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
Posted on November 17, 2021
How to stop annoying and dangerous spam text messages
Spam text messages — they’re certainly annoying and definitely dangerous, as scammers are using more sophisticated techniques to get your personal information and take your money.
And the number of spam texts sent to phones across the country is skyrocketing. Scammers are on track to send a whopping 86 billion spam texts this year, with a projected financial loss of $101 million to consumers.
With a little bit of preparation, savvy and trusting your instincts, you can do your part to stop these spam texts and protect yourself from scammers. Check out a few ways to keep yourself safe from these annoying texts today.
Common spam texts
First, let’s go over some common spam texts that you might receive. These can range from an offer for free perk from a cable provider, a message from an “acquaintance” who wants to meet up, a notification from a bank that your account is closing or your credit or debit card is locked, or even a request to set your FedEx delivery preferences.
Spam texts are almost always unwanted and unprovoked messages from senders you don’t know, so be on high alert when you receive a message from someone not in your contact list. If it feels like a spam text, it’s probably a spam text.
Never, ever click the link
In the above scenarios, which are called “smishing” or text phishing, the scammer wants you to reply to the text or click a link that directs you to a malicious site, which looks like an official website, to steal your data or install dangerous software to your phone. The sender may even be using a fake phone number to look like it came from the official source or from within your area code.
Whatever you do, do not reply or click the link, unless you are absolutely certain that the sender is who they say they are. Legitimate companies will never ask for your account information over text message. If you think the message may be real, call the company directly using a phone number you know is real or from its official website (not any number provided in the text) and inquire whether the text message was authentic.
Be careful replying with STOP
In the past, if you’ve received a text message from a business and didn’t appreciate it, you may have replied with “STOP,” the way a legitimate business will unsubscribe you from their texting program.
But if you’ve received a spammy text, you’re likely dealing with a scammer, who is probably attempting to break the law, so it’s pretty unlikely you will be removed from the scammer’s texting list. In fact, replying to the scammer could flag your phone number as active and open you up to more spam messages.
If you are sure the text originated from a real, ethical business (Google the number it to find out), you can reply with STOP. However, if you are uncertain, your best bet is not to reply to the text at all, and jump down to the next step.
Block the number & delete the message
You’ve received a spam text. You didn’t reply or click the link. Now what? Block the number then delete the text, so you don’t accidentally click or reply in the future.
All newer phones have the option to block a phone number from contacting you. However, this can turn into a game of whack-a-mole, since scammers can switch up their phone numbers frequently, but it’s still worth blocking the number from contacting you again. Here’s how to block a number on Apple and Android devices.
Use a Third-Party Spam Call & Text Blocker
If all else fails — and it might — a third-party app to identify and block annoying spam texts is a great option.
These apps enhance the caller ID functions of your phone, employ large blacklists of spam numbers to automatically block calls and texts in real time, along with other blocking features. Some apps are free with limited bells and whistles, while the paid apps have more robust features and customer service, which also comes with a monthly or yearly user fee.
Some popular spam blocking apps include Hiya: Caller ID & Spam Blocker (Free on iOS & Android), Nomorobo ($1.99 per device, per month + a 14 day free trial), and RoboKiller ($39.99/yr + 7 day free trial).
Report the spam message
You can report the message right from your messaging app to your device manufacturer, which in theory should help them improve spam blocking, as well as reporting the message to the authorities.
For Apple devices, if you receive a text message from someone not in your contacts, you may have the option below the message that reads “Report Junk” which will report the message to Apple, but will NOT block the number. You will still need to block the number.
For Android devices, open the Messages app > Touch and hold the conversation > Tap Block > Report spam > OK.
You can also report the spam text to Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.
