Giving With Purpose: The Nia Team’s Giving Tuesday Nonprofit Picks
- Nia Impact Capital Team
- Nov 25
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
In the midst of the shopping frenzies that often surround the holiday season, Giving Tuesday stands as a powerful reminder of the reason for the season. At Nia we appreciate the nonmaterial community aspect of the season and encourage individuals and firms to step away from the whirlwind of shopping and materialism to focus on giving to non profits that now, more than ever, need our support.
Raising Awareness and Building Community
The purpose of the Nia Impact Capital employee giving program is to support and serve the communities in which we live and work. The intention is to participate in giving forward, supporting community organizations and to allow Nia employees to share in that effort. With our staff spread across the nation, we each give to organizations doing important work within our local communities.
Each Nia staff member and strategic advisor receives $1,000 to donate to nonprofits working on a cause that is personally important to them. This year our grants range from organizations addressing complex issues like racial discrimination, supporting Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ rights, gender inequity, and access to healthcare, to clean air and water. Each year we gather together to share our chosen organizations, as an opportunity to learn more about important nonprofit groups as well as about our passions outside of work.
Here are just a few of our staff picks for 2025 and why our staff support these worthy organizations:
“This year, I felt drawn to give to the East Texas Food Bank and People Attempting to Help (PATH) because of the uncertainty many are facing due to the halts of SNAP benefits and other aid during the ongoing government shutdown. Supporting these local organizations that make a real difference in my community feels the most meaningful. At the East Texas Food Bank, every dollar donated can provide up to five meals.
Some statistics about East Texas: 18% of adults live in poverty, 26% of children experience food insecurity, 35% of children are in single-parent families, and the average household income is just over $45,000.”
—Nicole Dodson, Director of Operations and Client Relationships
“I chose to support two organizations dedicated to advancing the rights of Indigenous peoples — the Navajo in California and the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen of Oklahoma. Upholding Indigenous sovereignty and ensuring equitable access to resources are essential steps in addressing environmental racism.”
—Paloma Mate-Kodjo, Communications and Operations Associate
“I chose to donate to The Trevor Project because I truly believe in the positive impact they have on the queer community. Their crisis prevention resources, like the Trevor Lifeline, and educational tools, such as the Trevor Survival Kit, are vital for guiding LGBTQ+ youth through tough times, and I want to help expand this support to those who need it most.”
—Samantha Brown, Compliance and Operations Associate
“The founder Sharon Wilson, uses Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) to show the pollution and methane being released from the natural gas industry in the Texas oilfields. The pollution is invisible until she shows it to us using OGI. She is a woman of grit and perseverance. It takes a special type of determination to continue to do this without seeing any improvements day after day, year after year. I want to shine a light on Sharon and her small but mighty team's work so that more people can be educated by someone who lives on the front lines.
Sharon is featured in a documentary that premiered at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival and she is also in a new documentary featuring Jane Fonda called Gaslit.”
—Holly Lichtenfeld, Chief Marketing Officer and Sustainability Advisor
Other Staff Picks
Since 2000, The Mosaic Project has provided over 68,000 children and 22,500 adults with immersive, experiential education programs in equity, empathy, and effective communication across differences. The Mosaic Project teaches people, from elementary school students to adults in the workplace, the skills they need to build the peaceful communities they envision.
Movement Voter Project is a one-stop shop for strategically investing in local organizations that win elections and transform policy. MVP supports year-round, on-the-ground organizing groups with a focus on youth, voters of color, immigrant voters, LGBTQ+ voters, and others who bear the brunt of injustice in the United States. Year-round local organizing wins pivotal elections, builds power that lasts, and fuels policy change — and if you want to fund local organizing, MVP makes it easy.
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. Through the practices of rematriation, cultural revitalization, and land restoration, Sogorea Te’ calls on Native and non-native peoples to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do. Nia is part of a growing movement of businesses committing to annually paying the Shuumi Land Tax to support the Ohlone community and the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.
Since 1985, Alameda County Community Food Bank has partnered with the community to distribute millions of healthy meals every year. They partner with nearly 400 pantries and other organizations in the community where 1 in 4 residents experience hunger.
The Women’s Health Specialists are dedicated to providing women-controlled health care and advocating for all options for women. They promote a positive perspective of women’s bodies and health and provide tools for women to become knowledgeable about their life stages. With locations in Chico, Redding, and Grass Valley, these clinics work to empower women through educational programming, advocacy, community partnerships, and health care services.
Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has had the mission to unite people to protect America’s wild places. They have led the effort to permanently protect nearly 112 million acres of wilderness in 44 states. With a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the organization works to embody the cultures and perspectives of people and communities across the nation to connect and inspire everyone to care about the outdoors.
The Romero Institute focuses on local and statewide solutions to confront the global climate crisis in California. The institute partners with frontline communities to oppose toxic infrastructure, amplify underrepresented voices, and seek policy remedies to help protect people and planet.
Founded by three Black women, the mission of The Wellness Collaborative is to provide education to promote sustainable personal and community health. They offer workshops, consultations, and training for health care service organizations, provider groups, and employers in any sector.
15/10 is based in Charleston, WV and is committed to making shelter dogs with medical needs much more adoptable. The Foundation fills a void in the animal welfare world by sponsoring dogs with behavioral or medical issues unlikely to ever make it out of the shelter, making it more likely these pets will find their forever home.
A Call for a More Just Future
For Nia staff, Giving Tuesday is about taking a stand against the prevailing culture of consumerism that often obscures the pressing needs of marginalized communities. This day offers a chance to redefine what it means to celebrate in community this time of year. This day provides an opportunity to show up and to create a future where justice and equity are not just ideals, they are realities.
We hope we’ve inspired you to make Giving Tuesday part of your holiday routine. As we reflect on the power of collective giving, it’s clear that this day holds significant potential to transform lives and advance equity for all.
Important Disclosure
The views presented here are those of Nia Impact Capital (“Nia”) and these views may be subject to change. All information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, yet Nia does not certify the accuracy or completeness of this information.