Posted on November 4, 2024
In November, CREDO Mobile is supporting Fight For the Future, Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Other 98%.
The November, there is another important election. We will admit, this is not as consequential as the election on November 5th. CREDO Mobile is proud to be donating to 3 amazing nonprofits this month. We will allocate the donations based on the number of votes for each nonprofit. You can vote at www.credodonations.com.
Fight for the Future
Fight for the Future is a queer women–led group of activists, strategists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in history. We channel outrage into people power to ensure that technology is a force for liberation— not oppression. Funding from CREDO members will help Fight for the Future defend privacy for vulnerable communities, stop the spread of censorship, facial recognition, and anti-abortion surveillance, and ensure freedom of expression and civil liberties online.
Legal Defense Fund (LDF)
Since 1940, LDF has been a pioneer in the struggle for racial justice. LDF is committed to defending democracy. You can power LDF’s work to expand voting access, empower voters, and safeguard voting rights in 2024 and in future elections. Funding from CREDO will bolster LDF’s ongoing work—litigation, advocacy, research, and education—to protect voting rights at the local, state, and federal levels. Defending democracy is a long-term investment that benefits all Americans.
Other 98%
Other98 is behind some of the most powerful progressive memes of the last 15 years. We craft content that reaches millions daily, drowning out misinformation and moving people to take action for economic, environmental, and social justice. CREDO funds will support our team of storytellers as they go all-hands-on-deck for our 2024 GOTV efforts – with special focus on correcting misinformation and exposing Project 2025 – as well as in the immediate aftermath of the election results.
Voting is quick, easy and free. Be sure to vote by the end of the month. Tell your friends and family to vote for the groups that they want to support.
These donations are only possible because of CREDO Mobile customers. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and help make progressive change every time you use your phone. It is easy to switch and you will be glad you did.
Posted on November 1, 2024
Donations spotlight: Support the Legal Defense Fund in its work to advance Black political engagement
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This November, the Legal Defense Fund is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will be vital to the nonprofit as it defends and advances the full dignity and citizenship of Black people in America—and in American elections.
Read this important blog post about the Legal Defense Fund, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send much-needed grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding November grantees.
For decades, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has engaged with partners nationwide to monitor election issues, pursue proactive policy interventions and—when needed—file lawsuits to protect voting rights. Recent election cycles provide a window into the issues voters may face in 2024, as well as a rubric for how the civil rights community and individual voters can take affirmative steps to protect and expand access to our democracy.
Everyone can take simple steps to build a more resilient democracy. Here are just a few ideas for where you can start as we head into the 2024 election.
Check your registration status
This is vital, especially if you’re a new voter or have not voted in recent years. You can check your registration at LDF.vote. There you can also get information to register for the first time or reregister, find sample ballots, locate your polling site and sign up for election reminders. To get more voters registered, consider sharing the site with five friends, who can then do the same.
Find your action community
Identify the grassroots power-building and movement organizations doing voter education and mobilization work in your state. Join a local NAACP branch or look for groups in the State Voices network, like LDF client Power Coalition for Equity and Justice in Louisiana and LDF partners like Alabama Forward.
Dedicate some of your time
Make a commitment to volunteer with nonpartisan organizations like those listed above or sign up to be an election monitor with LDF at LDF.vote. You can also apply to be a paid poll worker in your community by visiting PowerthePolls.org/LDF.
Get creative
You know your family, friends and community best. What are the messages and calls to action that will get them most excited about the upcoming elections? Invite friends over for a “Snacks, Sips and Sample Ballots” night to talk through items on the ballot and make a voting plan over snacks and libations. Make a bracket and see who can get to the final rounds by completing the most voter-outreach calls, texts or door knocks week-to-week. Think outside the box, recruit some friends and then get active!
Whichever path you choose, there are ways to exercise your power before, on and beyond Election Day. The outcomes in 2024 will be decided by those who make a plan and LDF will continue to produce resources like this to help you craft yours.
In LDF’s 2021 publication “Democracy Defended: Key Findings from the 2020 Election,” LDF acknowledged the unprecedented convergence of issues in the 2020 election cycle: a global pandemic, an international apex in calls for racial justice and police accountability, and a pernicious movement to advance the “Big Lie,” which led to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. While situated in this unique history, the findings from that report and the lived experiences of Black voters and other voters navigating the election process in 2020 nonetheless continue to inform how the election process may unfold in November.
That’s why we engage with national and state-based partners to galvanize voter turnout and monitor the election. Below is a preview of what to expect in 2024—and suggestions for how you can best prepare for the election.
Our recommendations are based on data collected from multiple election cycles, including 2022’s midterm elections. That year, LDF collaborated with partners to conduct over 70 volunteer trainings, equipping volunteers with the tools and skills they needed to identify and report issues at over 2,300 poll sites. We compiled data on issues reported by media, posted online, provided by grassroots sources and observed at the thousands of poll sites volunteers visited.
As a result of this data collection, we created the following list of key election issues that inform the path forward to 2024—and also identified opportunities for proactive advocacy so you can prepare to cast your ballot.
Voting infrastructure and administration
Issues concerning election-administration infrastructure permeated the 2020 elections, midterms and other elections in between in all of LDF’s focus states. Volunteers observed inaccessible poll sites for seniors and voters with disabilities, poor signage identifying poll sites, technology failures on official websites and at poll sites, and insufficient supplies of election materials at poll sites.
Officials must prioritize investing in the infrastructure of America’s elections in 2024, including prioritizing accessibility at every level.
Availability of voting options
The limited availability of multiple voting options continues to be a barrier to political participation, especially among Black voters. The lack of no-excuse mail-in and early-voting options in several states increased the need for voters to cast ballots on Election Day in recent years, which led to long lines and heightened opportunities for disenfranchisement due to election-administration failures.
In addition, Black voters reported experiencing intimidation and harassment while voting at the polls on Election Day. Expansion of early voting options in some states, including South Carolina, where early voting was available to voters for the first time in 2022, reduced these pressures on Election Day and improved access to the ballot box during the midterm cycle. In 2024, Louisiana will also pilot extended days of early voting due to legislation LDF helped pass in 2021.
Broad efforts like these to extend early in-person voting options are critical but also should be coupled with options for mail-in and absentee accommodations like those that were integral to strong turnout numbers in 2020, because they limited congestion and other issues at polling sites.
Transparency of poll site changes
Voters must know where to vote and have reasonable access and transportation to that location to cast a ballot on Election Day. Yet the process for poll site selection varies across states, and poll site listings can be decentralized, resulting in unreliable information and voter confusion.
Leading up to the 2024 elections, it will remain critical to promote transparency in poll site selection processes and listings, and LDF will continue to monitor for discriminatory poll site changes and closures in Black communities.
Poll worker recruitment and improved training
Poll workers serve as the frontline of America’s democracy. The 2020 elections, especially, revealed the importance of recruiting a rising generation of election staff to promote the resiliency of our political process. Further improvement to poll worker training is also one of the best proactive ways to avoid confusion, congestion and other issues on voting days.
For example, in 2022 poll workers in multiple states improperly restricted LDF monitors and other nonpartisan volunteers, who were wearing apparel with nonpartisan messaging, from being within the electioneering boundary zone around poll sites. These issues arose due to incorrect interpretations of electioneering rules and poor poll worker training—and could have been avoided with improved and accurate training curricula.
Anticipating and countering election sabotage attempts
Strategic monitoring and messaging efforts to detect and counteract misinformation and disinformation campaigns will continue to be vital to dismantling election sabotage efforts and echoes of the “Big Lie” in future election cycles. The rise of new technology and rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies amplify the need for civil rights groups to be well-versed in the cutting-edge use of these tools, especially to advocate for election-related safeguards.
The path to the ballot box in 2024 is riddled with roadblocks—but it doesn’t have to be. The observation of issues from recent election cycles have equipped voting rights advocates with the tools needed to clear barriers to voting and educate voters on the simple steps they can take to ensure their ballots can be cast and are counted. LDF will continue to pursue proactive policy fixes at the federal and state levels—like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and state-level equivalents—as well as monitor issues year-round in 2024 and beyond.
This blog is an updated version of an article originally published on LDF’s website. To read more blogs like these, head over to naacpldf.org/originalcontent.
Posted on October 22, 2024
Phone porting fraud: First, scammers steal your number—then your money
It’s a nightmare scenario. You wake up, grab your phone and discover that you have no service. You can’t call or text. But you still have WiFi, so you check your email—and see a message from your bank saying someone just transferred thousands of dollars from your account to an account you’ve never heard of.
What just happened? You’ve become a victim of phone porting fraud, a rapidly growing scam in which hackers call your carrier and pretend they’re you, then ask the carrier to port your phone number over to a mobile account that they control. Or they steal your number by calling your carrier and asking for a replacement SIM card to be sent to them.
With your number in hand, scammers go to town
The scammers do their homework. To prepare, they go online and gather up your personal information, from your name, address and birth date to your pets’ names and the last four digits of your Social Security number. All of this is easily found on the internet. Or they might email or text you, claiming to be a business you’ve transacted with, and ask for “confirmation” of your personal details. Scammers with more nerve will call you directly.
Once they have your phone number, scammers can go to town. They can reset your usernames and passwords, access your bank accounts and transfer money out. They can get into your credit card accounts.
Because the scammers now have your phone number, the security measures intended to protect you from fraud now work for them. They get all the texts and calls intended for you, so they can verify any transactions they make. Sure, they’ll be asked security questions. But remember that personal information they’ve collected? Armed with this, they’re able to correctly answer a wide range of questions that might be put to them.
Here’s how to protect yourself
Take these steps to prevent port out fraud.
- Protect your account with additional security: If you don’t already have a password you use to verify your identity when you call your carrier about your account, ask your carrier to add one.
- Be alert: If you haven’t opted into email and text notifications from your bank and other financial institutions, do it now. If you get a message notifying you of a transaction you don’t recognize, contact the company that did the transaction immediately.
[For CREDO Mobile Customers Only: CREDO Mobile will email you if port out activity is initiated on your account. Be sure to check notifications from CREDO Mobile. ]
- Don’t share too much: Scammers comb the internet, especially social media, for personal details they can use to impersonate you, like your phone number, birth date, address, names of your pets, even the make and model of your car. Don’t put any of that information online. And don’t use any of it in your username and password.
- Don’t answer: If you get a call, text or email asking you to supply personal information, don’t give it. If you think the request could be legitimate, call the company asking for your information directly.
- Move fast: If you lose service on your device, that’s the first indication your number has been ported away. So take quick action. Contact your carrier, your bank and other financial institutions. Also ask for a fraud alert on your credit card reports.
CREDO Mobile Port Lock prevents port out fraud
Port Lock is a free feature we offer to keep scammers from porting out your number behind your back. If you’re already a CREDO Mobile customer, call us at 1-866-306-2900 and ask for Port Lock to be added to your mobile number.
If you’re not a customer, please consider joining CREDO Mobile, the only phone company that cares as much about our world as you do. To date, we’ve donated over $95 million to nonprofit groups fighting for climate action, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and other progressive causes. Groups like Friends of the Earth, Planned Parenthood and the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Join us today and you’ll get all you want in a phone company: competitive plans, great deals on new devices and the country’s top-rated, most reliable network.
You’ll also get an easy, effective way to make a difference, just by using your phone. Because each time you do, you’ll generate donations for nonprofit groups dedicated to the causes you believe in. These donations cost you nothing—but they mean everything to the groups that rely on us.
Posted on October 10, 2024
Are you charging your phone wrong?
Phones are awesome. We love our phones. But let’s be honest. There are times when our phones annoy us, especially as they get older. They respond sluggishly to taps and prompts. They load apps slowly. Sometimes the screen freezes.
If your phone is acting like this, there’s a good chance the battery is to blame. Because as your battery ages, its health degrades and it’s not able to supply the juice your phone needs to run at peak efficiency.
Your goal is to keep your battery young and fit. And to do that, you have to charge it right. Here’s how.
Charge when the battery reaches 20%
Your life is measured in years. Your phone battery’s life is measured in charge cycles. Most batteries are good for 300-500 charge cycles. One charge cycle equals the complete discharge and recharge of the battery.
To minimize the number of charge cycles and extend your battery’s life, charge your phone when the battery reaches 20%. You’ve no doubt heard somewhere at some time from someone that it’s good for a battery to fully drain it. This is a myth. Charging your battery from 0% will degrade it.
Don’t charge to 100%
Fully charging your battery will stress it out. Instead, charge it up to 80%-85%, then unplug it.
Don’t leave your phone plugged in
A lot of people plug in their phone and let it charge whenever they’re not using it—in the car, at home, at work. But leaving your phone plugged in after it’s fully charged can damage the battery.
It’s called “trickle charging.” If you leave your phone plugged in after it reaches 100%, the charger will top up the battery continuously and diminish its capacity.
Minimize fast charging
Most phones nowadays come with fast-charging capability, so you can charge your phone in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise. Sometimes this is necessary. But fast-charging your phone repeatedly will damage the battery and shorten its lifespan.
Don’t let your phone get too hot
Heat is bad for lithium-ion batteries. So keep your phone out of the sun. And keep in mind that, if your phone is in a case, it will heat up more quickly.
Get a new battery instead of a new phone
When their battery’s performance begins to flag, most people buy a new phone. It’s certainly more convenient. But it’s also more expensive (about 10 times more) and not good for the environment.
There’s an obstacle, of course. It’s not easy to replace your battery. A lot of modern phones have embedded batteries that are hard to switch out. But many manufacturers will replace the battery in your phone. Or you can find a local repair service to do it.
Join CREDO Mobile
Taking care of your battery makes good sense, economically and environmentally. There’s a phone company that does the same: CREDO Mobile.
We’re economical. We’ve got great deals on new devices, competitive plans and the nation’s top-rated, most reliable network.
And we’re committed to the environment. We have a long history—since 1985—of supporting nonprofit groups dedicated to defending our natural world. Nonprofits like Friends of the Earth, the Center for Biological Diversity and Rainforest Action Network. To date, we’ve donated over $20 Million to these environmental groups and dozens more.
Ready to join the phone company that fights for the causes you care about? It’s easy to do.
Posted on October 8, 2024
On climate change: CREDO Mobile makes a difference
In early 2024, we sent a donation to Inside Climate News, the leading voice of independent climate journalism and a powerful force in the fight to save our planet.
In 2015, ICN broke the story of Exxon and its decades-long campaign to spread disinformation about global warming and undermine climate action—all for the sake of Exxon profit. This was a crime against humanity and Exxon is now on trial for it. But the trial would not be happening without the work of Inside Climate News.
In 2020, ICN uncovered American and Chinese factories that were emitting large volumes of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, despite having access to inexpensive abatement technology. Now, four years later, the story is being used by the U.S. State Department to move toward a potential climate agreement between the US and China to significantly reduce emissions of nitrous oxide – to the tune of taking approximately 50 million cars off the road.
Since receiving our 2024 donation, ICN has accelerated its efforts. It has published over 800 stories so far this year and they’re reaching a wide audience. ICN now has more than 10 million regular readers and it has connected with an additional 6.5 million readers in 2024 through its partnership with Apple News.
ICN is providing important coverage of the 2024 elections and implications for the climate, like the role played by fracking in Pennsylvania’s competitive Senate race. ICN expanded its local reporting network in June with the addition of a bureau in North Carolina that has already broken a number of major environmental stories.
ICN was able to do all these things because our customers do one thing: use our service. When they do, they raise much-needed donations for progressive nonprofit groups like ICN. If you’re a CREDO Mobile member, thank you. If you’re not, please join us now and make a difference in the world—just by using your phone.
Posted on October 8, 2024
Donations spotlight: Help the National Women’s Law Center fight book bans targeting women and people of color
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This October, the National Women’s Law Center is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support the NWLC as it works to protect and advance women’s legal rights, with a focus on economic security, education, employment, health and other policy areas that are vital to women and their families.
Read this important blog post by Mercedes Hightower, NWLC’s Senior Manager for Campaigns, Education Justice, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send much-needed grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding October grantees.
The National Women’s Law Center fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls. We use the law in all its forms to change culture and drive solutions to the gender inequity that shapes our society and to break down the barriers that harm all of us, especially women of color, LGBTQ people, and low-income women and families. For over 50 years, we have been on the leading edge of every major legal and policy victory for women.
In this post, we’ll examine the way that book bans disproportionately target books by and about women, people of color and LGBTQI+ individuals, and detail the impact of such censorship. At the National Women’s Law Center, we’re committed to ensuring all students have the opportunity to learn with safety and dignity. Please consider voting for the NWLC to receive a portion of CREDO Mobile’s monthly donation this October. Your support could make a significant difference during a critical time for gender justice!
Targeted censorship silences voices and erases people
In the United States, there has always been a struggle to provide equal access to stories and histories of diverse communities. We’ve slowly been making progress but a renewed focus on banning books seeks to take us backward. These bans disproportionately target books by and about women, people of color and LGBTQI+ people. This targeted censorship silences the voices and erases the complex histories and experiences of these communities, sending the message that there is something obscene about bringing visibility to their stories—and further normalizing stigma and discrimination against them.
Historically, book bans have been tools of oppression used to maintain the status quo by suppressing dissenting ideas and perspectives. Today, the books most frequently challenged are those that confront societal norms (which are often grounded in white, cis-hetero ideals of how people should look or act) or provide a voice to those who have been historically silenced and marginalized. The works of authors like Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Yaa Gyasi are frequently found on banned book lists—not because they promote harmful ideologies but because they tell difficult truths about the experiences of people in the U.S. who have managed to thrive in the face of extreme discrimination and violence.
The danger of book bans extends beyond the immediate silencing of authors and stories. They contribute to a broader cultural amnesia, systematically erasing the histories and experiences of marginalized communities. This erasure not only distorts our understanding of the world but also perpetuates the marginalization of these communities by denying their stories a place in our collective consciousness.
Moreover, the targeting of books by and about women and people of color sends a chilling message: that their stories are less valuable and less worthy of being told. It reinforces the idea that the dominant narratives—the white, male, cis, heterosexual experience—are the only ones that matter. This undermines the importance of diversity in literature and deprives readers of both crucial representation of their identities and experiences and the opportunity to engage with a wide range of perspectives and experiences.
Book bans limit our understanding of the world
In a time when we should be encouraging the exploration of diverse voices and stories, book bans do the opposite. They limit our understanding of the world and reinforce harmful stereotypes and prejudices. Instead of banning books, we should be promoting them—especially those that challenge us to think critically about the world we live in and the people in that world with us.
As we consider the impact of these book bans, it is crucial to recognize that the fight against censorship is also a fight to elevate the voices of women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks and many other marginalized communities. By fighting back against these bans, we affirm the importance of diverse stories and the power of literature to broaden our understanding of the world and people who are different from us. To ban a book is to silence a voice—and when that happens, we lose the opportunity to learn, grow and see the world through the eyes of another. In the end, it is not just the books that are at risk but our collective hope to be and do better.
To highlight our fight against banning books, NWLC staff are sharing a list of some of our favorite books and what they’ve meant to us. We created two lists: one focused on young adult and adult books and another focused on children’s books. This list is just a small snapshot of the books now being targeted across the country and we will fight for everyone’s right to read them if they choose.
To learn more about our work fighting for equitable access to education and the history of diverse communities, visit NWLC.org.
Posted on October 1, 2024
This October, CREDO Mobile is supporting: Democracy Forward, National Women’s Law Center and Rainforest Foundation US
This October, CREDO Mobile is supporting 3 progressive nonprofits. Your vote determines how the donation is allocated between the groups. You can vote at www.credodonations.com.
Democracy Forward
Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy and public education, and regulatory engagement. We defend progress, disrupt extremism, and build for the future—all at once. Funding from CREDO Mobile members furthers our ability to address the range of issues that threaten our democracy—from combatting censorship to advancing reproductive rights to economic freedom to health equity and more—in the courts, in communities, and across our nation.
National Women’s Law Center
The National Women’s Law Center uses the law in all its forms to change culture and drive solutions to the gender inequity that shapes our society and to break down the barriers that harm all of us—especially women of color, LGBTQ people, and low-income women and families. A CREDO Mobile grant will help NWLC’s committed staff of dedicated experts, lawyers and advocates, identify and address key issues that affect women and their families including child care, reproductive rights, education and more.
Rainforest Foundation US
Rainforest Foundation US partners with Indigenous peoples in the Amazon and Central America to protect rainforests. Keeping forests standing is a climate solution, and Indigenous peoples are the forest’s best guardians. CREDO Mobile’s grant will help RFUS support our Indigenous partners in protecting rainforests in the Amazon and Central America by securing their land rights, preventing illegal deforestation, and strengthening their institutions and governance.
Voting is quick, easy and free. Be sure to vote by the end of the month. Tell your like minded friends. The greater the percentage of the vote any nonprofit gets, the greater the percentage of the donation they will receive.
These donations are only possible because of CREDO Mobile customers. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and help make progressive change every time you use your phone. It is easy to switch and you will be glad you did.
Posted on October 1, 2024
Donations spotlight: Support Rainforest Foundation US as it defends the Indigenous and traditional peoples of the world’s rainforests
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This October, Rainforest Foundation US is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support the Rainforest Foundation, founded over 30 years ago by Sting and Trudie Styler, as it works to uphold the rights of Indigenous and traditional peoples of the world’s rainforests and protect their environment.
Read this important blog post about the Rainforest Foundation, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send much-needed grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding October grantees.
The work of Rainforest Foundation US integrates scientific evidence, technology and Indigenous knowledge to effectively protect rainforests and tackle the climate crisis.
That Indigenous knowledge is key, because Indigenous peoples are masters of climate change mitigation. Indigenous lands in the Amazon are effective carbon sinks, absorbing more carbon than they release. Lands legally held or titled to Indigenous people have lower deforestation rates than untitled Indigenous lands.
Indigenous peoples have shaped and managed vast rainforest territories for millennia. These rainforests regulate rainfall, store carbon and shelter immense biodiversity and sociocultural diversity. In recent years, several studies have provided statistical evidence confirming that lands legally titled to Indigenous peoples are the most efficient models for forest protection.
This is why Rainforest Foundation US directly supports Indigenous communities to gain title for their customary lands, one of just a handful of organizations that do this work.
Forests managed by Indigenous peoples capture more carbon
Indigenous peoples’ lands in the Amazon act as robust carbon sinks. And they contrast sharply with areas under public and private management, which frequently struggle to maintain their ecological balance and often become sources of carbon emissions. Areas of the Amazon managed by Indigenous peoples with documented or formal land claims have been some of the most secure and reliable net carbon sinks over the past two decades. Between 2001 and 2021, these forests emitted around 120 million metric tons of CO2 annually while removing 460 million metric tons, resulting in a net total of 340 million metric tons removed from the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the annual fossil fuel emissions by the U.K.
Fortunately, we’re now seeing the advancement of formal recognition for Indigenous, Afro-descendant and local communities’ lands, with an increase of 254 million acres between 2015 and 2020. But we know we still have a lot of work ahead of us. At least 3.2 billion acres of ancestral lands remain unrecognized under national laws, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and degradation. Moreover, as many countries in the Global South push for speedy economic and industrial development, the demand for land—including Indigenous peoples’ territories—intensifies.
Land rights are crucial to halt deforestation
The critical role of Indigenous communities holding land titles is evident in the Brazilian Amazon. By examining data from 245 Indigenous territories ratified between 1982 and 2016, researchers found that deforestation significantly decreased within these territories once they were legally recognized. Communities with established collective property rights have legal backing to protect their lands against the unauthorized exploitation of resources, leading to an approximate 66% decrease in border deforestation, the researchers showed.
More research, published in 2023, indicated a heightened capacity for the restoration of deforested lands in titled Indigenous territories. Over a 33-year span, these areas experienced a 5% increase in secondary forest coverage, 23% greater growth than on adjacent privately owned or unincorporated lands.
Technology can bolster Indigenous-led rainforest protection
An analysis of Rainforest Foundation’s Rainforest Alert methodology, published in 2021 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that communities equipped with satellite data via smartphones saw dramatically less forest loss than similar communities that did not adopt the technology.
Between 2018 and 2019, researchers implemented Indigenous-led, technology-based forest-monitoring programs in 36 communities in Loreto, the northernmost region of the Peruvian Amazon. Those under the program saw 52% and 21% less deforestation in the first and second year of the program respectively, compared with 37 other communities in Loreto where the program wasn’t implemented. The gains were concentrated in communities at highest risk of deforestation and resulted in the protection of 19. 5 million acres in 2023 alone.
The important takeaway in these findings is the contribution made by Indigenous and community-managed lands to mitigating climate change and enhancing biodiversity conservation. Expanding land rights is pivotal for environmental protection efforts, as is stressing the need for policies and support to secure Indigenous and community land management and ownership as a critical step toward achieving global climate and biodiversity targets. Integrating Indigenous peoples’ territories into conservation strategies, increasing government support for Indigenous land management and ensuring that a greater portion of climate finance reaches Indigenous communities directly are all essential and urgent acts, and are core to Rainforest Foundation US’s work.
To learn more about how Rainforest Foundation US works with Indigenous partners to protect the Amazon and rainforests in Central America, please sign up to receive our emails and read 10 Things You Can Do. Also visit RainforestFoundation.org.
Posted on September 19, 2024
Buckle up and knuckle down: How you can dive into the presidential campaign and help your candidate win
The upcoming presidential election will be the most consequential in U.S. history. It will decide the direction of our country for, well, forever.
With so much at stake, the two parties are highly energized. Backers of both sides are registering to vote, sending campaign contributions and volunteering to make calls or knock on doors for their candidates.
So what can you do?
You can vote, obviously. But you can do a lot more than that before Election Day. You can talk to your friends and neighbors about their concerns and how your favored candidate addresses them. You can make a sign and join a protest. You can host a potluck—and hope it doesn’t turn into a food fight.
Or you can go deeper and volunteer for your candidate’s local campaign. If you have a specific skill, the campaign can probably use it, whether it’s organizing events or writing press releases or making short videos.
If you’re not already registered to vote, you can do that. Not sure if you’re registered? You can check at Vote.org, which is a comprehensive online platform where you can verify your registration, register to vote, request a mail-in ballot, sign up for election reminders and find your polling location.
A lot of people going to the polls in November will face new, stricter voting laws passed since the last presidential election, including voter ID laws that make it harder, more confusing and more costly for citizens to vote. Thirty-eight states will have voter ID laws in place for the 2024 election. If you’re concerned, check with VoteRiders, which is focused exclusively on helping voters overcome the confusing, time-consuming and expensive barriers created by ID laws.
If you’re a Black voter, consider engaging with Black Voters Matter, a group dedicated to turning out voters and increasing power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. Black Voters Matter has a vibrant volunteer effort that includes texting, postcard writing, organizing and fundraising.
All three of the above nonprofits are CREDO Mobile partners and have received much-needed funding from our donations program, which every year supports dozens of nonprofit groups fighting for progressive causes.
Resources for young voters
If you’re young, there are a number of organizations that will help you get involved in the election. For high-schoolers, the nonpartisan nonprofit New Voters will provide you with a personal mentor to guide you through the process. The Civics Center offers a 1-hour instructional webinar and a Democracy in a Box toolkit that includes all you need to build a voter-registration drive.
Another great nonpartisan nonprofit aimed at young people is Rock the Vote. Go to the site and you can register online. It has voting information for every state, as well as a how-to guide if you want to organize a voter-registration drive. It regularly posts election information to its social media accounts that you can share on your own accounts.
Perhaps most powerfully, you can be a poll worker and play a critical role in the election’s success by ensuring that all voters get the assistance they need when they go to their polling place. As a poll worker, you may help set up the polling location, welcome voters as they arrive, verify their registration or hand out ballots. You’ll answer questions, explain the voting procedure and show voters how ballot machines work. Learn more at the United States Election Assistance Commission.
A way you can vote every day
Every purchase you make is, in its way, a vote. It’s a choice that expresses your personal and, often, your political values. If you buy fast fashion, you are, in a small but important way, supporting sweatshop labor, severe environmental pollution and 10% of global CO2 emissions.
If you buy from Amazon, you are, in a small but important way, supporting a company that spies on labor and environmental groups, exploits workers and produces enough plastic waste each year to wrap the planet in 800 layers, in spite of the fact that Amazon “would have no problem” switching to plastic-free packaging, says former Amazon executive Rachel Johnson Greer.
Obviously, companies aren’t political candidates. But they do have an immense impact on our economy, society and environment. And when you spend with them, you vote for them.
Here’s a better idea. Do business with companies that share your values. Shop at local stores instead of Amazon. Buy sustainable clothes instead of sweatshop fast-fashion.
And switch to CREDO Mobile, the phone company that’s as committed to progressive causes as you are. You’ll get all you need from your mobile service: the nation’s top-rated network, competitive plans and great deals on new devices. And you’ll get much more: a powerful way to support your values whenever you use your phone.
To date, we’ve donated over $95 million to nonprofit groups working hard for causes like climate action, reproductive freedom and protecting Social Security. Our passion is not dollars, it’s change. And we fight every day to make it happen. Join us.
Posted on September 12, 2024
Teachers build a better future for everyone: But they need our help
It’s arguably the most important job in the world: being a teacher.
Teachers enlighten and inspire young people. They give them purpose, prepare them to succeed in life and encourage them to contribute to society. No job has a greater impact on our future. And the better teachers can do their job, the better our future will be.
That’s why we do whatever we can, whenever we can, to support teachers—because we’re also working for a better future. Since we started, in 1985, we’ve donated over $95 million to groups fighting for causes like climate action, equal rights and reproductive freedom.
A lot of this money has gone to education advocates like Facing History & Ourselves and the Zinn Education Project. And now, as kids go back to school, we’re working with DonorsChoose to help fund projects in schools.
DonorsChoose: helping teachers help their students
Did you know public school teachers spend a lot of their own money—an average of almost $700 a year—to buy supplies their students need? From Crayons to cleaning products, from LEGO bricks to laptops.
It shouldn’t be this way. And, for many teachers, it isn’t, thanks to DonorsChoose, a unique nonprofit that’s raised over $1.65 billion for teachers to buy school supplies. Nationwide, DonorsChoose has delivered over 11 million books, 3.6 million art materials, 30,000 fieldtrips—and much more.
It’s a heroic effort—but it’s a simple process, because DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need. Just go to DonorsChoose.org, a user-friendly site where teachers post projects that are short of funding. If you want to contribute, just click and give.
To help these teachers and the many others who post projects for their students, we’re raising funds for DonorsChoose through September 19th. Customers who use code SCHOOLPG50 can get $250 off a new phone or if you bring your current phone, you can get a $250 gift card with code SCHOOLBG50. In both cases, we’ll send a $50 donation to DonorsChoose.
We ran a similar promotion last year and you can read about the projects funded on our blog. The thank you notes from the teachers are heartwarming. https://blog.credo.com/2024/03/12/credo-customers-helped-support-9-projects-with-donorschoose/
EveryLibrary: sustaining public libraries
This month, CREDO Mobile is supporting EveryLibrary for the first time. Libraries are at the heart of our communities. Yet, across the nation, public and school libraries are under attack. Politicians and extremist groups threaten their funding, ban books from their shelves and assail the principles of intellectual freedom they uphold.
You can vote for donations to go to EveryLibrary or the Women’s March Network or Social Security Works – or any combination of the three at www.credodonations.com.
CREDO Mobile: standing for teachers
Teachers get called a lot of things. We call them heroes.
They’re woefully underpaid, regularly under-resourced and often overlooked. Yet, day in and day out, they do the most important job in the world: they build our future.
We feel a special connection to educators because we have the same mission: to make our world a better place. If you share this commitment, join us.
You’ll get all you want from your phone company: the nation’s largest, most reliable network, competitive plans, great deals on new phones and friendly customer service.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get an easy, effective way to support teachers and students, just by using your phone. Join now and we’ll send a $50 donation to DonorsChoose, when you use promo codes: SCHOOLPG50 (get a new phone) or SCHOOLBG50 (bring your own phone)
Switching is easy. You can bring your current phone and your current number. To learn more, go to CREDOMobile.com.
