How 1% for the Planet Members can put their products, skills and time to work for nonprofit impact partners
For nonprofits like WILDCOAST, a 1% for the Planet Impact Partner focused on ocean conservation, the most powerful corporate support isn’t always cash.
The organization’s partnership with 1% for the Planet Member Pure Project—a San Diego-based brewery with the tagline “beer for good”—is a testament to this. Pure Project has supported WILDCOAST with essential monetary contributions as well as high-value in-kind support: Last year, a Pure Project beer called Noc-Turtle spotlighted the critically endangered eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtle. This year, a brew called Baja Breach is raising awareness about the gray whale. Through these collaborations—and also by donating cases for WILDCOAST events—Pure Project maximizes the nonprofit's reach and recruits new champions for conservation.
"In-kind support is so vital to our organization," says Ann Wycoff, Senior Director of Development at WILDCOAST. "It helps us amplify our mission and find new ambassadors and champions of the environment."
In nearly 25 years of certifying corporate philanthropy, 1% for the Planet has long understood that nonprofits need more than money to thrive. To scale, they also need infrastructure, relationships, skilled labor and tools.
Because of this, we recently updated our model to unlock the full potential of in-kind support across our network. Members can now meet their entire 1% commitment using any mix of cash and in-kind contributions—with no caps on in-kind amounts. This shift recognizes a basic truth: Every nonprofit's needs are different, and the nonprofit itself is the best judge of what support it needs to succeed. Under the evolved model, nonprofits decide how much in-kind support to accept from members, and 1% for the Planet provides the third-party certification that validates that impact is real, rigorous and accountable.
How pro-bono services unlock capacity for nonprofits
Our robust cohort of professional services & B2B members are well-positioned to provide skilled services (from consulting and staffing to marketing support and more) that nonprofits may not have the in-house capacity for or the budget to outsource.
Member Significa looks for impact partners whose mission can be bolstered through its unique service offerings as a digital design and website development company. In 2025, Significa provided impact partner Smart Shelter Foundation with an eight-month brand and website redesign project.
“Smart Shelter Foundation had 20 years of proven impact—their earthquake-resilient school designs remained standing after the 2015 Nepal earthquakes while others collapsed—but a brand and website that didn’t reflect that credibility,” explains Significa’s Chief Experience Officer, Alec Norton. “The new site gives them a digital presence that matches their expertise and makes their work legible to very different audiences at once.”
The partnership led to clear, measurable success: After launch, the nonprofit received more than 100 workshop applications in just a few days—more than they’d ever seen before.
The key to a successful in-kind services partnership is to listen to and learn from your impact partner, says Norton: “Smart Shelter Foundation understood their community far better than we did, and the best design decisions we made came from translating their existing knowledge into a clearer digital form.”
Making a difference with physical products
In-kind goods are another way to meaningfully support nonprofit impact partners.
Since 2022, member Earth Breeze has contributed nearly 50 million loads of laundry detergent to impact partner Conscious Alliance. “We donate laundry detergent sheets to them to help support their mission of feeding communities in need by bringing food and other essential goods directly to economically isolated communities across the country,” says Brand Manager Sarah Armstrong. “Our compact and eco-friendly design allows this hygiene product to be used nearly anywhere, increasing accessibility for anyone—even those without a washer.”
This form of in-kind support was also a win-win for member Adios Plastic and impact partner National Animal Welfare Trust, which received pro-bono loose poo bag rolls. “The animal centers got free poo bags, which as a charity helped save on overhead, and we got to use our surplus stock and prevent wastage,” says Adios Plastic’s Abbie Surridge.
Putting your team to work for people and planet
Corporate volunteering gives members a hands-on way to forge deeper connections with impact partners while directly supporting community-led environmental work. It can also positively influence employee engagement.
Nonprofits in our network, like Bike East Bay, gain critical capacity from this type of member support.
"Volunteer support from 1% for the Planet Members has made a huge impact for Bike East Bay, especially support from our amazing partners at GU Energy Labs,” says Rebecca Saltzman, Co-Executive Director of Development and Engagement. “Every year several GU staff volunteer for Bike to Wherever Day, helping pack bags to hand out to people biking and hosting an ‘energizer station’ community hub to hand out bags and goodies to people biking. GU also hosts our annual Summer Brake party in their backyard—an opportunity for Bike East Bay's community to gather and get more involved with our advocacy and education efforts."
How to find in-kind partnerships
Whether providing pro-bono services, donating essential products or dedicating employee volunteer hours, in-kind contributions offer incredible opportunities to drive measurable impact with the resources you have.
By giving businesses the freedom to leverage their unique skills, products and passions alongside cash gifts, we are building a more accessible and resilient movement. Whether you're a member ready to activate your team or an impact partner seeking specific support, meaningful environmental action starts with collaboration.
If you have a specific offering or need, look for a match in our Partnership Exchange, a dedicated Slack workspace that allows our members and impact partners to connect around opportunities. Think: An impact partner posts that they are in need of PR support for an upcoming launch, and a PR agency in the network steps up to provide it. Or a gear brand posts that they have 100 sleeping bags to contribute, and an outdoor education nonprofit claims them to use for an upcoming youth expedition.
Click here to request to join the Partnership Exchange (available only for current members and impact partners). We also offer a weekly digest email featuring the latest opportunities.
Guidance for nonprofit impact partners:
- Be proactive and strategic in your asks: With more than 4,000 member businesses across dozens of industries, the possibilities for specific, targeted in-kind support are endless. Take stock of your existing resources and any gaps that need filling or gifts that could move the needle for you. Is it a large food or beverage donation for an upcoming fundraiser? Pro-bono legal support? Professional videos or photos for your website? Whatever it is, post it to the Partnership Exchange. It’s always worth asking!
- Evaluate inbound proposals for alignment: Remember that you have full autonomy over the support you wish to receive. If a member’s proposed contribution does not support your mission or align with your gift-giving policies, you aren’t required to accept it. The key here is to find good-fit partnerships that deliver value to your organization.
Guidance for members:
- Leverage your resources: You are now allowed to meet your entire 1% commitment with in-kind contributions to nonprofit impact partners, should you choose to. (Note that contributions to enterprise impact partners, meanwhile, can only be monetary.)
- Explore your options: Start by identifying which forms of in-kind contributions you’d like to offer. You can certify volunteer hours, in-kind products and pro-bono services toward your commitment.
- Find a match: If you don’t find a partner in the Partnership Exchange, browse our directory. Reach out to your selected nonprofit impact partner directly to inquire about their need for your contribution. Nonprofit impact partners will always need to consent to receiving in-kind contributions.
- Upload the documentation: After your in-kind contribution has been completed, upload your official contribution receipt from the nonprofit impact partner in the Member Portal so that it can count toward your 1% commitment.
- Know how it’s valued: Every hour and every product is backed by a rigorous, World-Bank-indexed fair market value framework. 1% for the Planet tracks the value the partner receives, not just what the member spends. For volunteer time, we use a standardized three-tier framework anchored to the Independent Sector’s U.S. baseline and adjusted via the World Bank Price Level Ratio (PLR). Valuation is anchored to the impact partner’s location, and requires verified nonprofit impact partner acknowledgement.
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