“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.” 

Wendell Berry

American novelist and conservationist 
 

Introduction

For April, we are celebrating Earth Month by highlighting nonprofits that fight for the structural changes that our planet—and society—need most.

In April 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and activist Denis Haynes created Earth Day for two reasons: first, to give environmental conservation a national public platform, and second, to fill broad legal and regulatory gaps. Twenty million people then poured into the streets to demonstrate support of pro-climate action on what remains the largest single day of peaceful protest in human history. Earth Day went global in 1990, and by 2009, it was officially recognized worldwide.

The theme for Earth Day 2023 is “Invest in Our Planet,” which highlights the urgent need to increase the amount of time, resources, and energy that we are spending to combat climate change and advance environmental issues.

This Earth Month, we are reflecting on how we can transform into better stewards of our planet—to repair the damage done, to fight for a healthy climate, and create hope for a sustainable future. In this toolkit, we share tactile ways to reflect on company environmental impact and to engage employees, ERGs, and the broader community toward both individual and collective action. 

How organizations can engage employees during Earth Month

At Deed, we believe that we can become the change we seek by doing good deeds. We invite our community to work to combat climate change and nurture our planet directly by engaging their employees in donation, volunteering, listening, and learning. And the way we help you do that is our “Cause of the Month” initiative. 

What is Deed’s “Cause of the Month” initiative?

Deed launched our “Cause of the Month” initiative in response to the important moments we see happening in the world around us. With concise, specific 20+ page toolkits, we aim to inspire our partners and rally all employee volunteers, donors, and leaders to support causes they really care about. 

With “Cause of the Month,” we aim to bring greater context to periods of observance—from Pride Month to Women's History Month—such that anyone who reads our toolkit will have a clear plan of action for how to maintain their support today, tomorrow, for the rest of the month, and throughout the year. 

What will I get in every “Cause of the Month” toolkit? 

While every “Cause of the Month” toolkit has unique insights and engagement opportunities relevant to each particular cause, you can always expect us to cover certain areas.

For a better idea of what you’ll be getting, here’s what’s included in our Earth Month toolkit: 

• Volunteering and giving opportunities in the U.S. and around the world.
• In-depth look at specific cause areas, including: climate change, indigenous movements, and disaster resilience 
• A calendar of awareness days in April.
• Employee and employee resource group (ERG) engagement ideas, as well as a walkthrough of how to craft a social impact campaign around Earth Month.
• Recommendations of worthwhile books, podcasts, and films on environmental issues

Preview: “Cause of the Month: Earth Month”

Getting started engaging employees this Earth Month

Top-down environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies cannot meaningfully address climate change and all the challenges facing the planet today. To make a significant and lasting impact, the world's largest organizations are encouraging their employees to be more proactive about identifying sustainable business practices, opportunities to partner with high-impact nonprofits, and more. 

There's a reason why so many social impact leaders from Lemonade to Allianz are turning to all-in-one impact tech for support with their multifaceted ESG efforts. Because if pulling donations, volunteering, and community-building into the same place makes an impact platform more useful, employees will naturally adopt it faster—especially if they're having fun.

Deed is a workplace giving and volunteering platform that puts people first, because user experience shouldn’t stand between you and doing good. We help ESG and CSR teams foster genuine human connection by empowering employees to support causes they care about together in-person and online. Backed by PayPal and a solid infrastructure of trusted payment processors, our Fortune 500 partners support +2 million nonprofits with ease. And together, our community is doing more good deeds everyday at work, at home, in our neighborhoods, and all over the world.

To rally your employees around sustainability, reach out now to claim your copy of our full “Cause of the Month: Earth Month” toolkit.