Posted on March 4, 2024
Donations update: Support Reproductive Freedom for All as it fights to pass proactive policies for reproductive freedom and hold anti-abortion extremists accountable
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This March, Reproductive Freedom for All is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will help Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) in its mission to fight for access to abortion, birth control, paid parental leave and protections from pregnancy discrimination.
Read this important blog post about Reproductive Freedom for All’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to Reproductive Freedom for All to support its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding March grantees.
In September 2023, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced that we would chart a new path forward as Reproductive Freedom for All. For the last 55 years, our organization and members have unapologetically helped lead the charge on both the state and national levels to protect and advance reproductive freedom through grassroots organizing, electoral change and political advocacy. Now, we’re in a unique and pivotal moment to reimagine the future of our movement and work — and it’s a moment we can’t afford to waste, especially with the looming 2024 elections, which will decide the fate of statehouses, Congress and the White House and, with them, the future of reproductive freedom.
As we have learned from our partners in the reproductive justice movement, the term “pro-choice” does not reflect the realities of those most affected by attacks on abortion access and reproductive freedom at large. For many — and especially for communities of color and others who are marginalized by our society’s institutions — there was never a choice.
Our new name, Reproductive Freedom for All, is an affirmation of our values that acknowledges our fight won’t be won until reproductive freedom is truly a reality for each of us. So while our core mission isn’t changing, our vision for how we get there is. Our more than 4 million members are fired up and we want more of the 8 in 10 Americans who support abortion access to join us so we can create a more powerful and diverse coalition.
To build power and take on the fights coming our way, we are reinvigorating our organizing program by:
- Emphasizing digital and relational organizing at both the state and national levels to mobilize our members to take action to protect, restore and expand abortion rights and access.
- Expanding our campus organizing program with an emphasis on community colleges — which we piloted in Michigan in 2022 — to states like Nevada and Arizona.
- Continuing to pioneer innovative research and drive cutting-edge messaging while leading the way when it comes to uncovering methods to reach new and diverse audiences.
- Working alongside our partners to elect reproductive freedom champions in key races in 2024 and beyond and to support legislation that advances our rights.
- Centering the fact that the systemic undermining of our democracy has impacted Black people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and young people the most.
With President and CEO Mini Timmaraju at the helm, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. And we’ve built and championed powerful statewide efforts alongside our partners to block egregious abortion bans and restrictions, and expand abortion coverage and access.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly two years ago, the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion have made their voices heard loud and clear. This includes voters in red, blue and purple states — and people across the political and ideological spectrum. Our big wins over the last two years have been delivered by a diverse, inclusive coalition of voters, which demonstrates the importance of centering those most impacted by bans on abortion, including: Black, Latina/o/x, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Indigenous people; the LGBTQ+ community; immigrants; young people; people with disabilities; and other historically oppressed communities.
With that knowledge, we are running our largest-ever electoral program ahead of the 2024 elections to mobilize even more of the 8 in 10. The upcoming elections will decide the future of this fight. We are working to ensure reproductive freedom champions are elected from statehouses to the White House and that we protect and expand abortion rights and access through ballot measures.
The stakes for this election could not be higher — Trump’s anti-abortion extremist allies have already laid out an 887-page blueprint that includes, in painstaking detail, exactly how he could leverage virtually every arm, tool, and agency of the federal government to attack abortion access. It is up to us to stop them.
Reproductive Freedom for All is a demand. It’s a call to action. And it’s a vision of the future we’re fighting for. It will take all of us to elect reproductive freedom champions and defeat anti-abortion extremists. Reproductive freedom can unite us all — we hope you’ll join us.
To support our efforts and learn more about what we do, please visit ReproductiveFreedomForAll.org.
Posted on March 3, 2024
Vote for Reproductive Freedom for All, Rise Up and Stop AAPI Hate this March
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly grant to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This March, you can support Reproductive Freedom for All, Rise Up and Stop AAPI Hate.
Reproductive Freedom for All
Reproductive Freedom for All mobilizes our 4 million members to fight for access to abortion, birth control, paid parental leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination. We work for a future where reproductive freedom is a reality for us all.
Reproductive freedom is under unprecedented threat. Your support will help us give our members—and would-be members—a vehicle from which they can see themselves and activate in the fight for political and policy change.
Rise Up
Rise Up advances gender equity and justice in education, health, and economic opportunity by partnering with visionary local leaders around the world. We build power with women, girls, and their allies by providing training, funding, and connection to a global network to help them achieve meaningful, lasting change.
CREDO’s support will enable us to find, train, and support more local leaders around the world to scale their impacts and advance laws, policies, and norms to transform their communities and countries for a more gender-equitable world.
Stop AAPI Hate
Stop AAPI Hate strives to advance the multiracial movement for equity & justice by building power for our communities, working in solidarity with other communities of color, & advocating for solutions that tackle the root causes of race-based hate.
Join us in advancing the multiracial movement for equity & justice by powering our efforts to document anti-Asian and anti-Pacific Islander hate acts, bolster civil rights protections, & advocate for policies that create safer communities for all.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donations among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by March 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and join our movement.
Posted on March 1, 2024
Our February grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. In February, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation among Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Center for American Progress and Inside Climate News.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our February grant recipients thank you.
Brady: United Against Gun Violence
“CREDO is an incredible partner in helping fuel Brady’s mission to free America from the epidemic of gun violence.” – Kris Brown, President, Brady: United Against Gun Violence
To learn more, visit BradyUnited.org.
Center for American Progress
“Thank you! We’re honored to have your support in our mission to advance the lives of all Americans.” – Stefan Romberg, Chief Development Officer, Center for American Progress
To learn more, visit www.americanprogress.org.
Inside Climate News
“Thank you for your continued support and partnership! CREDO members like you make it possible for Inside Climate News to continue to raise the bar for groundbreaking, independent journalism focused on the escalating climate crisis.” – David Sassoon, Founder and Publisher, Inside Climate News
To learn more, visit www.insideclimatenews.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in March, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on February 23, 2024
New Year’s Resolutions Survey Results
Back in January, we asked members about their New Year’s Resolutions. We wanted to share these results with you.
Most people did not make resolutions in 2024, but more than 2/3 of respondents have made resolutions sometime in the past.
By far, the most common resolution was to exercise more – over 50% of respondents made that resolution. Other popular resolutions were: Clean/organize my living space, Eat better, do more for the environment and read more books. 23% of people said they wanted to be more conscious consumers. 17% wanted to increase their political participation.
We had some inspiring responses:
I strive to get better every day, not just once a year.
Keep it reasonable. Baby steps are okay. Improvement but not full blown change is still success.
I just want to be my best self everyday while encouraging others to do the same. Loving one another and planet every single day
Focusing more on my true purpose and enjoying life at the same time.
Slow down. Get more rest and recharge.
Some fun responses:
Not to make any more New Year’s Resolutions, and this is the ONE RESOLUTION I HAVE FAITHFULLY KEPT, WITHOUT BACKSLIDING!
And some great advice:
Keep on Keeping on
Floss my teeth every day
Try to see the good in people
Be more kind.
Posted on February 15, 2024
Mobile banking Trojans are built to hack your bank account and steal your money
If you have a bank account, you probably use your phone to access it. Most people now do at least some of their banking on their phone and almost half of consumers do the majority of their banking on their mobile.
It’s quick and convenient. But it can be risky, because bank accounts are a rich target for hackers, who every year develop more—and more effective—ways to get at your money by infiltrating your phone and stealing your banking credentials. Almost 200,000 new mobile banking Trojans were identified at official and unofficial app stores in 2022, double the number in 2021.
“This drastic increase signifies that cybercriminals are targeting mobile users and are increasingly more interested in stealing financial data,” said Kaspersky Lab in its “Mobile Threats in 2022” report.
A lot of money is at stake. For instance, in early 2022, a malware campaign called Dark Herring targeted more than 100 million people around the world and stole hundreds of millions of dollars from them.
Trojans are built to deceive
A Trojan (named after the legendary Greek horse) is a malicious app that looks legitimate but does a lot of damage if installed on your phone. A banking Trojan is designed to steal money from your bank account. It fools users because it’s disguised as some other type of app, like a game, retail app or antivirus tool. If downloaded, it will ask for permission to access various phone functions, as normal apps do, and once permissions are granted and the Trojan is installed, it will enable hackers to remotely access your phone, get ahold of vital data like your mobile banking login and steal your money.
Cybercriminals spread their mobile banking Trojans at both unofficial and official app stores. Official stores have security measures in place to prevent Trojans from being uploaded but they’re not 100% effective. And when a mobile banking Trojan does successfully reach an official store, it may be downloaded by hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting users before it’s discovered and deleted.
Trojans are also disseminated via ads on social media and at third-party websites. There’s a Trojan called SpyNote in circulation now that is sent to users in a text message. Once installed, it can record your phone calls, record video, track your every tap and keystroke, and easily steal your banking username and password. It’s so hard to uninstall, users have to do a factory reset to get rid of it.
Trojans are often sent by email or social media message. These usually urge quick action, with a prompt along the lines of “Immediate response required.” They may claim that a delivery of yours has been delayed or canceled and include a link where you can learn more. Click the link and your device will be infected.
Banks and tech companies, of course, are constantly improving their defenses against mobile banking Trojans. But as fast as they move, hackers move just as quickly. This means you can’t ever be 100% protected against mobile banking Trojans but you can take commonsense precautions to keep your phone and your bank account safe from hackers.
Download apps only from official app stores
You should never download any app from a third-party app store, ever. If you want an app for your phone, get it only from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. It does happen that malicious apps sneak onto these official stores but it’s rare. To be as secure as possible, download your mobile banking app only from your bank’s website.
Review permissions requested by apps
When you install a new app, it will ask you to grant permissions so it can access various functions on your phone. A mobile banking app might request access to your location, camera, text messages and microphone.
The majority of the time, these requests are legitimate. The app needs them to do what it does. For example, it needs access to your camera so you can upload check images and it needs access to your text messages so it can send you one-time security codes.
But some of the permissions requested by apps are not reasonable. You can manage all the permissions granted to your apps and cancel any that seem odd or invasive. Here’s how.
Android
Open Settings and tap Apps. Tap the app you want to check on, then tap Permissions. Here you’ll see all the permissions granted to the app and you can change permissions by tapping Allow or Don’t allow.
iOS
Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security. You’ll see a list of phone features—Location Services, Contacts, Calendars and more. Tap the feature you want to check on and you’ll see a screen that shows all the apps that are accessing that feature. You can turn off permissions for specific apps.
Update your banking app regularly
App updates usually include patches for security holes and fixes for bugs, so keeping your banking app up to date will keep you more secure.
Consider a switch to CREDO Mobile
At CREDO Mobile, we care about your right to privacy. In fact, we care about all your rights—like your right to be whoever you want to be, your right to make your own health decisions and your right to a future not set on fire by fossil fuel companies.
That’s why we’ve donated over $95 million to nonprofit groups working for progressive causes like LGBTQ equality, reproductive choice and climate justice. These donations cost our customers nothing extra—but they mean everything to the nonprofits that rely on us.
Switch to CREDO Mobile and you’ll get the good feeling that comes with knowing you support the causes important to you, simply by using your phone. You’ll also get all you want from a phone company: competitive rates, great deals on new devices and nationwide coverage on the top-rated, most reliable network.
Posted on February 13, 2024
Funding from CREDO Mobile helps the National LGBTQ Task Force fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people
LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack. Recently, the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, declared its first-ever national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people “following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults.”
In statehouses across the U.S., over 75 anti-LGBTQ+ laws were passed in 2023, more than double the number in 2022. It’s a nationwide campaign to restrict LGBTQ rights and, on the street, it can have lethal consequences. Fueled by the rhetoric of conservative politicians, extremists are going after the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ people are nine times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to be victims of violent hate crimes.
The vast majority of Americans support LGBTQ+ rights and now is the time for that majority to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community.
Here at CREDO Mobile, we do it every day. We also give much-needed funding to nonprofit groups fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. In August, CREDO Mobile customers and community members sent a significant donation to the National LGBTQ Task Force, which works to build a future where everyone is free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives.
Our grant helped the Task Force put on its 2024 Creating Change Conference in New Orleans in January. Creating Change is the nation’s foremost political, leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ+ movement. The five-day program in January included hundreds of workshops and training sessions, and many networking opportunities for attendees. It’s a vital event in the Task Force’s ongoing effort to train and mobilize thousands of activists across the nation to create a world where you can be you.
Other change-inducing initiatives operated by the Task Force include:
- Queering Equity: LGBTQ+ people are a part of every community and they have distinct needs caused by intersecting manifestations of oppression. Queering Equity creates solutions that address these needs while centering the most marginalized among us.
- Queering Faith: To build an equitable society for LGBTQ+ people, we must continue to emphasize that people of faith are not our adversaries — and that equity and religious freedom are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
- Building Power: The Task Force has played a pivotal role in mobilizing, training, organizing — and at times challenging — the LGBTQ+ movement over the past 50 years. Organizers are the heart and soul of the Task Force and it works continuously to train and empower a new generation of leaders.
- Queering Democracy: The Task Force is committed to ensuring a fair democracy by queering the census, queering the vote and prioritizing the watchdog role of FedWatch, a Task Force program that monitors and publicly comments on administrative policy and government data. The Task Force also works on voting rights, federal legislation and policy formation and regulations.
Queer the Vote is a Task Force project dedicated to educating and mobilizing LGBTQ+ rights supporters during key elections. As everyone knows, the 2024 election could be the most key in our nation’s history and this is why the Task Force has significantly expanded its Queer the Vote project with a new website, QueerTheVote.org, and a pledge for people to confirm their participation in the elections.
Queer the Vote encourages LGBTQ+ people and allies to go to the polls in 2024 and make an impact for the LGBTQ+ community. It builds grassroots people power and creates the conditions to deliver concrete wins for LGBTQ+ people. It does this by ensuring year-round engagement, enhancing the volunteer experience through skills-building workshops, building partnerships, increasing visibility and setting measurable goals.
To learn more about Queer the Vote and all the vital work that the National LGBTQ Task Force does, go to TheTaskForce.org.
Posted on February 8, 2024
Quick ways to extend your phone’s battery life
Smartphones are basically small computers. And, like any computer, they use a lot of power. Also like any computer, they’re useless if they don’t have a charge. So a part of most people’s routine these days is periodically checking the battery level on their phone.
If you find yourself constantly dealing with a low battery level, there are ways you can extend the life of your charge. Here are a few helpful tips.
Charge more often
The old wisdom in a lot of online circles was to let your phone battery run down to almost zero before recharging. This, the thinking went, would make your battery more robust and longer-lived. But it’s no longer true.
Most phones now have a lithium-ion battery that will live longer if it’s charged more often. Unlike the nickel batteries installed in yesterday’s phones, today’s lithium-ion batteries function best when they’re maintained at 50% charge or higher. If you let a lithium-ion battery drain often, it will live a shorter life and work at lower capacity.
Unplug your phone when it’s fully charged
When your phone is at 100% charge, pull the plug. If you leave it in, your phone will enter a state of “trickle charging” that can speed the battery’s aging process and cut its lifespan.
Let’s say you leave your phone plugged in overnight. The battery will drop to 99%, then charge back up to 100% again. And again. That’s trickle charging and, over time, it taxes the battery and shortens its life. Also make sure your phone as some breathing space so it doesn’t get too hot. Don’t put your book on top of it when you go to sleep. And don’t put your phone under your pillow.
Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use
When your WiFi and Bluetooth are on, your phone will constantly scan for networks or other devices it can connect to. This uses battery power. So if you turn off WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use, your battery will last longer.
If you’re going from your home WiFi to your office WiFi network, it’s realistic to leave your WiFi on. It won’t make a big difference in your charge. But if you’re out and about for an entire day, switching WiFi off will extend your charge and the overall life of your battery.
See which apps are draining power
Obviously, a power-intensive app like a graphics-rich game or YouTube will pull a lot of power while you’re using it. But many apps also drain your battery in the background even when you’re not using them.
A cloud-storage company called pCloud researched power use by apps and identified the apps that suck the most charge from your battery. It looked at three factors: other applications an app uses, like the camera or location services, the amount of power those applications use and whether dark mode is an option.
PCloud found the top 10 battery hogs to be:
- Fitbit
- Verizon
- Uber
- Skype
- Airbnb
- Bigo Live
- Tinder
- Bumble
Fitbit and Verizon permit 14 out of 16 possible functions to run in the background, including the four most power-hungry features: camera, location, microphone and WiFi connection. When all those functions are running in the background, they’re burning up a lot of your charge.
On both iOS and Android devices, you can see which apps are using the most power in your Settings. Go to Settings > Battery to see a list of apps and how much battery they’re using.
Dim your screen
Your display uses a lot of power. When you can, turn down the brightness on your phone and you’ll extend your charge.
Turn on dark mode
Love it or not, dark mode can save a significant amount of battery, because the white space on your screen needs power to light up.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Select Dark to turn on Dark Mode. On your Android device, open Settings, tap Display, then toggle on Dark.
Upgrade your phone
As mentioned, phone batteries get old and, when they do, they need charging more often. Globally, the average for phone replacement is about 3 and a half years and 40% of people get a new phone every two to three years. Three-quarters of people upgrade their phone because they find their battery life has grown too short.
If you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade your phone, why not upgrade your service at the same time? To CREDO Mobile, the phone company that supports the same progressive causes you do. We have a lot of great deals on new devices. To see them all, go to CREDOMobile.com.
Posted on February 4, 2024
Our January grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. In January, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation among Public Counsel, Rainforest Action Network and She Should Run.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our January grant recipients thank you.
Public Counsel
“Thank you, CREDO members, for helping Public Counsel work towards a more equitable society where all people thrive, with systems and laws delivering the promise of justice to all.” – Kristen Jackson, Interim President and CEO, Public Counsel
To learn more, visit www.publiccounsel.org.
Rainforest Action Network
“Thank you for your support of Rainforest Action Network. While ‘action’ is our middle name, we can only win with the collective power of our network! Together, we will do what is necessary to challenge corporate power and systemic injustice.” – Ginger Cassady, Executive Director, Rainforest Action Network
To learn more, visit www.ran.org.
She Should Run
“Thank you for supporting She Should Run! As we work to inspire women from all walks of life to consider their political power, it’s going to take all of us, including CREDO members like you, that will make this movement possible.” – Erin Loos Cutraro, Founder + CEO, She Should Run
To learn more, visit www.sheshouldrun.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in February, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on February 2, 2024
Donations update: Support much-needed reporting on the climate crisis by Inside Climate News
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This February, Inside Climate News is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will help ICN in its mission to provide essential reporting and analysis on climate change, energy and the environment for the public and decision-makers, and monitor government, industry and advocacy groups and hold them accountable for their policies and actions.
Read this important blog post about ICN’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to ICN to support its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding February grantees.
Inside Climate News is the leading voice of independent climate journalism in the country. Our groundbreaking work reduces greenhouse gas emissions, holds polluters accountable, empowers voters and protects communities suffering from environmental injustice.
Now in our 17th year, we’ve built the largest dedicated climate newsroom in the country, driving ahead of the curve on climate change reporting. We’ve published thousands of stories, released investigations that have permanently changed the national conversation and won dozens of awards, including a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
In 2015, the ICN team revealed how Exxon worked at the forefront of climate misinformation, denying the science its own researchers had confirmed. ICN’s investigation spawned the global hashtag #ExxonKnew and earned many of journalism’s highest honors, including recognition as a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Through our local reporting network, we get high-quality, fact-based climate news out in front of underserved audiences across the country. Last year, we opened new bureaus in Chicago, Phoenix, Orlando, El Paso and Birmingham and, so far in 2024, in Wyoming and New Mexico.
We make our work available for free to more than 175 partner news outlets, large and small. From California to Florida and Pennsylvania to Texas, we reach readers through their local outlets, most of which struggle to afford environmental reporting of their own. The goal is to provide a vital and fundamental civic service and to inform underserved readers with accurate and balanced news about the climate crisis afflicting their daily lives.
Our journalists have decades of expertise reporting on a topic that is still new to many reporters today. The team has had a defining impact on national climate coverage and continues to publish agenda-setting stories. Now we are again breaking new ground in our coverage of environmental justice, focusing on how climate impacts disproportionately affect communities of color and burden vulnerable populations. The newsroom also welcomes, trains and mentors up-and-coming journalists of color through an ongoing fellowship program.
Inside Climate News covers science and politics, human health and agriculture, super pollutants and wildfire, extreme weather and conservation, international law and Indigenous rights, freshwater and oceans, wind energy and plastics, forests and glaciers, animals and ecosystems, Wall Street and elections, utilities and renewable energy — just about everything that is touched by climate change.
We conduct investigations, build bodies of work, and tell stories that change hearts and minds and have seminal and enduring impact. Here is a sample of recent groundbreaking work:
- State of Denial: A multi-part expose of Texas’ environmental regulators and how they enable pollution of air and water, harming human health and the environment.
- Bag It: A hard look at the hype surrounding “advanced recycling,” with on-site visits to multiple operations, from Texas to Indiana, that are struggling with technology which has yet to work as promised.
- Harm City: A five-part series co-published with the Baltimore Banner that chronicles the quest for environmental justice and climate adaptation in Baltimore.
- Axed: A close look at the U.S. Forest Service and how it’s logging mature trees, stirring controversy and depleting the carbon sink.
- The Education of Judith Kimerling: The inspiring story of an American lawyer’s epic struggle to stop expanding oil operations from harming Indigenous peoples in Ecuador’s Amazon.
Unlike our primary competitors, ICN’s work can reach anyone, anywhere — free of charge — with no paywall or subscription fee, and fills a public service mission that only ICN, at the moment, can fill.
This month, you can vote to help CREDO Mobile distribute a portion of our monthly grant to Inside Climate News and help our reporting of the facts about the climate crisis.
Learn more about the vital work of ICN at InsideClimateNews.org.
Posted on February 2, 2024
Donations update: Support Brady in its work to end the epidemic of gun violence
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This February, Brady is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will help Brady in its mission to free America from gun violence and create safer communities nationwide.
Read this important blog post about Brady’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to Brady to support its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding February grantees.
Gun violence in America is a public health crisis that devastates communities nationwide. Every day, more than 300 people are shot and more than 100 others are killed with guns. Gun violence has become the leading cause of death for children in America. It causes low-birthweight babies in impacted communities due to the stress faced by mothers and it costs our healthcare system $3.5 billion a year. And despite what the gun industry claims, this epidemic is preventable if we enact sensible, evidence-based solutions.
Since our founding in 1974, Brady has led the charge on such solutions to free America from gun violence. Inspired by the roadmap behind successful movements to curb youth smoking, promote seatbelt use and prevent drunk driving, we focus our efforts across three critical areas:
- Change the laws
- Change the industry
- Change the culture
Passing life-saving legislation in Congress and statehouses nationwide
We are at a turning point in the movement to end gun violence. Following the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the first gun-safety law in nearly 30 years — President Biden again delivered for gun safety: His administration established the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which is the first in our nation’s history and will create a coordinated federal response to our gun violence crisis. Brady was integral in helping form the office and we couldn’t be prouder with the result. The office will coordinate support for survivors, families and communities impacted by gun violence, similar to the way FEMA operates, identify executive actions that the president can take, put all efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration to end gun violence under one roof, as opposed to in disparate government agencies working independently, and so much more. This progress is the breakthrough our movement needs to save lives. But we need to ensure it’s just the first step of many.
With your support, we’re also making progress in state legislatures across the country. In a single year, Brady prioritized 100 gun violence-prevention state bills, monitored 200, defended 15 and passed 39 life-saving laws in states across the country. These laws take a comprehensive approach to address gun violence in all its forms. In Illinois, as a direct response to the Highland Park July 4 massacre, we helped ban deadly assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. In California, we helped pass a first-of-its-kind law that will implement a tax on firearm sales to provide sustained funding to gun violence-prevention programs, including community violence intervention efforts. We also worked with Colorado to prohibit the sale and possession of homemade ghost guns, helping to end the proliferation of these unserialized weapons, which are often the weapons of choice for prohibited gun purchasers.
Even when Congress is gridlocked, you can always count on Brady to make vital progress in states across the country to protect our communities from senseless gun violence.
Changing cultural norms and promoting responsible, safe firearm storage
Every day in America, eight kids are unintentionally injured or killed as a result of family fire, which is a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun in the home.
Our nonpartisan, award-winning End Family Fire program works to promote responsible gun ownership, spreading awareness among gun owners and non-gun owners alike about the life-saving role of safe firearm storage — which means storing firearms locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition. Unintentional shootings, suicide and firearm misuse are all forms of family fire, which has an outsize impact on young people, veterans and firearm owners. But we’re making a real, lasting difference in communities across the country.
Research shows that 73% of gun owners who have seen our safe storage ads agree that storing all of their guns locked and unloaded reduces the risk of someone dying by suicide in their home — a marked increase from when we launched the program five years ago. Additionally, according to an Ad Council study, approximately half of gun owners or adults in gun-owning households who are aware of End Family Fire report that they have taken steps to store their firearms more safely. So whether or not you own a firearm, we can all be part of the solution. By simply sharing our PSAs, you will help prevent incidents of family fire and save lives.
Changing attitudes and behaviors around firearms by engaging creatives to #Show Gun Safety
Culture-makers, like writers, directors and actors, have always had a deep influence on how we think of ourselves, what we value and how we act. They’ve helped shift attitudes around public health crises, like smoking, drunk driving and seatbelts.
Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign works with leaders in Hollywood to spark positive norm and behavior change and reshape America’s relationship with guns.
Over the past two years, we’ve worked with the creative community — including Emmy and Academy Award winners — to harness the power of culture-makers to model gun safety on screen. This has included convening Show Gun Safety ambassadors at the White House, consulting on major TV shows, partnering with USC’s Norman Lear Center on gun safety media best practices, hosting a panel at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and amplifying the voices of actors and advocates nationwide.
Today, there are more firearms than people in America and we know it’s likely guns will always have a role in the shows and films we watch. Our Show Gun Safety campaign does not ask anyone to stop showing guns on screen. But our nation’s content creators and storytellers have the power to model safety norms and show the consequences of reckless gun use — depictions that help guide us to a safer America free of gun violence. Learn more about Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign today.
Winning legal reforms and taking the gun industry to court
Brady Legal takes on the gun industry in court to secure justice for the victims and survivors of gun violence. Brady’s litigation centers on limiting the gun industry’s special protections and reforming the practices of irresponsible industry actors.
Recently, with the support of Brady’s legal team, the family members of Charles Carver, Johnny Coxie and Meagan Coxie reached a settlement of more than $2.4 million against Academy Sports + Outdoors, one of the nation’s largest gun dealers. In 2016, Charles David Carvery, Johnny Coxie and Meagan Leigh Coxie were found shot and killed on the property of a now-convicted serial killer. The killer, who was legally prohibited from buying a firearm, used a firearm sold by Academy Sports + Outdoors in an illegal straw purchase. Had Academy Sports + Outdoors acted responsibly, Johnny Coxie, Meagan Leigh Coxie and Charles David Carver might still be alive today. While we cannot bring back Charles, Johnny or Meagan, we at Brady are proud to have represented their families and to work toward ensuring no other family suffers in this way.
This settlement also sends a clear message to members of the gun industry that if they choose to participate in negligent and unlawful business practices, they will be held accountable. To date, our legal team has won over $70 million in settlements and verdicts on behalf of victims and survivors of gun violence.
Learn more about the vital work Brady does at BradyUnited.org.
