Innovation makes the world go around, so why not crowdfund it? The best thinkers and ideamakers are the those who can make collective progress, so if we support their causes, projects, and ideas, we can be a part of bettering the future of our planet.


Maybe you don’t know what causes you care about yet, or maybe you’re still searching. Consider this a guide of the goodness you can get behind. Take a look at GOOD’s curated Kickstarter page, which we’ll be updating regularly, and check back every Saturday for a round up of our favorite projects from the crowdfunding world.

5 Days to Go: What’s Cooking in Berlin: Workshops and Blogs About Healthy, Affordable Eating

Statistics show that in the United States and Europe, almost half of the food produced is wasted and thrown away, and worldwide it is as much as 30 percent. That puts the annual food waste at a shocking 1.3 billion tons – or enough to feed 3 billion people. What’s Cooking in Berlin is a workshop and blog that will teach people how to plan their meals, grocery shop in a smarter way, cook more mindfully, and reinvent left overs instead of throwing them away. Read more from co-founder Sara Anderson.

6 Days to Go: Live Unchained: A Powerful Platform for Female Artists in the African Diaspora

Women of African descent have consistently challenged limited understandings of blackness, femininity, sexuality, and nationality. Live Unchained is an arts, media, blogging, and events organization that was born out of the desire to preserve, share, and honor the diverse voices and experiences of black women across continents. Now, they’re producing an awards ceremony called “Terrifying, Strange & Beautiful” to honor the artists on their platform. Read more from co-founder Kathryn Buford.

10 Days to Go Going Public: A Documentary About Public Education in America

Public Education is the last bastion of democracy and if we don’t stop the “reform” movement we’ll be back to “Separate, but Equal” before we know it. But it’s not too late. The conversation can be re-framed and this documentary can start that process. Read more from nonprofit organization Going Public.

17 Days to Go: Loud Silence Media: Stories Directly from the Frontlines of Accra, Ghana

Loud Silence Media is innovating journalism in Africa by bringing you guerilla-made stories directly from the frontlines. Although media culture is rich in Accra, Ghana, LSM plans to change how they reach audiences, both on TV and online.

24 Days to Go: Bacteriography: Photographs Grown in Bacteria

Zachary Copher processes photographs using bacteria in an effort to highlight our bi-polar relationship with it. Although our society over sanitizes, we rely on probiotics to replace killed bacteria. Back an innovative, scientific art project that will start a conversation.

26 Days to Go: The World’s Best Olive Oil Recipes

Jason Gibb and Cathy Rogers have their own olive oil farm in Italy where you can even adopt one of their trees. Now they plan to share the simplest and best olive oil recipes from around the world. Support a project that will inform olive oil lovers about how to make good food. Read more from co-founder Jason Gibb.

Here’s a success story that wouldn’t hurt to add a little crowdfunding to:

30 Days to Go: Smart Herb Garden by Click and Grow

Click and Grow has created the easiest indoor garden to use with nanotechnology and LED lights that provide plant roots with the right amount of oxygen, water, and nutrients at any time. Support a project that could bring gardens into any city home. Read more from founder Mattias Lepp.

Tell us what projects you’re getting behind in the comments below. Push progress forward, and do it for our collective good.

Click here to add crowdfunding projects you can care about to your To-Do list.

Illustration by Jessica De Jesus

  • ‘But you already helped me’: Elderly woman floored as landscaper reveals $625K GoFundMe in her name
    Photo credit: Photo credt: SB MowingSpencer mowed her lawn for free and changed her life.

    An elderly woman in Wichita, Kansas who was experiencing hard times has now found hope in the kindness of others. It first started when a local landscaper decided to mow and clean up her overgrown lawn for free. Since then, she’s been given $625,000 in donations (and counting!) to help address her needs and raise her spirits.

    It all started with Spencer B. of SB Mowing, a lawn care and pressure washing company. Spencer (who wishes his last name be omitted) runs his business both as a mower and as a content creator. He often offers his services for free to the elderly and veterans who cannot afford the upkeep of their lawns.

    Spencer visited the elderly woman, Debbie, after Zach, her Uber driver, contacted him. Zach had seen how much she was struggling on her own and wanted to help. As Spencer and his dad cut Debbie’s lawn and cleared debris, they heard her story. 

    Debbie’s grief and relief

    Debbie had been the full-time caregiver for her ailing husband until he died from stage four pancreatic cancer. Since then, her grief and other factors had prevented her from keeping up her home, lawn, and her own health. Struggle upon struggle was placed upon her.

    “While she was grieving, she was also being taken advantage of,” Spencer wrote on Debbie’s GoFundMe. “A contractor took a $2,000 deposit for tree work and never showed up. A neighbor wrecked her car and didn’t pay for it. She fell three months behind on rent, put off dental and health care she genuinely needs, and there were days when she and her dogs went without food because she simply couldn’t afford it.”

    Aside from free lawn care, Spencer decided to help Debbie get back on track. He and his dad bought everything from Debbie’s yard sale and donated it all to Habitat for Humanity to get her some cash in hand. Spencer also paid three months of Debbie’s back rent through his non-profit organization SB Mow It Forward.

    Strangers donated to Debbie

    Spencer then set up a GoFundMe for Debbie and shared her story. Within three days, friends and strangers alike donated over $625,000. Donations continue to roll in as of this writing. All of the money will be put into a trust for Debbie to use for essentials, medical care, dental care, and to help her transition to a senior living community when she is ready.

    Spencer shared a video of him telling Debbie this news. She was floored when she found out that around 40 million people had seen the video of Spencer cleaning up her yard, and she had no idea he had set up a GoFundMe.

    “I thought you already helped me,” Debbie said, welling with emotion. “I can’t believe it. How can people be so generous to help a stranger?”

    With tears in her eyes, Debbie thanked Spencer, Zach, and all the 13,000 people who had donated to help her. Spencer even made a video to highlight Zach, as he was the one who brought Debbie’s troubles to Spencer’s attention.

    SB Mowing’s history of helping neighbors

    This isn’t the only time Spencer’s deeds have made headlines. In 2024, he had raised $242,000 for a pet rescue that treated a cat he found while mowing a lawn. In 2025, he raised $850,000 to help Beth, an elderly woman in need of financial aid and accessibility care.

    A lot of good can happen if we check in on our neighbors (and maybe offer to cut their lawns) every once in a while.

  • Solar-powered boat feasts on trash and could solve the ocean’s plastic waste problem
    Photo credit: Ocean Cleanup on YouTubeThe Interceptor boat-barge could significantly clean our waters.

    Our oceans have a plastic problem. While it’s difficult to put a 100% accurate number on it, scientists estimated about 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste entered the ocean in 2010 alone according to the journal Science. This issue has caused scientists and engineers to create a boat-barge in Los Angeles that skims the oceans to gobble up the plastic we leave behind.

    Devised by the non-profit Ocean Cleanup organization, the garbage-gulping Interceptor boat-barge is actually a smaller platform nestled within a larger boat. A floating barrier moves collected trash into the device onto a conveyor belt. An automatic shuttle then collects the trash from the conveyor to send it to a separate barge where there are six dumpsters to hold it. The solar-powered system can hold up to 20,000 lbs. of garbage. The trash is then separated into different categories (plastics, metal, etc.) so they can be disposed of responsibly.

    Catching ocean trash from the source

    Ocean Cleanup hopes to make a dent cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean. However, they decided to first attack the plastic ocean problem at its source: rivers. When it rains, a lot of trash from the hills and valleys washes down into the nearest river. While there is significant ocean trash taken from beaches, they have found that the lion’s share of garbage that floats into our oceans actually comes from rivers and tributaries that lead into it. Essentially, the plan is to get ocean trash before it even enters the ocean.

    “We have to turn the faucet off before we can scoop the ocean, or else all we’re doing is taking out legacy trash to replace it with new trash,” James Patterson, the operations manager of Ocean Cleanup said to The Guardian. “Before you can clean out the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, you really need to turn off the source.”

    How the Interceptor is helping Los Angeles and beyond

    There is an Interceptor already doing its work at the mouth of Ballona Creek in Culver City, California. Since 2025, the Interceptor has prevented 143,710 lbs. of trash from entering the ocean via the creek. As a bonus, the Interceptor’s trash sweeping has lowered government budgets for beach grooming. Since there is less trash, the beach doesn’t need to be cleaned as often.

    There are two more Interceptors planned to be at the mouths of the San Gabriel River and the Los Angeles River. This can help clean up the rivers for the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics for aquatic events.

    There are currently 21 Interceptor systems throughout the globe. Countries using them include Indonesia, Vietnam, Jamaica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Malaysia.

    If this is an issue that speaks to you, you can help even if you don’t live near an ocean. There may be a nearby river or creek that could benefit from volunteer cleanups. Do some research to find an organization near you to volunteer. If you can’t locate one, groups like River Cleanup can help you organize your own group. Much like how a small drop contributes to a large ocean, a small pick-up can make a big difference.

  • While exploring trails, two friends rescue missing woman trapped in a mud puddle for 3 days
    Photo credit: KARE11 News on YouTubeAdam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin found a woman who was missing for three days.

    In Minnesota, 68-year-old Kathryn Woessner got out of her van and fell into a puddle beside it. The pool of mud was so deep that Woessner couldn’t get herself out; she compared it to quicksand. She was almost completely submerged, stuck in it for three days until two men spotted her and saved her life.

    The two men, Adam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin, were riding their all-terrain vehicles nearby. On a whim, the two friends decided to ride on a trail that they hadn’t explored before that had been flooded. That’s when they spotted Woessner’s van in a clearing. 

    ‘Help me’

    Sandbeck and Gravalin went in to get a closer look. Next to the van, they saw what they thought was a corpse buried in the mud except for part of the face poking upward. That’s when they heard Woessner’s weak voice say, “Help me.” 

    Shocked at first, Sandbeck and Gravalin quickly went into action. It took them less than half an hour to pull Woessner out of mud and check in on her. They then called 911 to get volunteer firefighters, paramedics, and police to the scene for help. The tracking device on one of their vehicles helped provide coordinates to their location. Woessner explained to her saviors that she was stuck on her back, resulting in a serious sunburn on her face as she tried to yell for help for days.

    Woessner was taken to Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center where she is expected to make a full recovery. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Woessner’s family were relieved, as she was officially reported missing for three days. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office thanked the other agencies that aided in the search and rescue of Woessner in a Facebook post.

    The two friends were ‘guided’ there

    While they were rightfully praised for their actions, Gravalin and Sandbeck say they were at the right place at the right time. In fact, they almost wouldn’t have found Woessner at all. Had they decided to take their vehicles on their usual routes, Woessner might not have survived.

    “We ain’t heroes,” Sandbeck told KARE 11 News. “We’re just two guys that were out there riding, enjoying the day together, making fun of each other all day long like we always do, like buddies, but I have no doubt the hand of God was there guiding us there. Because that trail that we found her on, we actually drove past it.”

    “We’ve driven past it for the last eight years and never went down,” added Gravalin. “And it was like, let’s go check that out,” Sandbeck added. “So we actually turned around and drove back down it.”

    Regardless of reason, it was good for Woessner that they decided to take a detour.

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