In the world of philanthropy, World Give Day is a relatively new kid on the block compared to many of the other celebrated days of awareness. As a non-profit in our infant days ourselves, development is something we can relate to, which is why World Give Day gets our vote!

This year, World Give Day turns 2 and will be celebrating its third annual event. Friday May 4th is World Give Day 2012.

World Give Day came about when GiveForward co-founder realized that while there were a few days set aside in the philanthropic calendar to encourage people to volunteer (last week’s National Volunteer Week being one of them), there weren’t any devoted specifically to encourage people to give. She decided to fill that void, and thus World Give Day was born.

What is it about?

The idea is wonderfully simple: creating unexpected joy by giving. And similar to Earth Day, there aren’t any rules or regulations about what and how you give. You can give your time volunteering, you can give your money by donating to a project, you can even give someone a smile or a hug. It truly doesn’t matter. At its epicenter, it is about getting more people to become actively involved in their community to raise awareness about their favorite cause. If there’s something you’re passionate about, then give in that name and show how a small gift can make a big impact.

Spread the word: Crowdfunding

One of the best things you can do to participate in World Give Day is simply by telling people about World Give Day. Start a conversation with a friend, like the World Give Day Facebook page, follow World Give Day on Twitter and tweet using the #giveday hasthtag. When people start talking, things start happening. And when things start happening, then crowdfunding happens.

What is crowdfunding? It is the collective effort of people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. These supported efforts can be anything from disaster relief and non-profit support to political campaigns or startup companies seeking fundraising. Crowdfunding has preserved communities, saved lives, and transformed our capacity to give entirely with our hearts and visibly see the effect of our giving directly.

We like crowdfunding at Jolkona. It epitomizes what we’re about – people making small donations that make a big impact. And every small donation, like a drop of water, collects to make that ocean of difference.

With over 120+ projects you can be the difference and we will show the change. Be the difference, see the change here. Participate in World Give Day.

In 1969 an oil platform off the Californian coast of Santa Barbara blew out, unleashing a ghastly environmental nightmare. A nation stood appalled and watched as an entire ecosystem drowned in the toxic filth of crude oil. Out of the horror of its aftermath, and in an effort to bring a greater social consciousness of environment protection, Earth Day was born and first celebrated on April 22nd 1970.

42 years later the environmental issues that plague this planet rage ever louder, but so too does the crusading Earth Day. This Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day 2012.

What is it about?

The Earth Day Network connects with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify, and mobilize the environmental movement. On Sunday over 1 billion people will voice their love and appreciation for this planet whilst demanding for its protection. It is a campaign designed to provide people with the opportunity to unite in their call for a sustainable future, directing them toward quantifiable outcomes. One of those quantifiable outcomes is the Billion Acts of Green project. Yes, that’s one billion not one million.

A Billion Acts of Green

This mother of all projects encourages individuals, organizations, businesses and governments to support the campaign by performing environmental actions, such as biking to work, picking up garbage off the street, or planting a tree. The goal is to reach one billion actions by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012. The accomplishment will be presented at the Rio +20 Conference to be used as a lever addressing the UN’s inaction and inspiring leaders to reach a global agreement.

What can I do?

Simple: pledge any act of green you can think of and let the people at Earth Day know here. At Jolkona we have 16 partners that are directly involved in environmental protection. With $5 your donation plants trees in countries from the Philippines, through India, Senegal, to Haiti. With $10 your donation teaches youth in Costa Rica about water conservation. With $24 your donation conserves rainforests in Tanzania. With $40 your donation builds a fuel efficient stove for a family in Nepal. With $100 your donation trains environmental youth advocates in Kenya.

Go to our projects page and select ‘Environment’ under the ‘Projects’ column to view all the appropriate projects. Join us and a billion others in the call and pledge to protect our planet Earth.

For more information, resources, and ideas go to the Earth Day website.

Follow and share the movement on Facebook and Twitter.

Tweet using the #earthday hashtag.

Earth Day—April 22 of every year—is a day dedicated to inspiring and mobilizing people all around the world to demonstrate their commitment to the environment, sustainability, and this big green and blue planet we call home.

There are tons of ways to celebrate your commitment to the environment:

There are freebies

If you bring a reusable mug or tumbler into any Starbucks location in the US or Canada today, they’ll give you a free brewed coffee or tea. This promotion isn’t just about free coffee, it’s about keeping “nearly 1.45 million pounds of paper out of landfills,” as per Sue, manager of global responsibility at Starbucks.

There are celebrations

Our friends at the Nature Conservancy are hosting a Picnic for the Planet in a number of cities worldwide. The goal is for people to step outside and head to their favorite outdoor spot to enjoy good food in the company of great people. If you’re in Seattle, be sure to swing by the Nature Conservancy of Washington’s picnic at Pike Place Market!

There are projects that let you make a direct impact on the planet

Jolkona has 15 projects that support the environment. For as little as $5, you can plant 50 trees in countries like Burundi, Ethiopia, and Haiti. To date, the Jolkona community has planted over 18,000 trees worldwide. How many more can we plant by the end of Earth Day?

In addition to planting trees, we have 4 projects for less than $100 that work towards ensuring environmental sustainability:

Teach Water Conservation to Costa Rican Youth – This is one of my personal favorite environmental projects that Jolkona offers as it combines two things: education and the environment. Through the Water Guards Program, students in Costa Rica learn about water conservation and how to teach what they learn to their peers and lead their community at school how to reduce unnecessary and wasteful water consumption. Talk about an amazing project!

Want to see this project in action? Last year, two Jolkona team members visited this project and saw its impact first hand.

Conserve African Rainforests – Protecting the Earth’s rainforests are essential for preserving biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and supporting local villages who are custodians of the forests.

Build an Energy Efficient Stove for Nepali Family – A lot of people living in the U.S. have Energy Star appliances, so what does “Energy Star” look like in the rest of the world? This stove not only protects old growth forests in Nepal from being harvested but also reduces lung disease through proper venting and frees up the village women from spending an average of 8.5 hours per household per month on collecting firewood.

Train Environmental Youth Advocates in Kenya – To create change in your own community, you need local leaders to be advocates and change makers. This project helps train ten rural village youth to educate and advocate on human-caused sources of pollution and the effects it has on public health in their own community. Much like the Costa Rican Youth project above, this one has amazing potential to make a lasting impact!

This planet is all we have right now, let’s work to make sure we keep it!

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

Photo by: AlicePopkorn