Not too long ago there was a diary that, with good reason, criticized the company CREDO for a statement they made accusing Obama of adopting a "loser" mentality. I agreed with the specific criticism but pointed out that overall I have been happy with CREDO and think they do good things. My brother, who is far more progressive than I am, agrees with me.
CREDO announced this last week the recipients of their annual donations. This year they donated, based on the usage of their credit card, long distance and cell phone services, more than $2.5 million to progressive causes. See below the fold for why I greatly prefer using CREDO over any other long distance company.
I have had a CREDO credit card for almost as long as it has existed (originally called Working Assets). It used to be independent, but now is offered through Bank of America. I have to admit that I am conflicted between the good CREDO does and the bad BofA does, so I don't use my CREDO credit card as much as I used to...but I am not sure my Discover or USAA cards are better from a progressive point of view.
In terms of long distance service (the other service of theirs I use) I know of no better alternative that is in line with my values.
Now here are $2,680,211 worth of reasons I feel good being a CREDO customer:
In 2009, CREDO Mobile members helped raise $2,680,211 for nonprofit groups working to change the world. Members voted on how to distribute the donations to the progressive organizations working for social change. Here’s how members voted to distribute the donations to each organization last year:
Environment
$39,398 Center for Environmental Health
$82,285 Defenders of Wildlife
$39,092 Green for All
$34,497 Grist Magazine
$104,189 Natural Resources Defense Council
$48,895 Oceana
$67,734 Rainforest Action Network
$82,745 Union of Concerned Scientists
$51,958 Vote Solar Initiative
$70,492 Wilderness Society
Civil Rights
$98,215 ACLU
$27,451 American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
$64,824 Americans United for Separation of Church and State
$42,462 Center for Constitutional Rights
$57,779 Electronic Frontier Foundation
$58,545 Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
$47,057 Innocence Project
$71,870 NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation
$40,164 National Immigration Law Center
$108,783 Planned Parenthood (affiliates)
Economic and Social Justice
$47,057 Center for Investigative Reporting
$30,668 Center for Responsible Lending
$86,267 Democracy Now!
$30,974 Families USA
$76,618 Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest)
$36,795 Free Press
$40,318 Girls Inc.
$35,109 Jobs With Justice
$38,326 National Center for Science Education
$27,451 National Employment Law Project
Peace & International Freedom
$26,685 Abraham Fund
$39,092 Engineers Without Borders
$57,166 Global Fund for Women
$38,939 Grameen Foundation
$66,509 Human Rights Watch
$38,939 Mercy Corps
$70,185 Oxfam America
$39,398 Ploughshares Fund
$34,191 Room to Read
$54,103 Women for Women International
Voting Rights & Civic Participation
$25,000 Advancement Project
$29,596 Brave New Foundation
$29,596 Brennan Center for Justice
$46,750 Color of Change
$25,307 Democracia U.S.A.
$46,138 Media Matters for America
$36,182 Project Vote
$35,722 Public Campaign
$34,344 Sentencing Project
$36,488 Women's Voices. Women Vote
On a personal note, some of my favorite organizations are represented here and, if you don't already donate, I highly suggest donations to the following organizations:
Global Fund for Women (one of the best groups ever!)
National Center for Science Education (also kick-ass)
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (more important than ever!)
Union of Concerned Scientists (also more important than ever!!!)
Project Vote
Media Matters for America
Brennan Center for Justice
In addition to their excellent donations, CREDO also has important action alerts. Now I don't agree with each and every one of their action alerts, but here are some current ones that I think are great:
This is how we stop Blackwater for good.
Progressives for Haiti
Stop a brazen attack on science and the Clean Air Act
And CREDO did a great deal in 2008 to win the election. From their website:
To further strengthen our democracy in the run-up to the 2008 election, we helped 2.5 million Americans register to vote and organized our landmark Election Protection program of volunteers, who fanned out across the U.S. to monitor polls and guarantee free and fair elections.
CREDO also offsets it's carbon footprint through Carbonfund.org.
Those of us who feel where our money goes should match our values, there are always tough decisions. For both my credit card and my long distance (I remain as semi-Luddite and refuse to have a cell phone!) I prefer using a company that focuses on action alerts like this, offset their carbon through a responsible group like Carbonfund and give donations like those listed above. I don't expect to always agree with CREDO/Working Assets. But I like what they do and will continue to use their services.