How to quickly make an emergency call with your smartphone

You hope you never have to do it, but someday you might: Making a call to your local emergency services.

We all know about dialing 9-1-1 directly, yet there are a couple ways to make it even faster and more convenient right from your home or locked screen, which can be especially helpful in an emergency situation.

In this tip, we’ll show you how to be prepared today if you ever need to call emergency services in the future.

In case of an emergency, your smartphone is the best tool to call for help — and with some preparation now, you’ll be ready to make a call quickly if an emergency arises. It may also be a good idea to memorize these steps so you won’t have to think twice during a fast-moving situation.

How to make an emergency call on iPhone

From the lock screen

If your phone is locked and you are unable to unlock it, you can quickly make an emergency call from the passcode screen by tapping “Emergency.” This will bring up a keypad from where you can dial 9-1-1.

Enable Emergency SOS

Emergency SOS is a feature built into all newer iPhones that allows you to make an emergency call almost instantly by pressing two buttons simultaneously on your phone. To use this feature, make sure you are running iOS 11 or later; the latest iOS is 15, so you probably are, but read how to find out which version you’re running and how to update it.

 Now, here’s how to enable and use Emergency SOS:

  1. For iPhone SE or iPhone 8 or later: 
    • This feature should already be enabled on your phone. To make an emergency call, click and hold your side (or top) button and either one of the volume buttons until a screen with a slider labeled “Emergency SOS” appears. 
    • Drag the slider to the right to make a call. Alternatively, your iPhone will make an audible alarm and begin countdown before it automatically makes a call.
    • To turn off the countdown, go to Settings > Emergency SOS and tap the toggle next to Countdown Sound.
  2. For older iPhones:
    • Quickly press your side button five times in a row, then drag the Emergency SOS slider.

For more information and limitations of this feature, visit this help article from Apple.

How to make an emergency call on Android

On Android devices, you can quickly make an emergency call by bypassing your lock screen and without unlocking your device. It may different depending on the manufacturer or model of your phone, but with Android, making an emergency call is very straightforward:

  1. If your lock screen is enabled, tap “Emergency call” at the bottom of the screen.
  2. When the dialer is visible, dial the number for your local emergency services, like 9-1-1.

 

How to magnify your smartphone’s screen to make reading easier

Do you ever have to squint to see the fine print on your smartphone? Or is it just plain difficult to read your screen after a tiring day looking at a computer?

Fortunately, there are some useful solutions to help you to easily magnify your smartphone’s screen to make seeing it much easier.

In this week’s tip, we’ll show you how to access these features in your phone’s accessibility settings to avoid headaches and make your screen more readable.

How to magnify your screen on iPhone and iPad

With Apple’s newest operating system, iOS 15, the company added a new accessibility feature called “Zoom”  — but not the video conference one you might be thinking about. Apple’s new Zoom feature allows you to instantly magnify parts of your screen with a few simple taps or swipes. 

This is similar to how you might zoom in on a browser or the Photos app with a finger and a thumb, but with Zoom, you can magnify any part of your screen anywhere on your phone, like in your social media apps that don’t allow zooming in.

With Zoom, you can enlarge the entire screen (Full Screen Zoom) or just parts of the screen (Window Zoom). Here’s how to get started:

  1. First, make sure your Apple device is running the latest version of iOS 15, which can be found at Settings > General > Software Update, or check out this article from Apple for more information.
  2. To turn on the Zoom feature, go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom, then turn on Zoom.

Now, to use the Zoom feature, you will want to get used to using three fingers to tap and swipe, which is how the tool is enabled. 

  1. To zoom in, double-tap the screen with three fingers, then swipe up or down to magnify or shrink the screen.
  2. You can navigate around your magnified screen by dragging three fingers across the screen to your desired location.
  3. You can also triple-tap the screen with three fingers to bring up a menu, which allows you to adjust the zoom levels, as well as adjust settings.
  4. To adjust the settings with the Zoom menu, triple-tap with three fingers, then adjust any of the following:
    1. Choose Region: Choose Full Screen Zoom or Window Zoom.
    2. Resize Lens: (Window Zoom) Tap Resize Lens, then drag any of the round handles that appear.
    3. Choose Filter: Choose Inverted, Grayscale, Grayscale Inverted, or Low Light.
    4. Show Controller: Show the Zoom Controller.
  5. To use the Zoom Controller, do any of the following:
    1. Show the Zoom menu: Tap the controller.
    2. Zoom in or out: Double-tap the controller.
    3. Pan: When zoomed in, drag the controller.

Alternatively, if you want larger text all the time on your device, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display Text & Size > Larger Text, then adjust the size of the text with the slider.

How to magnify your screen on an Android device

Android also has magnification features built into your device’s accessibility settings. Here’s how to turn it on and use this useful feature, but make sure your device is running Android 11 or higher.

  1. To turn on magnification, go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnification
  2. Turn on the Magnification shortcut.

To zoom in (instructions via Google):

  1. Tap the accessibility button.
  2. Tap anywhere on the screen, except the keyboard or navigation bar.
  3. Drag 2 fingers to move around the screen.
  4. Pinch with 2 fingers to adjust zoom.
  5. To stop magnification, use your magnification shortcut again.

To zoom in temporarily

  1. Tap the accessibility button.
  2. Touch and hold anywhere on the screen, except the keyboard or navigation bar.
  3. Drag your finger to move around the screen.
  4. Lift your finger to stop magnification.

Alternatively, just like the iPhone, if you want larger text all the time on your device, head over to Settings > Accessibility > Text & Display, and tap Font size, where you can adjust the slider to change to your preferred font size. Learn more about how to adjust fonts and display on your Android device here.

 

Fight for the Future is defending our rights online with help from CREDO members

Fight for the Future is fighting to ensure that technology is a force for empowerment, free expression, and liberation rather than tyranny, corruption, and structural inequality.

As an intentionally small, fierce team of artists, engineers and activists, they have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling outrage into political power to win victories. 

Thanks to our members, Fight for the Future received a $51,557 grant this April to continue their important work — and here is just a small sample of some recent victories and new projects that our donation helped to enable.

Holding Amazon Accountable

Two years after Fight for the Future began working to end Amazon’s partnerships with local police departments, Amazon announced that it would no longer allow law enforcement to privately ask Ring camera owners for video footage. This is a huge concession. They also imposed limits on geographic location, amount of inquiries per incident, and restricted video requests for lawful incidents like protests. But this policy shift does not change the fundamental dangers or racial profiling that accompanies widespread use of Amazon’s interconnected cameras in homes, mailboxes, and vehicles. So in the coming months Fight for the Future will be working to push lawmakers to protect people by banning corporate surveillance partnerships with the police, starting at the local level with city council ordinances and direct pressure on progressive mayors.

This past summer, as the one-year anniversary of Amazon’s moratorium on selling facial recognition tech to the police approached, Fight for the Future, Media Justice, the Athena Coalition, and other civil rights groups, called for a permanent ban. After groups met with shareholders and held protests in cities across the country, Amazon announced a moratorium on selling Rekognition to police ‘until further notice.’ This is a big victory but the groups are still calling for Amazon to completely divest from facial recognition technology.

Banning facial recognition surveillance in retail stores

Fight for the Future led a coalition of 35+ organizations to launch the first major campaign to ban facial recognition surveillance in retail stores. In just a few weeks, its scorecard campaign has resulted in 19 major brands like Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s and CVS to say they won’t use facial recognition in their stores or on their employees. 

But Macy’s has doubled down on its use — it’s actually the only retailer that has confirmed it uses facial recognition and tried to justify its use — which is why Fight for the Future targeted the department store in a back-to-school action. The group  rented a mobile billboard and drove it outside Macy’s downtown D.C. location to draw attention to the company’s use of facial recognition, especially on kids. Now Fight for the Future is working to build a list of small and local businesses that have pledged not to use facial recognition and endanger customers and workers in their stores. This strategy follows other private-sector facial recognition campaigns, like those against festivals and college campuses. The group is continuing to pick sectors where the threat is real, and where they think they can make headway with interrupting the spread of facial recognition as we continue to fight for legislative bans on the technology.

If you’d like to learn more about Fight for the Future’s important work defending our rights in the digital age, please visit their website and take action on a recent campaign, or follow them on Twitter or Instagram.

CREDO funding helps NDWA fight for the rights of domestic workers

At the National Domestic Workers Alliance, we believe that domestic work makes all other work possible.

NDWA works for the respect, recognition, and inclusion in labor protections of domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. Driven by the lived experiences and aspirations of domestic workers, we employ five main strategies to transform the domestic work sector:

  • Organizing domestic workers and developing leaders by providing a space for workers to share information, build skills with training and resources, access benefits, get support, and organize to win rights
  • Developing policy solutions and deliver wins through economic recovery, immigration, caregiving, survivor, and essential worker advocacy
  • Changing the story by leveraging the power of popular culture to shift key narratives and elevate character-driven stories of domestic workers
  • Innovating by using technology to solve for equity and dignity and to find new ways to make work better for domestic workers
  • Mobilizing underrepresented women of color voters because we know that when women of color vote, we build a better world.

Thanks to the leadership of nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers, we are on the cusp of winning historic investments in caregiving and immigration through President-elect Biden’s Build Back Better plan.We have the opportunity to accelerate policies that protect workers and raise standards at the state and city levels in part due to partnerships advising on cash assistance, new policy, reopening guidelines, and pivots from relief to recovery. 

Along with our coalition partners, we will also continue to seize the opportunity created by the current visibility and appreciation for essential workers to uplift domestic and home care workers’ inherent value and dignity. 

With your vote and CREDO’s support, NDWA will continue to forge new pathways to make every job into a good, living wage job with benefits by 2030 and to create a multi-racial democracy where women of color are supported to lead.

Preventing Climate Catastrophe and Building a Better Future with Earthworks

Communities First

At a time when so many people around the world are facing so many threats, should we really be putting ourselves at risk in the name of dirty and unnecessary fossil fuel production?

Fossil fuels pose risks at almost all stages. From the moment oil and gas is pulled from the ground to final consumption, these fuels threaten our health, environment, and climate. Technologies like fracking (hydraulic fracturing) poison our water, cause air pollution, and scar our landscapes.

Earthworks has been working at the intersection of dirty energy and climate change for years. In 2014, we started using Optical Gas Imaging cameras to expose the invisible methane venting from oil and gas wells. And for years we’ve been exposing the harm, advocating for better regulation of existing infrastructure, and stopping new fossil fuel development.

And now, we’re working to transition to a clean, just, and equitable energy future by ensuring that the minerals we need for new renewable technologies are responsibly sourced and don’t harm communities or the environment.

Oil and gas producers burn off excess gas when they are unable to transport it to customers. This “flaring” releases significant amounts of methane into the atmosphere.

Case Study: The Permian Basin

To head off climate catastrophe, fossil fuel production and consumption must decline steeply and rapidly. The opposite is happening in the Permian Basin, a vast expanse of land across west Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

The region is experiencing a fracking boom. Oil and gas production has more than quadrupled in the past decade and is projected to grow even more aggressively in the coming decade. Weaning America and the world off oil and gas will be much harder if production keeps growing. Yet the Permian Basin could produce more oil, gas, and gas liquids in the next 30 years than it has in the past century.

Our newest report, Permian Climate Bomb exposes the climate, public health, economic, and social impacts of the Permian fracking boom. By following the flow of Permian hydrocarbons from extraction to export, illustrating the community consequences of the associated infrastructure buildout, and working directly with individuals confronting the industry, we’re exposing just how dangerous the Permian Basin is for our climate.

A Clean, Just, and Equitable Future

Shutting down the fossil fuel industry isn’t the only thing we have to do. Earthworks is working towards transition to a 100% renewable energy economy — one that no longer depends on fossil fuels. Solar, wind, and battery technologies are competitive and growing rapidly, while their costs continue to fall. Yet, as with any transition, we must prepare for, and ensure against, unintended consequences. We must create a renewable energy future that doesn’t cause harm to communities through dirty mining.

Renewable energy and battery production rely on minerals such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, and copper. Demand for these minerals is skyrocketing. Mineral extraction already brings devastating harm to people and the environment. But we know that renewable energy production does NOT have to mean the degradation of communities and special places. By partnering with frontline communities, creating stricter standards for extraction, and promoting responsible sourcing with renewable energy companies, we can minimize the harm from renewable technologies.

Earthworks Senior Field Advocate Sharon Wilson showing Texas Representative Vikki Goodwin invisible emissions from oil and gas infrastructure with an Optical Gas Imaging camera.

Will You Join Us?

We don’t have much time to prevent climate catastrophe. Defeating the political and economic power of the fossil fuel and mining industries will not be easy — but we know it must be done.

Though it may sometimes seem that progress is impossible, remember that the momentum for change keeps building. And it’s so important to keep speaking up for what’s right.

Will you join us in standing in solidarity with those on the frontlines? If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll vote for Earthworks on CREDO’s donation page. I also invite you to watch the new multi-media report at www.permianclimatebomb.org. Thank you for your support!

Earthworks West Texas Field Associate Miguel Escoto at a climate protest in El Paso, Texas.

Write a Letter, Change a Life with Amnesty International

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is the largest country section of Amnesty International, a membership-based global human rights movement founded on the idea that every person can make a difference standing up for the rights of others wherever they may be. For six decades, we have been seen worldwide as the premier grassroots organization demanding human rights for every person and tackling the most pressing challenges to human rights. 

Our vision is of a world in which every person enjoys their full range of human rights, and our mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international rights instruments. Combined with our award-winning research, our members, supporters and activists—over 10 million globally—work to advocate in their communities and beyond to ensure that all people can claim the full spectrum of their human rights and to amplify the voices of human rights defenders and individuals at risk everywhere.

Write for Rights is Amnesty International’s largest annual human rights campaign, held throughout the fall to mark Human Rights Day on December 10th. Each year, AIUSA activists and supporters around the world write letters to support people at risk and help end human rights abuses, such as the imprisonment of individuals solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs or identity—people we call prisoners of conscience. 

Through Write for Rights, millions of people around the world, like you, each write a letter to the government official(s) responsible for the case. These letters pile up in their offices and can’t be ignored. We supplement these letters with e-mail actions, lobbying, media attention, and social media to increase the pressure on those officials. We also write “solidarity” notes to the people we are trying to help, or their families, to give them hope. 

Each year the campaign focuses on the cases of ten different individuals. This year’s cases include human rights defenders and individuals at risk in Egypt, Mexico, Thailand, Belarus and beyond. Write for Rights shines a spotlight on human rights defenders like Bernardo Caal Xol in Guatemala, who was jailed for protecting a sacred river while doing everything he can to peacefully protect his people’s land and natural resources from plunder and biodiversity loss. Or activists Anna Sharyhina and Vira Chernygina, who have been repeatedly attacked for defending LGBTI and women’s rights in Ukraine. 

Good news from previous Write for Rights cases:     

“To everyone who sent me countless letters from around the world…I want to express my deep gratitude, while in prison, these actions lifted my spirit and reminded me of the importance of international solidarity in the struggle for human rights.”Taner Kilic. Former Amnesty Turkey Board Chair, released after more than 14 months behind bars. 2017 Write for Rights – Turkey. 

“Thank you very much each and every one of you. Not just for campaigning for my release, and the release of other prisoners, but for helping to keep our hope and our beliefs alive.”Phyoe Phyoe Aung, Student leader imprisoned after peaceful protest, freed in 2016. 2015 Write for Rights – Myanmar. 

 Ready to get writing? Here’s how to get started: 

  1.     SIGN UP: at write.amnestyusa.org 
  2.     DOWNLOAD: our guide with the cases, addresses and instructions 
  3.     WRITE: from now until December 20, 2021 
  4.     REPORT: your letters by January 31, 2022 at write.amnesty.org/impact 

For any questions, you can reach out to our team at: w4r@aiusa.org 

Even if you only have time to write one letter, it counts. Through our collective power, prison doors will open, families will be reunited, justice will be achieved, and human rights activists will be safe and supported in continuing their important work to change the world. 

CREDO and supporters like you make it possible for us to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth, and dignity are denied—thank you! 

March for human rights in Bangalore, India, 10 December 2018. #AbkibaarManavAdhikar
Amnesty International members and supporters march through central Bangalore to mark International Human Rights day on 10 December 2018.

Join three free online training sessions with Hollaback!

Our grantee Hollaback! works to end harassment in all its forms by transforming the culture that perpetuates hate and harassment. Last month, CREDO members voted to donate over $42,000 to help the organization build the power of everyday people to create safe and welcoming environments for all.

This month, Hollaback would like to invite CREDO members to join one, two or three free virtual trainings covering street harassment, bystander intervention and implicit bias. These trainings are a great way to learn some concrete tools and techniques to protect yourself and your communities from harassment and bias.

Here’s more information from Hollaback about each session with links to sign up today:

Stand Up Against Street Harassment 

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 5PM ET / 2PM PT

We all have a responsibility to do something when we see street harassment happening, but too often we freeze. We don’t know what to do. Bystander intervention gives us tools to intervene without compromising our own safety. During this training you’ll learn a clear, adaptable, and expert-approved set of tools that have been proven to reduce the prevalence of street harassment. Then, we’ll talk about what to do if you experience harassment and give you tools to safely get your power back.

8 Strategies to Mitigate Implicit Bias Training 

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 2PM ET / 11AM PT 

Everyone holds implicit biases. That doesn’t make us “bad people,” it just means that we have work to do. This one-hour, interactive training will teach you how to understand and begin to mitigate your own implicit biases using 8 proven strategies.

Bystander Intervention to Support Latinx Communities in Public Spaces Training

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 1PM ET / 10AM PT

In honor of Latino Heritage Month and to bring awareness to the increase of harassment toward the Latinx community in recent years, Hollaback! is offering a free, one-hour, interactive training to train people on how to safely intervene when they witness Latinx people experiencing harassment in public using Hollaback!’s 5D’s of bystander intervention.

Vote for Amnesty International, Earthworks and National Domestic Workers Alliance this November

Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This November, you can support human rights, climate justice, workers’ rights by voting to fund Amnesty International, Earthworks, and National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Amnesty International

For over six decades, Amnesty International has been the premier grassroots organization demanding human rights for every person. Combined with Amnesty’s research, its supporters —over 10 million globally—advocate in their communities and beyond to ensure that all people can claim the full spectrum of their human rights and to amplify the voices of human rights defenders and individuals at risk everywhere.

Funding from CREDO members will help Amnesty International to expand its membership as much as possible so as to have the greatest possible impact on human rights advocacy.

Earthworks

Earthworks partners with frontline activists fighting fossil fuels and dirty mining. Earthworks’ optical gas imaging cameras show methane’s role in accelerating the climate crisis. The organization advocates for a clean energy transition and sustainable minerals economy.

CREDO support will help build a more diverse climate movement that centers the voices of frontline communities and the grassroots. Together, we can move away from fossil fuels to a renewable energy future that doesn’t rely on dirty mining.

National Domestic Workers Alliance

NDWA organizes to win respect, recognition, and labor rights and protections for the more than 2.2 million nannies, house cleaners, and homecare workers—mostly immigrants and women of color—who do the essential work of caring for our loved ones and our homes.

Funding from CREDO will help us organize to meet the challenges of this crucial time when we have the opportunity to raise standards and change the lives of 2.2 million domestic workers across the country.

Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by November 30.

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.

How to store your vaccine record on your smartphone

If you’re like us, you got vaccinated. That’s great!

But now what do you do with that awkwardly-sized piece of paper you need to enter public venues, businesses or even your workplace? Not to mention, what happens if you lose the card? What a hassle.

Never fear: The safest and easiest way to save your vaccination record is storing it on your smartphone. In this week’s tip, we’ll show you how to keep your vaccine card safe at home and handy in your pocket.

To start, let’s go over what professionals recommend you should not do with your paper vaccination card. 

First, do not laminate it. You may need the card for your next dose or booster, so let the card breathe or purchase a plastic sleeve to keep it safe. 

Second, don’t post it to social media, since the card contains sensitive personal and health information. 

Lastly, try not to carry the card with you all the time, since you risk losing it (although your state health department should be able to provide you with a backup).

Now, here’s how you can save your vaccine record to your smartphone:

Take a photo

There are many ways to save your vaccination record to your phone. The easiest way is to use your phone’s camera app to take a photo of the card itself. The CDC recommends this method in the event you lose your card.

Make sure you place your card on a flat surface in a well-lit area. Crop the image to the four corners of the card, then save the image to your phone. You may want to consider creating an album named “Records” so you can easily access the photo when it’s time. Apple users may want to ensure the file is backed up to iCloud, while Android users can back it up to Google Drive.

Note that this is probably the least secure method of backing up your vaccination record, so if you have any concerns about your health privacy, you can skip to the next step.

iPhone users: Securely scan in Notes app

If you own an iPhone, you can also scan your vaccine card in the Notes app and securely save it so that only you can access the record. Here’s how:

  1. Open the Notes app & create a new Note.
  2. Tap the camera icon & choose Scan Documents.
  3. Position the camera over the card & your phone should automatically take the picture. If not, tap the shutter button, tap Keep Scan, then tap Save.
  4. To secure the Note, tap the three dots and choose Lock. You will need to enter a password & you can enable Touch ID or Face ID as well.

Use a passport app or service

Depending on your situation, an image of your vaccine record on your phone might not be enough or appropriate, so that’s where a dedicated app or service to store a digital vaccine record is very useful. Many states are rolling out their own vaccine passport services, and you can even save your records to your Apple Wallet and Google Pay apps.

Bear with us, because there is a little fuss involved, but it’s worth the extra few steps, especially if you’re required to show proof of vaccination status often or digitally.

To get started, you’ll need a digital version of your vaccination record. Depending on where you live, your state may already have an app. Only a handful of states currently offer these services. For example, New York State uses the Excelsior Pass, and New York City uses NYC COVID Safe (iOS & Android) while California will send you a QR code and digital copy of your vaccine record. Other states have apps or digital records available through Smart Health Cards and the CommonTrust Network, which include:

If your state doesn’t offer its own app, your health provider or pharmacy, like CVS or Walgreens, may also participate in a program like Smart Health Cards. You can see a full list here. You may need to log into your account with your pharmacy or health provider or call to request the digital vaccine record.

Still unable to obtain a digital record? You have other options to create a digital version of your vaccine record. Services like Clear and VaxYes can validate your identity and vaccination status and provide you with a digital vaccine record which you can store on your device.

Add your vaccination record to Apple Wallet 

Adding your digital vaccination record to your payment wallets on your phone makes it really easy to pull up your vaccine status quickly when you’re on the go.

Apple’s recent release of iOS 15.1 now allows iPhone users to add their vaccination records to the Health App, making it very easy to add to your Apple Wallet. If you received a QR code or downloadable record from your vaccine provider or already have a verifiable vaccine record stored in your Health App, you can add it to your wallet. Here are some detailed instructions from Apple.

Add your COVID Card to your Android device

Android users can similarly add their vaccine records to their device, but your provider will need to send you a digital record of your vaccination via QR code or downloadable record, just like Apple users. 

Make sure your device is running Android 5 or above and be Play Protect certified. Google provides very detailed instructions on adding your vaccination records to your device here.

How does CREDO’s donations program work?

For more than 35 years, CREDO’s fundamental mission has been to make positive social change. We do that by not only giving our members the opportunity to do business with a company that shares their values, we also donate to progressive nonprofits each month, totaling $1 million each year.

It’s been more successful than we ever thought possible. Since 1985, we’ve been able to donate more than $93 million to nonprofit groups fighting for climate justice, civil rights, economic justice and so much more. But we always get the question: How is CREDO able to donate tens of thousands of dollars every month to groups that share our values at no extra cost to our members? Here’s an inside look at how it all works.

Every CREDO member is a philanthropist

Whenever someone joins CREDO and uses our products or services they become a philanthropist to the progressive causes we all care about. Just by using CREDO services, each one of our members contributes to our mission of progressive social action, at no extra cost to them. Here’s how:

Our monthly donations to nonprofit groups are generated primarily from our company revenue and are one of our most powerful tools for change. Many CREDO Mobile members also make additional donations by rounding up their monthly bills by a few dollars to send extra support to the causes we fund. Then, at the end of each month, we distribute these donations to the three nonprofit groups we’re supporting that month.

Which groups does CREDO fund?

We fund progressive nonprofit groups that believe in our values and fight along with us for greater social change. We primarily fund organizations that fall generally within six broad categories: Civil Rights, Climate Justice, Peace, Women’s Rights, Economic Justice and Voting Rights. Some recent grantees include Sunrise Movement, Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, Amnesty International, March For Our Lives, Brennan Center for Justice and Black Alliance for Just Immigration. We’re also proud to be one of Planned Parenthood’s largest corporate donors, having donated more than $3.7 million since 1986. 

We let you vote how to distribute funding

Here’s what makes CREDO’s philanthropy truly special and different from other companies: We let you vote to decide how we distribute the donations among three nonprofit groups. It’s truly democratic. Each month, CREDO members, activists, supporters and the general public visit CREDODonations.com  to vote for the group (or groups) they’d most like to see funded. Donations are then distributed according to their votes. 

Monthly voting is open to anyone who wants to take a few seconds to vote on our ballot and direct funding to the progressive nonprofit(s) of their choice.

How nonprofit organizations are chosen

The groups we support are also chosen democratically. Throughout the year, CREDO customers, CREDO employees and members of the general public nominate nonprofit groups to receive donations funding. Additionally, the CREDO team invites organizations to apply to our Donations Program and also vets other potential organizations for our donations ballot. Each month, we present a handful of those organizations to all CREDO employees who then vote on the final three organizations that appear on our monthly ballot to receive a donation.

You can nominate a group for funding here.

You can vote now

Here’s your chance! If you’ve voted for a group in the past, you know how this works. If you haven’t, it’s very easy. Just visit CREDODonations.com and vote for one, two or all three nonprofit groups on our ballot to help us distribute funding to this month’s nonprofit grantees.