2022)

Girls for Gender Equity

Mankaprr Conteh: I was the communications manager at a Brooklyn non-profit called Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) for some time. Since 2000, the organization has continuously evolved to serve over 9,000 girls, boys, and non-binary youth through programming and policy advocacy for and with them, focused on eradicating gender-based violence. GGE trains young people up in the tradition of radical black feminist organizing and fights for better conditions for them, like getting police out of schools and dismantling oppressive dress codes. (June 2020)

Girls Rock Chicago

Jacob Austen: I like youth arts organizations, so Girls Rock Chicago is really good (or Girls Rock in any other city). It's a one week camp where kids and teens create a band, learn to play instruments and write, record and perform an original song, so you get a lot of raw D.I.Y. energy and strange songs. It is more fun to watch their concerts than School of Rock (in which they learn to be slick cover bands [and get too much Zappa in their diets]). They also slip in a bunch of feminist and radical indoctrination in that short week, so good on them. Intonation is another Chicago organization that teaches kids to play in bands and they are also excellent. (March 2021)

Girls Rock! DC

Annie Parnell: Girls Rock! DC provides music summer camp programs that provide girls and non-binary youth in the Washington DC metro area a space for self-expression and community through music. They focus on fostering leadership and a passion for social change. (November 2022)

The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund

Jason Schneider: As was revealed in brutal detail last year, Canada is facing a reckoning over its past and current treatment of Indigenous peoples. It’s a crisis that has deeply affected Art Bergmann, resulting in his recent song, “The Legend Of Bobby Bird,” about a young boy who escaped from a Saskatchewan Indian residential school in the late ‘60s. His body wasn’t discovered until many years later. The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie embarked on a similar campaign at the end of his life, helping to create the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, which aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. (February 2023)

Greater Boston Food Bank

John Klaess: For charitable giving, I’m a fan of supporting local food banks. For me, that’s the Greater Boston Food Bank. (September 2022)

Greater DC Diaper Bank

Shayna Maskell: My husband and I have been donating to our local diaper bank during this pandemic. Diapers aren’t something that we often think about during a crisis but they are unbelievably expensive (particularly if you have more than one kid wearing them at the same time) and a great way to support your community. I also want to give a shout out to Peaceful Fields Sanctuary, a local vegan farm sanctuary that is an amazing place to visit and give to. (October 2021)

Greenpeace

Juan Diego Diaz: There are so many pressing issues today that it is daunting singling one out. It’s hard to go wrong donating for an organization working on climate change related issues though. (May 2021)

The Hampton Roads Philharmonic

Chelsey Hamm: The Hampton Roads philharmonic is a volunteer orchestra based out of Hampton, Virginia. We are committed to creating low-cost and free classical concert opportunities for our local community. (December 2022)

Healing Venezuela

Rachel Grace Almeida: This isn’t music-related, but it’s important to me. Healing Venezuela is a charity that helps bring medical supplies to people back home. Venezuela was already suffering one of the worst socio-economic and health collapses in the world before the pandemic, let alone now. Venezuelans need global solidarity, of course, but what we really need is tangible help—like medical supplies. (June 2021)

Hearts of Gold Pit Rescue

Andria Lisle: Hearts of Gold Pit Rescue in Memphis. About 25 years ago, I wrote an article about the rescue’s founder, Donna Velez, and wound up adopting one of the dogs she saved. I currently live with the third dog I’ve adopted from Hearts of Gold, a tan pitbull named Romeo who is the epitome of his name. As a person who spends hours sitting and staring at a computer screen, it’s imperative to have a reminder to get up and move around every hour or two. (March 2021)

Help Musicians

Richard Osborne: Help Musicians is an independent UK charity for musicians. As well as having various funding schemes it provides support for musicians in need, including help during the pandemic. (February 2023)

Help Musicians’ COVID-19 Relief Fund

Kate Hutchinson: Given the current climate at the moment I’m writing this [April 2020], it could only really be Help Musician's COVID-19 Relief Fund. One band told me recently that they each separately applied for support and the funds appeared in their accounts within a week, which is brilliant news for underground, unsigned and DIY musicians who need to pay their rent. (July 2020)

Fiona Ross: Help Musicians UK are a UK charity for professional musicians from all different genres. The support they have given musicians especially during COVID-19 times, has been invaluable. They also have been the leading force behind research and support for musicians struggling with mental health, which is something I am very passionate about. (January 2021)

HIAS

Hilary Saunders: Although it began in the 1800s as a resource for Jewish refugees, it has since grown into one of the leading nonprofits dedicated to helping anyone in need during our current immigration crisis. One of the principles of Judaism pertains to tikkun olam, or the notion of repairing the world. HIAS reminds me how these values can be integrated into meaningful work that benefits all people. (March 2020)

The Homeless

Laurent Fintoni: I don’t have a specific cause but I would urge anyone wanting to do something positive with their time to seek out volunteer opportunities to help the houseless population. While in LA, I did some volunteering with Shower of Hope and Koreatown For All, who provide showers, food, and clothing and that time has never felt wasted and I’ve met some incredible people. So I guess what I’m saying is you should donate your time to help others. (October 2020)

Hot Blooded

Erica Campbell: I really love Cat Jones’ podcast Hot Blooded. She does these in-depth interviews with musicians in the metal genre that intersect their music careers and personal love stories. It’s the perfect escape from whatever the hell it is we’re all calling life right now. (August 2020)

The Hotline

Sara Feigin & Jenna Million (Name 3 Songs): As the sexual misconduct issue is such a big issue in the music industry, and particularly the music genres we tend to focus on, we thought it’d only be right if our cause helped those most affected by abusive relationships. The Hotline answers calls 24/7 for survivors and concerned friends & family, and those seeking advice on how to help someone experiencing relationship abuse. (February 2021)

Instituto Fazendo História

Derek Pardue: A Brazilian NGO that works with precarious urban youth. They have several engaging ongoing projects of long-standing dedicated commitment. (January 2022)

The International Rescue Committee

Adam Clair: The International Rescue Committee supports people affected by all sorts of humanitarian crises around the world, offering healthcare, food and water, education, money, and other forms of assistance to those who need it most urgently. It’s a great way to give to Ukrainian survivors, many of whom will be refugees, but the IRC’s work is global, and despite some real ghouls on its board, it’s done consistently impactful work for nearly a century. (March 2022)

International Society for Black Musicians

Intersectional Environmentalist

Holland Gallagher: Intersectional Environmentalist is a "climate justice community and resource hub centering BIPOC and historically under-amplified voices in the environmental space". We have to consider the spaces we occupy. That's physical space as well as your social space and IE is an organization that bridges those ideas in their activism. (December 2021)

Intonation

iVotedFestival

Christopher M. Reali: I want to highlight the work happening at the iVotedFestival, an organization whose mission is to increase voter turnout through live and lived-streamed concerts that take place on election night (November 8 this year). Emily White, one of the festival’s founders, and her team are very passionate, and this initiative is a great way to connect music and political activism. (August 2022)

The JaQuel Knight Foundation

Lyndsey Havens: The choreographer behind the “Single Ladies” moves and many more iconic steps launched The JaQuel Knight Foundation during the pandemic to provide relief—via individual grants, meal drives and more—to dancers who have become unemployed as a result of tours, festivals and, for some time, music videos coming to a halt. (October 2020)

John Walt Foundation

Leor Galil: I've got a real soft spot for the John Walt Foundation, a Chicago arts nonprofit named in honor of Chicago rapper-singer Walter Long Jr., who went by the stage names John Walt and Dinner With John. His mother, Nachelle Pugh, cofounded the nonprofit with Chicago rapper Saba (Walt's cousin and Pivot Gang collaborator) in 2017—Walt was stabbed to death in February of that year. The John Walt Foundation provides annual scholarships to young Chicagoans who work in a variety of artistic mediums, and pairs those scholars with local mentors; Pugh eventually wants to open a creative space in the west-side neighborhood of Austin where teens can regularly gather to work on projects. Pugh and Pivot Gang cofounder Frsh Waters also helped organize a monthly food drive in Austin this past summer called Feed the West Side through the John Walt Foundation—it was one of several local grassroots initiatives that sprung up to help counteract food insecurity that severely hit the city's south and west sides following nationwide protests against police brutality in May. All four members of Pivot (Frsh, Mfn Melo, Joseph Chilliams, and Saba) perform a big John Walt Day concert on Thanksgiving weekend to coincide with Walt's birthday, and all the proceeds benefit the nonprofit. Individual donations can go a long way since an in-person concert can't happen this year. (October 2020)

KALW

Richie Unterberger: I am a great believer in the value of public/noncommercial radio, and any good one, especially serving your particular community, is worth supporting. My favorite one in my region is San Francisco’s KALW. (March 2023)

Khalsa Aid

Dhruva Balram: Currently, the world’s largest protests are ongoing in India as upwards of 250 million people pushback against the rising authoritarianism. The farmer protests is unequivocally the most significant movement occurring in the country, arguably the world, and the farmers need everyone’s support. Khalsa Aid helps with that. (December 2020)

The Lebanese Red Cross

Andrew Mueller: I know there’s a world of hurt out there, and times are tough for a lot of people, but the disaster in Beirut on August 4th really got to me—it’s one of my favourite places, and the people there deserve way better than being governed by the kind of crooks and bunglers who’d be sufficiently negligent as to leave a 3,000-tonne bomb lying around. The Lebanese Red Cross do great work, and their appeal is here. (August 2020)

Leonard Peltier

Gregg Wager: Free Leonard Peltier. Peltier was wrongly convicted in the aftermath of a shootout with two FBI agents, Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, who not only perished in the fight, but were executed at close range. Two men who were tried for the murders before Peltier were acquitted on a theory of self-defense. This angered the FBI, which stepped up its efforts to get someone in prison, and Peltier was their man. He has been in prison since 1978. (February 2021)

LGBTQ Fund

Manuel Betancourt: As protests continue to rightfully rage across the U.S. [in June 2020] I'd be remiss if I didn't direct people to the LGBTQ Fund, a bail fund providing relief to jailed LGBTQ people, who are three times more likely to be jailed. (July 2020)

The Little Orchestra Society

Brigid Cohen: I recommend donating to the Little Orchestra Society in New York City. This organization provides excellent music instruction and programming in area public schools. They also stage inventive multimedia performances of classical music for children, often free of charge, while supporting young composers and diversifying the field of classical music. (June 2022)

Live Music

Jim Grier: There are many worthwhile causes out there, and to focus on one seems inadequate; so I will go in what might seem like a different direction: purchase a ticket for a live performance of music, whether something being streamed, or, when it is safe, an actual concert. When I belonged to the Toronto Musicians’ Association, Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians, their motto was “Live music is best.” It still is and those of us who love music need to advocate for its continued existence. (April 2021)

Liver Transplant Organizations

Wayne Robins: My youngest daughter, now 26 and in fine health, needed a liver transplant when she was nine months old. We support the Gift of Life Family House of Philadelphia, which offers support and lodging for transplant patients and their families. Or, affiliated with this organization is the Jessica Beth Schwartz Scholarship Fund, which offers cash gifts for those who, like my daughter, survived pediatric transplants to help them attend college. (July 2021)

Local Harvest

Bruce Adams: Food security and agricultural diversity are important to me. Annie and I take out a share from a farm called Sola Gratia in Urbana, IL. Not only do they provide us with fresh, organically-grown vegetables, but they also donate food to local shelters, soup kitchens, and the regional food bank. I encourage anyone with the interest and means to go to Local Harvest to learn more about Community Supported Agriculture near them. (December 2022)

Local Journalism

Ray Padgett: When the pandemic hit, Seven Days, the free alt-weekly where I live in Burlington, VT put out a call for reader donations. Their business relied on ads from restaurants and venues and the like. When those dried up, they had to furlough a bunch of journalists. But, a rare happy ending in the media world: The call worked. Readers chipped in and most of the furloughed reporters got rehired after a month or so. I'm not recommending you support Seven Days specifically (unless you live in Vermont), but consider sending a little extra money to whatever newspaper/blog/magazine/alt-weekly/etc does a good job covering your community. They could probably use it. (August 2020)

Local Public or Community Radio Station

Armando Bellmas: As often as possible, at least fifty percent of Ecléctico’s paying subscriber proceeds go to organizations that advocate for musicians and artists. We’ve made donations to ten organizations since paying subscriptions started at the end of 2020, so it’s impossible to pick just one. At the end of every day, though, I say a donation to your local public or community radio station is always worthwhile. Mine is WNCW here in North Carolina. (April 2021)

Local Venues

Claire Shaffer: I recommend donating directly to your local music venue(s) and favorite artists, many of whom are working their asses off right now trying to make a living without live shows. This spreadsheet includes many, many links to national and local Covid-19 artist relief funds, but new funds and relief efforts are constantly being created and promoted on social media through various channels, so stay connected and be aware of what the musicians, performers and low-income workers in your community need the most. (September 2020)

Los Angeles Community Action Network

Claire Lobenfeld: Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA-CAN) are organizers on Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles. In their own words, they aim to “create an organization and organizing model that eradicate the race, class, gender barriers that are used to prevent communities from building true power [and] eliminate the multiple forms of violence used against and within [their] community to maintain status quo.” There are 60,000 unhoused people in Los Angeles County, all facing abusive encampment sweeps and the demolition of their personal items, including medication. Donating to LA-CAN puts money into keeping the community, in dire need of services, organized so they can monitor mistreatment from the LAPD and Sanitation. (April 2020)

Love Hope Strength

Tony Fletcher: Historically I have always been happy to support Teenage Cancer Trust, and so should you. But I would like to highlight the charity founded by Mike Peters of The Alarm, Love Hope Strength, for which he was awarded an MBE. Mike turned his own battles with cancer into an organization that has put on concerts by cancer survivors at the top of Kilimanjaro, at Everest Base Camp etc, and with funds raised by the charity has been able to get cancer treatment equipment into areas of the world that sorely need it (e.g. Tanzania and Nepal per the above performances). It has also operated as a grassroots organization that gets concert audiences to sign up as bone marrow donors to potentially save a life. (If you are interested/intrigued, I ran a non-music podcast called One Step Beyond, for which I interviewed Mike about Love Hope Strength. (January 2022)

Loveland Foundation

Erica Campbell: The Loveland Foundation makes it possible for Black women and girls to receive therapy. They believe Black women and girls deserve access to healing, and that healing can impact generations. I feel like this cause has always been important, but especially now. (July 2020)

Lung Research

Rob Bowman: I am only alive due to a double lung transplant that I received in Toronto, Canada in 2013. Of course, since Canada has a national health care plan, it was completely free. I encourage everyone to donate to support lung transplant research. In the U.S.A., a national program exists at: Lung Transplant Foundation. In Canada, donate to TGH—the hospital doing the finest research on lung transplants in the world. (February 2021)

Madosini

Helen Herimbi: Dr. Latozi Mpahleni is more popularly known by her stage name, Madosini. The 99-year-old uhadi and umrhubhe legend has been instrumental in bringing Xhosa music to the world. Now, musicians like the chart-topping Msaki are raising funds to build Madosini a house on her ancestral land in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Part of the house will reportedly be turned into a museum for her and other indegenous music archiving. (April 2021)

Maggie’s

Ben Cardew: Maggie's Centres do really incredible work helping people who have been affected by cancer. They really deserve your money. (June 2021)

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute

Amanda Digioia: From their website: 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. 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. (June 2020)

Marshaye Johnson

Brittny Pierre: Often in the conversation of Black Lives, we exclude Black Trans people and in the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to speak out in solidarity, but also donate whenever I see a GoFundMe. This is a recent one I came across and hope people donate in order for them to reach the goal! (July 2020)

MASI

Aidan Hanratty: MASI is the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland. It is an independent platform for asylum seekers that seeks justice, freedom and dignity for all asylum seekers. Among other things it demands an end to direct provision, the “reception system for asylum seekers” in Ireland. They feature poor living standards, a lack of access to education and work and have seen cluster outbreaks of COVID-19 over the past year. MASI also seek an end to Ireland’s deportation regime. (February 2021)

Matriculate

Zack O'Malley Greenburg: Donate whatever you can to Matriculate, a non-profit that empowers high-achieving, low-income high school students to make the jump to the best universities on the planet. It was founded by a dear friend of mine and I've seen firsthand how what Matriculate does really works, filling in some crucial gaps left by its forerunners. (January 2022)

Meningitis Research Foundation

Michael Hann: My son nearly died of meningitis as a baby, and seeing it up close, you realise how much of a lottery surviving that disease is. So I would love it if people would give to the Meningitis Research Foundation. My son, by the way, is now 17, and I hate the music he likes, which is as it should be. (June 2021)

Mermaids

Thomas Hobbs: I’ve written about the trans community a lot over the years, even interviewing the families of trans people who were victims of suicide, and seeing how much transphobia currently fuels the UK media has been really gross. Mermaids is a UK charity that works to help young trans kids, and it’s achieving some really important things. They’re well worth a donation. (March 2020)

Miles Hall Foundation

Hannah Edgar: A cause worthy of your dollars is the Miles Hall Foundation, which advocates for nonviolent intervention for people experiencing mental health emergencies. The foundation was started by the family of my classmate and neighbor Miles Hall, who was killed by my hometown's police force while experiencing a mental health crisis. The Halls have since showed up for other families affected by police brutality all over the San Francisco Bay Area; thanks to their advocacy, the bill supporting the 988 crisis hotline in California bears Miles's name. They are amazing people and I'm honored to know them. (March 2023)

MIND

Matt Colquhoun: We continue to live in a collective mental health crisis and the support out there for people with mental health issues has long been insufficient. The isolation enforced under our current coronavirus crisis will no doubt make these conditions worse and make many treatments and therapies inaccessible as our health services are more generally placed under a lot of strain. There's no better time to support these sorts of charities. Many more people will turn to them in the months ahead. (April 2020)

Johnno Burgess: I’d choose Mind which we also gave 10% to last year when we sold some Jockey Slut t-shirts. The nation’s collective mental health is going to take a lot of healing after this (and next) year. (October 2020)

Paul Hanford: Standard I know, but mental health is such a primary concern across the board. I had ME/CFS a decade ago, and it comes back briefly from time to time. Particularly in this mega stress-y year, its so easy to get freaked out by the news, by figures, uncertainty, we need more kindness and gentleness, so anything that promotes mental wellbeing is top for me. (October 2020)

Missão Paz

Derek Pardue: This organization is a landmark in São Paulo for all things related to immigrant advocacy. Unfortunately, the website is only in Portuguese. The button “doe agora” is the one to click on to donate. If there are any questions, people can certainly contact me and I can act as liaison. I have worked directly with many of the leaders within and would be happy to facilitate. (January 2022)

MOCA

Jessica Lynne: In late January 2020, a fire erupted at 70 Mulberry Street in New York City and severely damaged/destroyed the archival collection of the Museum of Chinese in America. Since then, the museum has embarked on a pathway to repair, recover, and rebuild its archive that truly was a container for the history of Chinatown and Lower Manhattan. I have personally learned so much during my many visits to MOCA as an NYC resident and now as a visitor whenever I return to the city. The museum is still actively fundraising for recovery and it certainly deserves all the support. (March 2020)

Movement for Black Lives

Aliya Chaudhry: I’d like to plug Movement for Black Lives, which is actually made up of several organizations including Black Lives Matter Network and Color of Change, so it’s a good organization to donate if you want to help support efforts for racial justice. They’re intersectional, abolitionist and anti-capitalist. (April 2021)

Music Is Art

Angela Stefano: Let's bring it back around to my very first "real" interview: Robby Takac from the Goo Goo Dolls founded Music Is Art in Buffalo, N.Y., almost a decade ago, with the goal of bringing more music-focused opportunities to the Western New York area. The related festival has morphed and grown throughout the years, but the earliest events in particular—the ones that were still small enough to be held in the parking lot of his recording studio—were must-attends for my friends and me. They're the reason I got into Buffalo's local music scene, and I had some pretty incredible experiences at them, both as a fan and as a volunteer. (March 2021)

Music & Memory

Greg Heller: I would strongly urge people to take a look at the work Music & Memory are doing. They use music (often on donated iPods) to help brighten lives/restore lost memories for the elderly. Imagine all those precious memories you have intrinsically tied to a song or an album or a show. Now imagine them… gone. Who would you even be anymore? Music & Memory are helping people retrieve those memories and restore who they are. It’s profound and inspired work. (May 2022)

Music on the Inside

Howard Mandel: Music on the Inside is a New York City-based non-profit connecting people who are incarcerated or are transitioning to freedom with musical skills and mentors. I also recommend donating to the Jazz Foundation of America and the Jazz Journalists Association. (June 2022)

Music Workers Alliance

Aidan Levy: Music Workers Alliance (MWA) is doing important work to ensure a sustainable future for music workers. Without music workers, there can be no music journalism. From their mission statement: “MWA is an organization of, by, and for independent music workers. MWA’s shared purpose is to empower music workers, by engaging in collective action to create a community where music is valued financially and culturally, and music workers benefit and achieve dignity in our lives.” (February 2023)

MusiCares

Todd Hoover: MusiCares provides health, finance, and rehabilitation services to musicians. If anyone could use support right now, it’s them—especially in the grueling aftermath of COVID-19. (February 2022)

MusicHelps!

Martyn Pepperell: MusicHelps! is a New Zealand music charity, originally established in 2012 as The New Zealand Music Foundation. They provide emergency grants and professional counselling services to New Zealand music workers in need. They also conduct a regular survey to measure the mental, emotional and physical well-being of local music workers. As you can imagine, this support has been very valuable through the pandemic. (November 2021)

National Alliance on Mental Illness

Mike Hilleary: Mental health is a huge thing for me. Having dealt with depression, anxiety, and OCD since my teens, I would encourage anyone willing to just be mindful that in these incredibly stressful times, just look and be aware of the people around you. Be there as a support system, and support the National Alliance on Mental Illness. (August 2020)

The National Network of Abortion Funds

Caryn Rose: Reproductive rights in this country are under attack and it impacts everyone. Abortion is healthcare. Everyone knows about Planned Parenthood, but I encourage people to donate to their local abortion funds as well. The National Network of Abortion Funds is a great place to send your money. (June 2022)

Joe Levy: I’m going to share the simple message Caryn Rose uses at the end of her Jukeboxgraduate newsletter: DONATE TO YOUR LOCAL ABORTION FUND. (December 2022)

Katie Bain: The National Network Of Abortion Funds—which helps create access to abortion by funding procedures and costs associated with getting an abortion—is obviously more crucial than ever, and Planned Parenthood also continues doing the lord’s work. (January 2023)

Nightlife Safety Summit

Arielle Lana LeJarde: Nightlife Safety Summit is a femme presenting and queer-led educational program on nightlife violence prevention for dance music indsutry professionals. It differs from every other program due to its year-long commitment and processing (a guided safe space to process thoughts, emotions, and experiences of heavy topics). (June 2022)

No Dogs Left Behind

Liza Lentini: No Dogs Left Behind is an organization that rescues dogs from the illegal and barbaric meat trade in Asia. They are an army of courageous and caring activists that pull dogs directly from slaughterhouses and meat trucks, and attempt to treat or rehome these animals, while working towards creating and enforcing stronger animal welfare laws. They are small, but mighty, and every donation dollar counts. (January 2022)

No More Deaths

Josh Langhoff: No More Deaths speaks to three of my loves: Jesus, Mexican music, and trolling conservatives. This is the Unitarian Universalist organization that provides aid to migrant people in the Arizona desert and has been prosecuted—sometimes successfully, sometimes not—for things like harboring criminals and abandoning personal property, namely jugs of water, in a wildlife refuge. Besides the obvious righteousness of their cause, there's a history of excellent norteño musicians entering the U.S. illegally and going on to do great work. The musical duo Los Cuates de Sinaloa crossed into Arizona in the late '90s, lived there homeless for a bit, and now they're established stars with a ton of good music and a corrido in Breaking Bad. You never know what gifts people will bring here. (March 2020)

Noname Book Club

Allie Martin: I would suggest donating to and/or supporting Noname Book Club. Noname is a phenomenal rapper from Chicago that started a book club in 2020 that has multiple chapters around the country. In addition to bringing people together to read books, the organization also collects and donates books to incarcerated people. (February 2023)

No Police in Schools Manchester

Vuyokazi Mtukela: No Police in Schools Manchester is a community campaign led by Kids of Colour and the Northern Police Monitoring Project, united by our shared concerns over the increasing presence of police in schools in Greater Manchester and and beyond. “We are parents, teachers, young people, youth workers, community members, academics, and activists, and we believe that there should be No Police in Schools.” (March 2022)

Noise For Now

Courtney Smith: I love Noise for Now. I have been following it since I saw the cute merch it created on Kim Gordon and Karen O’s Instagram accounts. It is an Arizona-based activist group that puts on concerts and work with artists to raise money for abortion funds, primarily across the South. I love that they’re connecting progressive artists with places like the Yellow Letter Fund and TKTK. I interviewed one of the founders for UPROXX and found her to be mindful about using privilege to funnel money from the highly white worlds of indie music into the hands of BIPOC and women-identifying people who need it. (June 2021)

NTS

John Klaess: For music, I support nts.live. I’ve found it to be the best—and if not, close—resource for music on the internet. (September 2022)

Nuçi’s Space

Stephen Deusner: I became aware of Nuci’s Space through the Drive-By Truckers. It’s a nonprofit based in Athens, Georgia, that provides mental and physical health care to musicians, writers, and artists who might not have adequate insurance. They do amazing work. (August 2021)

NYC Books Through Bars

Steven Ovadia: NYC Books Through Bars sends books to the incarcerated, all over the U.S. I donate through Greenlight Bookstore, a local Brooklyn bookstore that handles the delivery. I love the idea of exposing people to new ideas, and I also appreciate that it helps an independently owned bookstore (or I hope it helps...). So while charity shouldn't be about efficiency, this project happens to check that box. (July 2021)

NYC Nightlife United

Jessica Lipsky: Even as venues and community spaces get the green light to re-open, a majority have been devastated by the pandemic. Save Our Stages legislation doesn’t begin to cover the economies of scale affected by forced closures, nor the artists who lost income and space to perform. NYC Nightlife United raises funds for venues, artists, producers, and employees with a primary focus on supporting BIPOC-owned/run businesses, distributing grants and direct funding. (June 2021)

The Okra Project

Larry Fitzmaurice: I'd highly encourage anyone to donate to The Okra Project. I think the organization's own description speaks for itself: "The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them." (August 2020)

Leah B. Levinson: I’m a fan of the Okra Project. They train and hire Black trans chefs to cook meals for other Black trans folks, providing both sustenance and community to a very marginalized population. Not only are black gender nonconforming folks particularly vulnerable to violence and often lack of access to resources, but white trans women like myself are much more often the recipients of affirmative action and any semblance of good faith that is granted to the trans community. This is why it’s especially important to support organizations that focus their support of trans folks towards communities of color. (October 2020)

Ayanna Dozier: I would like to highlight the Okra Project, based in Brooklyn, NY. The Okra Project provides free meals for Black trans people. In addition to providing community support, training, and guidance for public health care concerns that empower communities to care for another rather than police each other. The Okra Project accepts donations directly, but they also feature neighboring links for support across a range of issues that affect Black trans people, specifically. (October 2020)

Christine Capetola: The Okra Project is an organization that provides free meals for Black trans people. As a group, Black trans people disproportionately experience food insecurity, so this is a great way intervene in that. (October 2021)

Oxfam

Sheryl Garratt: I have traveled all over the world with Oxfam. With Chris Martin. With Emily Eavis. With Scarlett Johansson. And just with members of their brilliant local teams. And I’ve seen how the projects they help set up with local people transform lives for relatively small amounts of money. A donation of £5 a month—the cost of two lattes—can literally save lives. They keep costs low so everything you give goes to people who need it. (July 2020)

Papyrus

JR Moores: Recently, we lost one of my longest and dearest friends. We drew the same band logos and angsty lyrics on our pencil cases together. He would go on to play and record heavy music of various kinds, whereas I would go on to write about it. I would not be the writer I am today without his friendship. Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK. The mission of Papyrus is to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives by shattering the stigma around suicide and equipping young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour. (January 2022)

Partners in Health

Michael Tau: Partners in Health is an organization that helps develop public health systems in developing countries, often in remote and rural areas. This is typically achieved by hiring local workers and training them to provide healthcare within their given community. Full disclosure: my wife does some work with them in Liberia. (June 2022)

Plum Village

Robbie Campbell: I’d like to share a little about Plum Village, the Buddhist monastery in France I currently live, founded by Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (who passed away in January this year, aged 95). Through his peace activism work during the war in Vietnam, it practices what is now known as *engaged Buddhism*. Several centres around the world offer support and training for peace and environmental activists of many kinds, as well as for teachers, scientists, young people, families, and lay friends from all walks of life. The community is largely funded by offering retreats and through donations. (August 2022)

Prison Reform Organizations

Purple Pam Foundation

Felicia A. Viator: Pam the Funkstress was a vital force in the Bay Area music scene, and a role model for those of us seeking a place within a predominantly male DJ world. She made it a top priority to encourage women to pursue careers in music entertainment until her death in 2018. Now, her family seeks to keep this important legacy alive through the Purple Pam Foundation. (March 2020)

Purple Playground

Andrea Swensson: My friend Heidi runs an incredible nonprofit in Minneapolis called Purple Playground, which is a Prince-inspired educational program that teaches teenagers about songwriting and recording. They host “Academy of Prince” summer camps at the High School for Recording Arts that have Prince collaborators (like Bobby Z., Dr. Fink, and Jellybean Johnson) stop by to host workshops about studio techniques and performing. It’s so great! And so in line with Prince’s own philanthropic work. (July 2021)

The Quietus

Dan Franklin: Well, at the moment it is a critical time for the music industry, so I'd only say that if you see a venue or band asking you to buy merch or donate to a fund, then do it if you can afford to. I've ended up buying a few t-shirts during this pandemic, all of which haven't arrived due to manufacturing issues, but I'm happy to know the money is with the artist! But I have to say, support THE QUIETUS. Without it, music writing would be much worse off. (May 2020)

RAICES

Richard Cruz Davila: This hasn’t been making headlines so much recently because everything is terrible, but the border crisis is ongoing. RAICES (the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) is an organization doing important work on the border to defend the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. They offer pro bono legal services to migrants, including to families and children in detention and children who would otherwise have to go to court with no representation. (July 2020)

The Rainey Day Fund

Jonathan Bernstein: I highly recommend donating to The Rainey Day Fund, which gives out grants to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled artists in roots music. It’s a really straightforward way to distribute resources within the roots music industry to artists who are systematically at a disadvantage in this sector of the music industry. (May 2021)

Razorcake

Todd Taylor: Punk gives its active participants tools for survival. Razorcake’s a 501(c)(3) charity. It’s also a lighthouse, a beacon. It helps people of diverse backgrounds who love punk find each other, create communities, and find a home. (September 2020)

Refugee Empowerment Program

Lance Ingram: Since I’m a Memphian, I want to shout out a local cause, Refugee Empowerment Program. They do a great job of ensuring that when refugees are resettled in Memphis they are acclimated as quickly as possible. I love seeing these people become our neighbors and thrive in our city. (January 2022)

Riverfront Times

Katie Moulton: Support independent local journalism! First, the major dailies turned into bland aggregates, and now our city papers and alternative weeklies are disappearing. St. Louis’s Riverfront Times is a vital and necessary part of the city’s media, culture and functioning democracy. It’s been through a lot since 1977; send them a few bucks to keep the best reporters and editors on the job. (August 2022)

Rogelio Hernandez

Maria Sherman: I have a hard time contributing to organizations that don’t have pay transparency (I, of course, still donate to major nonprofits, but I much prefer to know where that money is going.) My friend Rogelio Hernandez has been making meals for Black Live Matter protesters and now that those in-person actions have slowed down, he’s been contributing to food banks around Los Angeles. (Locals will know him—he was just featured in The L.A. Times.) If that’s something your readers are interested in contributing to, or potentially helping out in person if they’re in L.A. country, they can reach out to him directly on Instagram: @rogiebro. Know that any donations go straight into food supplies! (July 2020)

Roy Ballard

Tom Breihan: This one is completely personal, but the family who lived next-door to me has a young son who's got cancer. They've been going through it. It would be cool if people could help them out. (May 2020)

Safe Place For Youth

Annabelle Kline-Zilles: They empower young people experiencing homelessness, and do a great job of doing so with mindfulness of racial and social inequality. From working on the street giving out resources, to providing education, they do amazing work. (October 2022)

St. Mary’s Food Bank

Phil Dellio: I’m donating whatever I make from my current book—which will likely be a few hundred dollars—to the St. Marys food bank. (St. Marys, Ontario, is where I moved to last November, after many decades living in Toronto; it’s where the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is located.) Last year, when I retired from teaching, I also sold all my classroom books and donated the money to Operation Smile, which provides restorative surgery to kids overseas with cleft lips/palates. (June 2020)

Save Our Venues

Marianne Eloise: There are a lot of pressing causes to donate to right now, but one that should be important to music journalists and fans is SaveOurVenues, a UK-based initiative to protect grassroots music venues from permanent closure. (August 2020)

Season Of The Time Media Productions

Megan Iacobini de Fazio: I’d like people to look up Season Of The Time Media Productions, a group of children in Kakuma Refugee Camp (Kenya) who have taught themselves film, beatmaking, and animation. They are completely self-taught and organise courses to teach other children these skills. You can donate to them by getting in touch via their Facebook page. Here is a small video to get to know them better. (January 2022)

Showing Up For Racial Justice

Andrew Sacher: I think it's been very clear lately that white supremacy is a plague that's in the DNA of American society and still a highly prevalent issue. It's the responsibility of white people to not be silent or complacent, and to fight to dismantle white supremacy, and SURJ brings people of all races together to fight against it and work towards a racially just society. (May 2021)

Sistema Toronto

Anya Wassenberg: I’m a big fan of Sistema, an organization that brings music education to kids in underserved communities. (November 2022)

Sisters Uncut

Lambros Fatsis: I would donate to Sisters Uncut, a UK-based abolitionist-feminist collective which campaigns against domestic, sexual, gendered and state violence—away from calls for more police and prisons. (February 2023)

SmallsLIVE Foundation

Philip Watson: New York’s jazz clubs have been ravaged by rising costs and the pandemic, and several have recently closed. Two tiny basement spaces in the West Village, however, Smalls and Mezzrow, both run by fine pianist and tireless campaigner Spike Wilner, have just about survived by forming in 2018 the not-for-profit SmallsLIVE Foundation. It provides “emergency funds for jazz musicians in need” and preserves one of the essential lifebloods of jazz in Manhattan: live music. (May 2022)

Sober 21

Elia Einhorn: Sober 21 is a free resource that shares critically important tips for newly sober and sober-curious musicians from artists who have been through addiction themselves. It features Nile Rodgers, Moby, Maluca, and members of Dehd, Hole, Television, Chastity Belt, Prince Rama, Beastie Boys, RUN-DMC, Interpol, Joy Division / New Order, Painted Zeros, LCD Soundsystem, and loads more. These pieces include insights on touring safely, creating and performing sober, finding community with other clean artists, and so much more. (May 2021)

The Southern Environmental Law Center

Sam Stephenson: They do passionate, visionary non-profit legal work to protect the environment in the southern states of the U.S. (November 2020)

Spring Initiative, Inc.

B. Brian Foster: Spring Initiative, Inc. is a nonprofit doing what I think is really important work in Clarksdale, Mississippi. It's a youth enrichment program that “empowers young people in the Mississippi Delta to beat the odds, access the opportunities they deserve, and build successful, happy and hopeful lives for themselves.” (November 2020)

Starfish International

Paul Steinbeck: I would encourage readers to support Starfish International, a non-profit organization that promotes girls’ education in the Gambia, West Africa. To learn more about the organization, including ways to donate or volunteer, check out their site. (April 2022)

Suite 212

Robert Barry: If you'd asked me six months ago, I would have said donate to the Labour Party or the Bernie Sanders campaign... I don't really believe in charity, as a rule. As a notion, there's something inherently condescending about it. And countless studies have proven it to be just about the least efficient means of wealth redistribution imaginable. Most of the people we fete as ‘philanthropists’ would do far more good in the world if they just paid their taxes properly—the avoidance of which is something the charity sector fairly obviously colludes in. Having said that, I would urge you to donate to the Patreon of Suite 212, an excellent podcast ‘about culture, politics, and the politics of culture’ that started as a radio show on Resonance FM, hosted by the brilliant Juliet Jacques. (May 2020)

Sunrise Movement

Shawn Setaro: I am constantly inspired and blown away by the work of the Sunrise Movement. The climate crisis is arguably the defining issue of our time, and Sunrise over and over again leads campaigns to demand serious change—the kind of change we need to avoid ecocide. They organize for what's necessary, not just what some pollster says is practical. (October 2021)

Surfrider Foundation

Anne Barjolin-Smith: The non-profit is an environmental organization that works to protect oceans and beaches around the world. It has many local chapters, including one in Cocoa Beach, Florida. (November 2020)

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund

Christian Hoard: The pandemic highlighted how vulnerable so many in the music industry are; as many have pointed out, it’s a literal gig economy. So, especially in the past two years, Rolling Stone has covered the struggles of behind-the-scenes workers in the music business more than ever. It can be a tough way to make a living, so I’m glad there are several organizations dedicated to helping folks in the industry. I’ve been particularly impressed with the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, which provides assistance to musicians and industry workers who are having difficulty making ends meet. (March 2022)

Tonality

Michael Anderson: Having started my musical life in choral music, I try to keep in touch with and support the choral arts today. Of late, I have been moved by the work of Tonality, directed by Alexander Lloyd Blake. Their mission is among the boldest I’ve seen for an arts organization: “to deliver authentic stories through voice and body to incite change, understanding, and dialogue.” The group’s desire to stir audiences to social action presents a challenge to polite concert audiences everywhere. In 2021, I profiled Tonality in the Eastman Case Studies series. (May 2022)

Tour Health Initiative

Shannon Nico Shreibak: While the touring economy is nonexistent, Tour Health Initiative has shifted its resources to addressing the mental health ramifications of COVID-19 throughout the music industry. It’s imperative to use this downtime to address how we can better support the health of our colleagues and peers once life returns to a semblance of normalcy, and this is a step in the right direction. (November 2020)

Tracy Baim

Jessi Roti: This fund is aimed at supporting Tracy Baim, co-publisher of the Chicago Reader and co-founder of the Windy City Times—which has covered Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community since 1985. In September 2020, WCT announced it would cease printing and exist only online. The fund has been set-up to help Tracy retire the final debts from printing and maintain the paper’s immense archive of queer history in the Midwest. It’s imperative that this pioneering work isn’t lost. (February 2021)

Trans Women Of Color Collective

Tatiana Tenreyro: I encourage people to donate to the Trans Women Of Color Collective. They do incredible work to help trans BIPOC women not only feel safe, but have a community where they can feel accepted. (August 2020)

Tree House Humane Society

Robert M. Marovich: I believe that all creatures deserve a fighting chance, and that’s why I have supported Tree House Humane Society, a cat adoption center in Chicago, for two decades. There, cats are not kept in cages until adoption but have rooms where they can roam, soak up the sun on cat condos, and live a happy life until adoption. I was on their board for years, served as president for three years, and continue to support them today. They have a beautiful new building on Chicago’s North Side—it includes a cat café where you can bond with the cats while sipping a latte! (October 2021)

The Trussell Trust

Paul Gorman: The Trussell Trust is a UK organisation dedicated to alleviating hunger and poverty. Before the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis our country was already suffering from the depredations of a decade of Conservative Party misrule, during which time they have sought (and often achieved in their ambitions) to gut our public bodies such as the National Health service to line their own pockets and those of their chums. One of the most clear manifestations of this is the alarming increase in homelessness. We now have rough sleepers in our parks and doorways of buildings since these poor souls have dropped through the bottom of the safety net. (September 2022)

Ukraine

Salomé Voegelin: I would like to advocate for support for artistic, musical projects and educational efforts in the Ukraine. One way to contribute is to buy Ukraine Kaleidoscope from 2019, a compilation of experimental music from Ukraine curated by Yalivec’s on Flaming Pines, or to send a donation to StandForUkraine. (December 2022)

UNICEF

Barney Hoskyns: I make a very modest monthly donation to UNICEF, just because nothing moves or hurts me more than the suffering of innocent children in this beastly world we've made out of our beautiful planet. (November 2020)

The United Families & Friends Campaign

Stephanie Phillips: The United Families & Friends Campaign helps fight for justice for families of people who die in prison, police custody, or psychiatric custody in the UK. They are always desperate for funding and are generally overlooked by the criminal justice system. Any donation big or small will help them in their struggle to convict officers responsible for deaths. (September 2020)

United Sex Workers

Emma Garland: I’d like to shout out United Sex Workers, which is a trade union representing sex workers in the UK. The UK is currently going through a cost of living crisis so bad it’s prompting people earning six figures to reconsider turning the heating on. At the same time, many cities across the UK are introducing bans on strip clubs—ignoring sex workers during the consultation process, and then stripping them of a livelihood. USW is currently crowd-funding to launch legal challenges against the bans, starting with a judicial review against Edinburgh City Council. You can donate here and find out more about USW here. (June 2022)

Until Freedom

Scott Crawford: There are so many organizations worth donating to right now. These are truly surreal and unsettling times. This one I feel strongly about. The organization is led by Tamika D. Mallory and its mission is “an intersectional social justice organization rooted in the leadership of diverse people of color to address systemic and racial injustice.” Please give if you can. (July 2020)

Various Houston Initiatives

Lance Scott Walker: I feel it’s important to put money back into the community I write about, so as a catchall I donate to the Houston Food Bank because that benefits a wide swath of a city that is prone to natural disasters and flooding. More specifically, I like to give to the S.H.A.P.E. Center in Houston’s Third Ward, Pacifica Radio (KPFT), and to various toy drives and community fundraisers connected to the different local rap communities about which I’ve written. I also support the individual artists by purchasing their new releases and of course I buy plenty of CDs from Screwed Up Records & Tapes, which is run by DJ Screw’s cousin Big Bubb and remains the headquarters of his legacy to this day. (May 2022)

Various Music-Related Charities

Lydia R. Hamessley: During this pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people in the music industry have been affected. Gigging musicians especially have lost their livelihood, and they often don’t have any safety net to fall back on. So I would recommend that people donate to Musicares or to the IBMA Trust Fund/Covid-19 Relief. Or folks could seek out their local musicians and music venues and support them with donations, attending and tipping at virtual concerts, and buying their music. Purchasing physical CDs directly from the musicians returns the most money back to the artists. They receive very little when you buy or listen to songs through streaming services. (January 2021)

The Virginia Anti-Violence Project

Doug Nunnally: I'd like to shout-out The Virginia Anti-Violence Project. They've partnered a lot with the local music scene, so I've become pretty familiar to them. I think their message of connection and acceptance is as vital as it's ever been. Check them out and throw them some money if you're able! (March 2022)

War Child

Neil Mason: I’ve supported War Child since their groundbreaking Help album was released in 1995 and was lucky enough to work on the sequel, Help: A Day In The Life in 2005. The work they do is incredible. Children are the forgotten victims of war, and there seems to be a lot of it around at the moment. War Child is currently working in five countries—Iraq, DRC, Yemen, Afghanistan and CAR—and last year they helped nearly 125,000 children affected by conflict. (February 2022)

Waterkeeper Alliance

Ian Wheeler: My go-to is Waterkeeper Alliance. They've got local chapters around the world and keep our waterways drinkable, fishable and swimmable. (December 2020)

We Are Here Scotland

Arusa Qureshi: I’m biased because I’m part of the team, but We Are Here Scotland is a really important initiative for underrepresented musicians, artists, designers, writers and much more. So many people in the creative industries lost their jobs over the pandemic and it’s becoming harder and harder to get adequate support, even more so if you’re from a marginalised background. WAHS is about supporting creatives of colour through funding, professional development and mentoring, with the ultimate aim of reaffirming the importance of BIPOC representation within the arts in Scotland. Creators’ Fund recently closed but we’ll be doing another round in the new year, giving Black and POC artists and creatives across Scotland the chance to apply for a one-off bursary for anything from recording costs to arts materials. We have a GoFundMe that remains open for anyone interested in donating to the fund. (November 2021)

Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls

Daphne A. Brooks: Beginning in the early ‘00s, I taught at and served on the board of the marvelous Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls in New York City. This extraordinary organization, is a non-profit music and mentoring program that empowers cisgender and trans girls, women and/or gender nonbinary youth and adults through music education, volunteerism, and activities that foster self-respect, leadership skills, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. Donate to Willie Mae today! (April 2021)

Joan Jocson-Singh: Obviously I love that this music school intentionally teaches young girls all about the music industry, how to play an instrument, manage a band and self-promote. It’s pretty neat and I try to donate whenever I can. (June 2021)

Willow House

Rhian Jones: Recently I learned that my first boyfriend, who was a kind and caring man as well as a talented guitarist, died by suicide after keeping quiet about struggling with OCD for most of his life. I think this particular mental illness is grossly misunderstood (as many still are) and I’ve loved seeing music writer James McMahon be so open about his struggles in an effort to help others and remove the shame associated with it. Rik’s family started a Just Giving page in his honour to support a residential therapy rehab centre called Willow House in the UK that he attended for a short time a few years ago—places like this are grossly underfunded but can make a real difference to people’s lives, so this is the cause I’d like to pick. (March 2021)

Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary

Kate Solomon: My mum still lives in my hometown of Wolverhampton (which is like this horribly neglected Midlands town with basically nothing going for it) and she does tons of charity work to support refugees and migrants who have found themselves there - she’s currently running the entire length of the UK during lockdown to raise money for the work of Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary which is an insane 800 miles of running, so any support would be incredible. (March 2021)

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary

Quinn Moreland: I have yet to visit the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary (someday!!) but their Instagram makes me very happy (and very sad). My vegetarian family sometimes sponsors a turkey for Thanksgiving and they mail you a delightful postcard with a glossy pic of the little guy. Animals are, like, a constant good in this cruel world. They give us so much, it’s nice to return the favor. (February 2023)

World War II Causes

Kimberley Scribe: Two causes that are incredibly near and dear to me are Friends of the National WW2 Memorial in Washington, D.C. and Memoirs of WW2 on YouTube. We do not have much time left with our greatest generation and it’s more important than ever before to make sure that we and future generations know, wholly understand and develop the tools necessary to fight fascism with all of our might. WW2 was such a decisive, pivotal moment in our nations’ histories and we mustn’t lose sight of what our respective nations had to sacrifice to put it to an end. Both organizations work tirelessly to preserve our veterans’ experiences and records and could use all of the help that they can get to continue efficiently doing so! (September 2020)

Yellowhammer Fund

Jeremy P. Gordon: Given the state of the world there are… so… many causes worth supporting, but my mind defaulted to the Yellowhammer Fund, an excellent organization committed to providing accessible reproductive health care in Alabama. (May 2020)

The Young Women’s Music Project

Ronan Munro: Oxford has a great ongoing project called The Young Women’s Music Project which helps young women learn about and perform music and all the issues around it, via gigs, workshops, talks, training and more. They’re always in need of funds. (September 2021)

Questions, comments, concerns, broken links? Have a cause you’d like to add? You can reach me anytime at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com.

Nov. 2, 2019, 7:01 a.m.