Posted on December 7, 2021
Combating Threats and Expanding Access: What’s at Stake for Reproductive Freedom
This is the most pivotal moment in decades in the fight for reproductive freedom, and NARAL Pro-Choice America and our 2.5 million members in all 50 states are ready to meet it. We work each day to organize and mobilize for access to abortion care and birth control, paid parental leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination. We’re working toward a future where each of us—no matter who we are, where we live, or what we believe—has the freedom to make our own decisions about whether to start or grow a family, and where those decisions are treated with respect and dignity. 
Since 1969, our member-driven campaigns have propelled political and cultural change at every level, from statehouses to the White House. Our members were critical to electing reproductive freedom champions in 2020, with 132 NARAL-endorsed candidates winning their seats. We leveraged those historic wins in 2021 to help expand access in states such as California and Nevada, and to support House passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)—historic legislation that would safeguard the federal right to abortion. And we leveraged the election of President Biden and Vice President Harris to engage our members in support of access to medication abortion care by urging the Food and Drug Administration to temporarily suspend in-person dispensing requirements on medication abortion care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to undertake an evaluation of all the medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion.
All of this progress happened in no small part because of the support of CREDO members like you.
While we celebrate the wins of the past year, we can’t afford to stop mobilizing for our freedoms. The anti-choice supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—a case about Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe v. Wade. If the Court were to overturn Roe tomorrow, 26 states would likely take action to prohibit abortion outright. Twelve states already have “trigger bans” in place, which would ban abortion automatically if Roe is overturned.
And in 2021, anti-choice state lawmakers across the country enacted 106 restrictions on abortion access—more attacks in any year since Roe was decided. This includes draconian measures like Texas’ SB 8, which not only outlaws abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy, before many people even know they’re pregnant, but which also breeds vigilantism and encourages individuals to take legal action against anyone who helps someone access abortion care in the state.
The threats to reproductive freedom are coming from every angle. In the face of these threats, NARAL has a bold and ambitious agenda for the future. We are leveraging all of our resources to stop the torrent of bans and restrictions from anti-choice lawmakers in states across the country—while also advancing proactive policies. We’re pushing for policies that would advance reproductive freedom and abortion accesss for every body—no matter who they are, where they live, or how much they make. This includes working at the federal level to pass WHPA through the U.S. Senate and ensuring that the president’s budget robustly funds programs that support reproductive freedom and excludes restrictions on abortion, including discriminatory coverage bans.
Realizing a future where reproductive freedom is truly for every body means creating lasting change in our culture and our communities. That’s why we work every day to:
- Combat anti-choice disinformation and amplify accurate facts about abortion.
- Train NARAL members across the country to run their own Action Councils, organizing in their local communities and beyond to advance reproductive freedom.
- Collaborate, striving to be good allies to and work with our partners to maximize impact.
- Be intentional and transparent in our efforts to dismantle systemic racism and hold ourselves accountable in centering diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our organization and our work.
But that’s not where NARAL’s work ends. We recognize that 2022 is critical to our futures—for reproductive freedom and for democracy. Democrats only have control of Congress by a razor-thin margin as we head into the midterm election cycle. So NARAL and our 2.5 million members are working to elect reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot—champions who don’t just agree with the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion, but truly fight for it—and hold accountable lawmakers who put reproductive freedom on the line. 
As abortion rights and access face an existential crisis, we must take bold action to secure reproductive freedom for every body. NARAL and our members were made for this moment—and we won’t back down when our rights are on the line.
Posted on December 7, 2021
With CREDO funding, Transgender Law Center continues the fight for liberation
The Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for our rights.
In April, CREDO members voted to distribute $43,530 to TLC, and the organization has since secured important progress and victories for transgender and gender nonconforming people, including supporting TLC’s general operations including impact litigation and legal support; organizing and movement building; and policy advocacy, public education, and narrative change work.
Here are some highlights of the organization’s recent work that was supported in part by CREDO members:
- Continued work on TLC’s guiding framework, the Trans Agenda for Liberation;
- Trans youth organizing and speaking out against anti-trans youth legislations;
- Continued impact litigation with wins for trans inclusive healthcare;
- Working with journalists to more accurately and effectively cover trans issues, including anti-trans medical bans and athletic bans.
To learn more, take a moment to watch two great videos highlighting TLC’s recent work, including a 2021 overview “We are transforming the world. Join us” and “Gender Justice Leadership Programs: Show Up For Trans Youth”
If you’d like to get involved with TLC, please visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Posted on December 7, 2021
Carbon180 is helping pull CO2 from the sky
To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to both rapidly reduce emissions and remove the carbon that has been accumulating in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. But it doesn’t end there — we can use that carbon to enrich our lands, catalyze new industries, and foster prosperity for all.
A Suite of Solutions
Carbon removal is a suite of practices and technologies that pull carbon from the atmosphere. This includes land-based pathways, such as soil carbon sequestration, and tech-based pathways, such as DAC (or direct air capture). There are also hybrid solutions that draw on the carbon-removing potential of both land and technology, such as BECCS (or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage).
A variety of solutions means a variety of benefits. For example, CO2 sequestered in soils makes for healthier and more resilient farmland, increasing crop yields and reducing the need for fertilizer. Carbon removed with DAC machines can be transformed into carbontech products like fuels, chemicals, building materials, and even carpet.
Carbon Removal on the Rise
Since 2015, Carbon180 has been at the forefront of a rapidly evolving carbon removal landscape, advocating for a once obscure climate solution that is now considered a critical piece of climate action. In 2018, we moved our HQ from California’s East Bay to Washington, DC to dedicate our work to federal policy change. Today, we partner with policymakers, scientists, and businesses to develop and advocate for carbon removal legislation grounded in environmental justice and the latest science.
Federal funding for carbon removal has increased from a few million when we were founded six years ago to hundreds of millions today. These funds go towards research, demonstration, and deployment to scale the full suite of carbon removal solutions.
We’re in Business
Today, there are a number of companies both investing in carbon removal and working to develop these solutions. Stripe made its first carbon removal investment of $1 million in May 2020, and a year later committed $8 million to six carbon removal companies. In September 2020, Shopify announced their Sustainability Fund, investment portfolios in groundbreaking carbon removal efforts for the short and long term. Microsoft committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and, by 2050, remove all of their historical emissions since their founding in 1975. Part of their approach is using their platform to support policy initiatives that accelerate carbon removal and emissions reductions.
Alongside businesses investing in carbon removal, there are many new companies innovating across the spectrum of solutions. Climeworks and Heirloom are committed to evolving direct air capture for permanent, affordable removal. Climeworks just unveiled the world’s largest DAC facility in Iceland, while Heirloom is setting mineralization in motion to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2035. Mineralization has great potential in terms of scalability and cost-effectiveness — the CO2 that Heirloom extracts via DAC chemically reacts with naturally occurring material to create a mineral that permanently stores carbon.
A Carbon-Removing Future
Robust policies that support a full portfolio of carbon removal solutions are necessary to actualize our vision of an equitable and sustainable carbon-removing future. Climate change is here, and BIPOC, low-income, and other frontline communities are experiencing disproportionate impacts. As we scale carbon removal, it’s paramount that we equitably distribute benefits, engage with communities, and thoroughly analyze socioeconomic impacts. Carbon removal is a necessary component of climate action, but it’s critical that scaling these solutions is done right — dismantling instead of contributing to existing inequities.
The Carbon180 blog and Twitter post regular updates on all sorts of happenings in the carbon removal field. You can also check out our website to learn more about carbon removal and subscribe to our weekly and bimonthly newsletters.
Posted on December 7, 2021
Vote.org is registering voters and getting out the vote
Vote.org is the leading voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) platform in America. We use technology to simplify political engagement and increase voter turnout, helping historically excluded voters by addressing the barriers that make it difficult for them to participate.
Despite all the obstacles American voters faced in 2020 — a global pandemic, rampant disinformation, shortages of polling locations and poll workers, long lines, postal service delays, and extreme weather — people across the country turned out in record numbers with nearly 160 million ballots counted.
But this didn’t happen by magic. Over the course of the year Vote.org ran the largest voter mobilization program in our history, making more than 650 million voter contacts among historically excluded voters. Millions more used Vote.org’s digital tools to register, verify their registration, request an absentee ballot, find their polling location and more, resulting in the highest voter turnout in 120 years.
While we are proud of our work in 2020, we also know that there’s no such thing as an “off” election year. Throughout 2021 politicians across the country have pushed for legislation that makes it harder for their fellow Americans to vote. These restrictions on early voting, voting by mail, voter registration and more have been designed to silence Black voters, young voters, and working voters who can’t take time off to stand in hours-long lines on Election Day.
Our work to remove barriers to voting and increase voter turnout is now more critical than ever. In less than a year voters will make their voices heard as they elect governors, senators, members of Congress, and other local elected leaders. Vote.org has a big plan to register and turn out voters for these elections in a big way, and with our freedom to vote itself at stake, as well as our democracy, this work is more critical than ever.
With enough support, Vote.org will be able to deploy this plan — crafted using proven tactics and modes based on data-driven election research and culturally competent messaging — ahead of the 2022 elections, including:
- Utilizing voter data to grow our Election Reminder program, which sends state-specific, up-to-date election information to voters across the country. For the 2020 General Election alone, we sent more than 41 million election reminders. In 2022, we plan to continue this program at scale.
- Investing early in billboards, digital advertising, text messaging, radio and Spotify advertising, and campus advertising to meet voters where they are with the critical information they need to vote.
- Deploying food trucks with Election Protection information to provide access to free food and water for voters stuck in long lines at the polls, making it safer and more comfortable for voters to stay in line and exercise the right to vote.
- Thoroughly saturating all cost-effective media channels with a message to VOTE on or before Election Day.
As Vote.org’s work in 2020 showed , reaching voters with these messages is key to a thriving democracy. We rely on your support to get voters the tools and information they need to register to vote and cast their ballot, no matter what. I hope you’ll continue to invest in our work — and in a more equitable and accessible American democracy.
You can read more at impact.vote.org, and watch our 90-second Vote.org primer video here:
Posted on December 7, 2021
Zinn Education Project continues teaching the “People’s History,” thanks to CREDO members
The Zinn Education Project (ZEP) introduces students to a more accurate and engaging understanding of history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. The project (coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change) equips students with analytical tools to make sense of and improve the world today.
In May, CREDO members voted to distribute $51,675 to ZEP to help the group engage more teachers in its Teach Climate Justice, Teach Reconstruction, and Teaching for Black Lives campaigns — and help them offer students a more honest history of our country.
CREDO also partnered with ZEP to conduct an informal survey asking about our members’ experiences learning Black history in school and how that informs their views about systemic racism, voter suppression and white supremacy. You can check out the results of this survey here, which included input from more than 5,000 CREDO members.
Here’s a quick highlight of how CREDO funding is helping the Zinn Education Project further its mission: 
Lawmakers in at least 28 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history. In response, educators across the United States are signing a pledge to teach truth, and thanks to CREDO support, ZEP mobilized and supported teachers and allies across the country with Teach Truth Pledge Days of Action in June and August, events to raise public awareness about these dangerous bills. These events were held in dozens of cities across the country and received widespread press coverage, including in The Washington Post, Mother Jones, Axios and Mashable.
If you’d like to learn more and get involved with ZEP, please visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Posted on December 5, 2021
Our November grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups working for human rights, climate justice and workers’ rights. In November, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Amnesty International, Earthworks and National Domestic Workers Alliance.
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 November grant recipients thank you.
Amnesty International
$50,232
“Thank you for your continued partnership! CREDO members like you help support Amnesty International’s mission to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of human rights. Together we can create a world in which every person enjoys the full range of their human rights.”
To learn more, visit https://www.amnestyusa.org.
Earthworks
$52,627
“Thank you! You are standing in solidarity with activists fighting fossil fuels and dirty mining. You are advancing policies to reduce climate super pollutants like methane and promoting the use of sustainable minerals in clean energy technologies.” – Jennifer Krill, Executive Director, Earthworks
To learn more, visit www.earthworks.org.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
$47,141
“Thank you! Support from CREDO members like you helps us to advocate for the rights of the domestic workers who do the essential work of caring for our loved ones and our homes and to transform the way care work is understood, valued, and compensated.” – Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
To learn more, visit http://domesticworkers.org/.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in December, 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 December 1, 2021
How to travel safely and (mostly) stress-free this holiday season
This holiday season, people are on the move, eager to travel to see friends and family and make this year look more like 2019 than our pandemic holiday season last year.
Travel sites are seeing spikes in traffic and bookings, and AAA predicts that more than 53 million people will travel over the holidays, the biggest one-year increase since 2005. That also means crowded airports, standstill traffic and frustrating delays.
Yet, unlike 2019, we’re still coping with a lingering pandemic, with new variants on the way, and that’s making traveling a bit harder and more stressful. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered with some helpful tips to make your trip safer and maybe even help reduce our anxiety a little bit on the way.
Continue to take pandemic precautions
First things first: Masks, social distancing and hand hygiene continue to play an important role to keep you and those around you safe and healthy
Masks covering your mouth and nose continue to be required on public transportation, like planes, busses and subways, for most people and circumstances, regardless of vaccination status — so be sure to pack extra for your trip. The Centers for Disease Control have a number of recommendations and suggestions for what kinds of masks you should buy and how they should properly fit. Consider wearing high quality masks like N95, KN95 and KF94 when you’re in crowded indoor areas where you do not know others’ vaccination statuses.
And speaking of vaccines, the CDC recommends that unvaccinated people should delay travel until they are fully vaccinated, not to travel if they are sick or have been exposed to COVID-19, and if not vaccinated, to get tested before and after traveling.
If you are traveling internationally, you must check whether or not the country you enter requires proof of vaccination or a negative test. Right now, we are not aware of any location that requires a booster shot (but if you are able to get one, it’s a very good idea.)
Store your vaccine record on your phone
Depending on where you are traveling, you may need to show proof of vaccination during your travels, at a port of entry, or to enter a food or entertainment establishment. The easiest way to prove your status is by showing the physical copy of your vaccination record, but there’s a chance you could lose or damage that precious card during your travels.
There are a lot of alternatives to carrying the paper record with you, and most of those involve — you guessed it — your smartphone. You can take a photo of the card or use an app or smartphone wallet that stores your digital vaccine record. We highlighted a few ways in a recent post on how to store your vaccine record on your smartphone.
Be honest with yourself, family and friends
We all have different levels of risk tolerance when it comes to the pandemic, and it’s important to communicate those to the loved ones you’re visiting long before you begin your travel, to avoid last minute stress and confusion and ensure everyone is comfortable and feels safe.
Questions that you can ask yourself and your loved ones include:
- Should everyone be vaccinated and/or tested prior to your gatherings?
- Will anyone quarantine before the visit?
- Will people feel comfortable indoors without masks?
- Will anyone who is too young to be immunized or immunocompromised be present? If so, how will you ensure their safety?
- What are the parameters of the gathering, like how many people will be present, how long will it be indoors, and will everyone agree to the rules you set?
The CDC published some guidance on safer ways to celebrate the holidays, which includes some suggestions on avoiding large crowds, moving large gatherings outdoors, if possible, and other considerations.
Reduce travel stress and anxiety
Traveling during normal times was already stressful — and it’s much more so today — so taking a moment to reduce your anxiety can really help make a difference. When things get a little overwhelming, it might be time to step back, take a break and manage our own stress and anxiety levels.
Check out this list we recently curated suggesting some apps to help you manage stress and anxiety.
Posted on December 1, 2021
Vote for Carbon 180, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Vote.org this December
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This December, you can support climate justice, reproductive rights, voting rights by voting to fund Carbon180, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Vote.org.
Carbon180
Carbon180 is on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon. We work alongside lawmakers to design policies that remove carbon from the atmosphere and offer co-benefits to communities on the frontlines of climate change.
CREDO funding will go directly to realizing full-scale carbon removal, an absolute must for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its 2.5 million members fight for reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, paid family leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination—for every body.
This is a defining moment for reproductive freedom. CREDO’s support will allow us to empower our members to use their voices, to protect and expand abortion access at the state and federal level, and to mobilize to elect reproductive freedom champions.
Vote.org
Vote.org is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan voting registration and get out the vote technology platform in America, registering over 6.6 million voters and helping users keep track of deadlines, polling locations and other essential voting info.
Funding from CREDO members will help us contact historically excluded voters across the country, providing them with the information, tools, and support they need to overcome systemic hurdles and participate in the 2022 midterm elections.
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 December 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 CREDO Energy and join our movement.
Posted on November 29, 2021
CREDO 2021 Grantee Holiday Gift Guide
Are you still searching for the perfect gift for someone in your life? You’re in luck!
We’re pleased to present our 2021 Holiday Gift Guide, featuring gifts by some of our recent grantees. Not only will you find a great and affordable gift, you’ll help support the causes you care about, like voting rights, reproductive freedom, civil rights and climate justice.
So without further ado, check out this year’s holiday gift guide and find a special gift this holiday season.
Vote.org — “Vote From Home” Socks
Our partners at Vote.org work to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy with the goal of reaching historically underserved voters of color and underrepresented young voters. In 2020, that meant helping over 3.4 million voters request mail ballots so they could safely vote from home.
Help them spread the word with these cozy made-in-the-USA Vote From Home socks, then head to Vote.org to request your mail ballot for your next election.
Amnesty International — 60 Years T-Shirt
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 on the idea that together people can change the world. Today, Amnesty is a worldwide movement for human rights, calling on the collective power of our members, each one committed to fighting for justice, equality, and freedom everywhere.
Join Amnesty in celebrating its 60th anniversary this year with our limited-run collection of merchandise, like this 60th Anniversary T-Shirt and check out more great merch at https://shop.amnestyusa.org/
Fight for the Future – Digital Rights Sticker Packs
Help someone in your life show their support for digital rights on their laptop and more while supporting an organization that is leading the fight.
Go to Fight for the Future’s store to find their full collection of stickers and other merch including hoodies, beanies, posters and more. The stickers are printed on durable, high opacity adhesive vinyl which makes them perfect for regular use, as well as for covering other stickers or paint. The high-quality vinyl ensures there are no bubbles when applying the stickers. These stickers make a great gift for the tech policy nerd in your life.
NARAL Pro-Choice America — NARAL Beanie
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its 2.5 million members fight for reproductive freedom for every body. Each day, they organize and mobilize to protect that freedom by fighting for access to abortion care, birth control, paid parental leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination. Its member-driven campaigns have propelled political and cultural change, from statehouses to the White House. And since 1990, CREDO voters have shown up for NARAL’s work, helping send $700,000 in support. This December, NARAL is thrilled to again be featured by CREDO.
At the NARAL Pro-Choice America store, you can pick up all sorts of merch for the movement, including a NARAL Beanie. This super soft, stretchy beanie fits most heads and sends everyone you meet a message they can’t ignore: it’s time to expand abortion access. You can also pick up bags, stickers, face masks, and even fanny packs to show your support for reproductive freedom.
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum — AAPI T-Shirt
There’s a misconception that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are a ‘sleeping political giant.’ But AAPI women are awake, aware, and activated.
By purchasing this t-shirt, you can support AAPI women nationwide in NAPAWF’s fight for a more just world. Together, we can be a force for change.
Slow Food USA — Swag Kit
Slow Food is a global network of local communities that believes in uniting the joy of food with the pursuit of justice. The organization is committed to transforming the world to guarantee good, clean and fair food for all.
This holiday season, consider bidding on a Slow Food USA Swag Kit including t-shirt, tote bag, bamboo utensil kit, and snail pin — or another item in their auction catalog.
Posted on November 24, 2021
We’re donating 250,000 meals this Thanksgiving, thanks to CREDO members
While many of us have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, many families will find themselves at a food bank in search of a holiday meal. Last year alone, the number of people facing hunger rose to 38 million, including nearly 12 million children.
That’s why we’re donating 250,000 meals through our partnership with Feeding America as our very small way of giving back this Thanksgiving.
This donation is made possible by our loyal customers who use CREDO Mobile products and services every day — at no additional cost to them — and goes above and beyond our regular monthly giving to the causes we all care about.
We simply can’t thank you enough for helping to make this donation possible. From our CREDO family to yours, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.
-The whole team at CREDO Mobile
