3 Free-Market Environmental Groups To Support on Earth Day

My first full time job out of college was working in development for a free-market think tank. After leaving that position, the lessons I learned about philanthropy and the importance of crafting the culture we want to see through financial support have stuck with me. Philanthropy is highlighted at America’s Future too as the organization encourages us to work toward establishing the free and thriving society that we want to pass down to future  generations. 

We are a short time away from Earth Day 2021, which means it’s a perfect time to focus on the free-market organizations working on  new environmental policy and solutions. Want to help cultivate the solutions you would like to see here and work toward a better environment? Here are three key organizations to support as this Earth Day: 

Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) 

PERC was  founded by outdoorsy economists in 1980. And in the decades since, they have advocated for  improving the environment  through property rights and markets instead of using heavy-handed regulation. One of their greatest goals is to build a culture of environmental entrepreneurship and replace the conflict that is so commonly found in environmental issues with mutual cooperation. 

Their researchers work to put forth results-focused conservation policies that would remove some of the regulatory barriers toward developing a better environment for tomorrow. A blend of research and outreach, PERC’s ideas have started causing great environmental outcomes worldwide. You can find most of their work highlighted on  their Ideas in Action Map. 

Click here to learn more about PERC, or visit their donation page here.  

Washington Policy Center (WPC)

While not strictly an environmental organization, the research being done by free-market think tank Washington Policy Center’s environmental arm shouldn’t be overlooked. WPC’s Center for the Environment functions under the firm belief that human progress and prosperity can work alongside free markets to promote a healthy and properly protected environment. To that end, they are willing to propose solutions that are seen as unorthodox within the environmental community, such as their proposals for maintaining orca and salmon levels in Puget Sound. 

You can learn more about the Center for the Environment’s proposed policies here, or check out the donation page here. 

American Conservation Coalition (ACC)

Full disclosure on this one – I’m on the ACC team. So trust me when I say that you will be hard-pressed to find a better team of young people so committed to environmentalism and the free-market . ACC works on Capitol Hill, with  college campuses, and around the country to advocate for free-market, pro-business, limited government solutions. The goal is to change the environmental narrative to one where economic and environmental success goes  hand-in-hand. We want all Americans and stakeholders to feel empowered to take environmental action. 

You can learn more about ACC here, or click here to head to their donation page. 

The free-market and environmentalism can be allies. We just need the solutions to get us there. This Earth Day, exercise your philanthropy and support the organizations working toward this goal.