August is National Make-A-Will Month, a time dedicated to encouraging individuals and families to take an important step toward securing their future: creating or updating a will. According to a caring.com study, only 24% of American adults report having a living will. 

While it may not be the most exciting item on a to-do list, having a will is one of the most meaningful gifts you can leave for the people and causes you care about. A will provides clear instructions for how your assets should be distributed, helps reduce uncertainty for loved ones, and ensures that your wishes are honored. Yet despite its importance, millions of Americans still do not have a will in place.

Many people assume that estate planning is only necessary for those with significant wealth. In reality, anyone who owns property, has financial accounts, has children, or wishes to support specific people or organizations can benefit from having a will. Without one, state laws determine how assets are distributed, which might not reflect your values or intentions.

A will is also an opportunity to think about those values that you want to pass on to future generations. For many nonprofit supporters, charitable giving is an important part of those values. Including a nonprofit organization like Turtle Island Restoration Network in your estate plans is a powerful way to ensure that the causes you care about continue to thrive long after your lifetime. 

Legacy gifts, often called planned gifts, can be structured in many different ways. Some donors choose to leave a specific dollar amount, while others designate a percentage of their estate. Others name a nonprofit as a beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy, or other financial asset. These gifts can be made by individuals of all financial backgrounds, and even a modest bequest can have a significant impact over time.

For Turtle Island Restoration Network, planned gifts are more than future donations. They represent a donor’s enduring commitment to our mission and provide long-term resources that help sustain our programs, expand our capacity to complete hands-on restoration work, and respond to future challenges to environmental protections.

One of Turtle Island Restoration Network’s donors, after years of making annual contributions to environmental conservation efforts, decided to include Turtle Island Restoration Network in his will. He wanted future generations to enjoy healthy ecosystems and thriving wildlife, just as he had throughout his life. His legacy will serve as a reminder that meaningful philanthropy is not measured by the size of a gift, but by the impact it creates. He says “I support your group because one of your goals is to preserve endangered species, such as the leatherback turtle, which might go completely extinct. Plain and simple.”

If you already have a will, National Make-A-Will Month is also an excellent opportunity to review your plans. Major life changes like marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, retirement, relocation, or changes in financial circumstances may warrant updates to your estate documents. Experts generally recommend reviewing your will every few years to ensure it continues to reflect your wishes.

Creating a will can provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones while helping preserve the values that matter most to you. It is a simple but powerful act of stewardship—one that protects your family, honors your intentions, and can create lasting benefits for the causes you have supported throughout your life.

This August, consider taking the time to create or update your will. By planning today, you can leave a legacy of care and generosity that can impact our blue-green planet for generations to come. 

Header photo credit: Ron Wooten.

Our partners, the TERAVARNA Foundation, are turning creativity into conservation through the power of art.

Every brushstroke can tell a story. Every entry can make a difference.

TERAVARNA Foundation invites artists from around the world to participate in the 14th Animal International Juried Art Competition, hosted by TERAVARNA, celebrating the beauty, diversity, and spirit of the animal kingdom through art. Whether your inspiration comes from majestic wildlife, marine life, birds, or beloved companions, this is your opportunity to showcase your creativity on an international stage.

Create art that leaves a lasting impact — both on hearts and on the planet.

As part of the TERAVARNA Foundation’s Art with Impact initiative, 5% of every competition entry fee will be donated to Turtle Island Restoration Network to support its ongoing efforts to protect wildlife and their habitats.

By entering, you’re not only competing for international recognition and cash awards — you are joining a global movement where creativity fuels conservation.

When most people think about supporting their favorite nonprofit organization, the first thought is to make a donation online or write a check. Those gifts are incredibly important – and at Turtle Island Restoration Network, we are grateful for every single one of them. But many supporters are surprised to learn there are other ways to give that can make an even greater impact for the causes they care about!

Whether you’re passionate about protecting sea turtles, preserving coastal habitats, reducing plastic pollution, or ensuring future generations inherit healthy oceans, there are many non-traditional giving options that can help you support conservation.

Give More Through Appreciated Stocks and Investments

If you’ve owned stocks, mutual funds, or other investments that have grown in value, donating them directly to your favorite nonprofit can be one of the most tax-efficient ways to give.

Rather than selling the asset and donating the proceeds, many donors choose to transfer the asset directly. This approach may help reduce capital gains taxes while allowing you to make a larger charitable gift than you might have made with cash alone.

Imagine turning the growth of an investment portfolio into support for sea turtle rescue efforts, community beach cleanups, environmental education programs, or advocacy campaigns that protect marine wildlife and coastal ecosystems. It’s a powerful way to transform financial growth into lasting environmental impact. Check out our webpage about donating stocks, for more information.

Leave a Legacy for the Oceans

Many of our supporters tell us they care deeply about the world they will leave behind for their children and grandchildren. Planned giving offers a meaningful way to turn that vision into action.

A legacy gift can be as simple as including a nonprofit in your will or naming an organization as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy. These gifts don’t require extraordinary wealth. In fact, many planned gifts come from ordinary people who simply want their values to live on.

For marine conservation organizations, legacy gifts help ensure that future generations can experience thriving coastlines, healthy oceans, and abundant wildlife. Long after we’re gone, these gifts continue protecting the places and species we love.

Check out our online tools, to help you take the first steps to plan an estate gift or donate through your retirement account.

Make the Most of Workplace Giving

You may already have an opportunity to increase your impact – through your employer!

Many companies offer matching gift programs, meaning they will match charitable donations made by employees. Others provide payroll giving programs that allow you to make regular contributions directly from your paycheck.

If your employer offers a match, a gift that supports sea turtle conservation today could effectively double in value with just a few minutes of paperwork. Just ask your Human Resources or Management Departments if they have a matching gift program, and double your donation’s impact!

Consider a Donor-Advised Fund

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have become an increasingly popular way for individuals and families to organize their charitable giving.

A DAF allows you to contribute assets, receive an immediate tax benefit, and recommend grants to the nonprofits you care about over time. Many conservation organizations, including Turtle Island Restoration Network, receive critical support through donor-advised fund grants each year.

For donors who want flexibility while maintaining a long-term commitment to ocean conservation, DAFs can be an excellent option. Check out this page for more information about DAFs.

Every Gift Helps Create a Healthier Future

At the end of the day, there is no single way to make a difference. Whether you give through a monthly donation, a gift of stock, a donor-advised fund, an employer match, or a legacy commitment, your generosity helps power meaningful conservation work.

Every rescued sea turtle, every pound of trash removed from a beach, every student inspired through environmental education, and every native plant propagated for habitat restoration work is possible because people choose to invest in a healthier future for our planet.

If you’re interested in exploring any of these giving options, please feel free to reach out to me, TIRN’s Development Manager, Eleni Riccio at ericcio@seaturtles.org. Together, we can find a giving strategy that works for you – and helps ensure that our oceans and marine wildlife continue to thrive for generations to come!

Join the “Oceans Three” – Elizabeth Purcell (Environmental Policy Coordinator), Joanie Steinhaus (Ocean Program Director) and Brittany McWhorter (Gulf of Mexico Program Coordinator) – for an in-depth look at the policies and news that is shaping our blue planet this World Ocean Month on Tuesday, June 30th at 12pm PST / 3pm EST!

Join Turtle Island Restoration Network for our Ocean Month Wrap-Up Webinar, where we’ll review the biggest ocean conservation developments, victories and challenges from the past month. Our team of experts will provide updates on critical federal legislation, recent executive actions affecting marine protected areas and endangered species, as well as ongoing advocacy efforts to defend ocean wildlife. We’ll also share the latest news from our litigation, policy and Washington, D.C. programs, highlighting how supporters helped drive action throughout Ocean Month! Finally, we’ll celebrate the impact of our community – from actions taken to pounds of trash removed from beaches – and preview upcoming opportunities to stay engaged. Don’t miss this chance to catch up on the issues shaping the future of our oceans and learn how you can continue making a difference. We hope to sea you there!

Become a TIRN member today to access exclusive content, like this live webinar, here.

Already a TIRN member? Access your membership portal to sign up for the webinar here.

Click here to purchase your FLOAT X TIRN gear.

On Friday, May 1, 2026, Turtle Island Restoration Network will pause our regular operations in solidarity with the growing call for a general strike and collective action for justice, dignity, and a livable future. Learn about May Day Strong’s Nationwide day of collective action here and how you can join us!

May Day has long represented the struggle for workers’ rights, democratic participation, and human dignity. Born from the labor movement’s fight for the eight-hour workday and carried forward by generations of organizers around the world, May 1 remains a reminder that lasting progress comes when ordinary people act collectively in defense of their communities, their livelihoods, and the future. 

For nearly four decades, Turtle Island Restoration Network has worked to challenge the systems that place profit ahead of the planet. The environmental movement is profoundly connected to the struggle for economic justice, workers’ rights, public health, and human rights.  

TIRN has long recognized this connection. During the 1999 Battle in Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization, we stood alongside labor, Indigenous leaders, environmental advocates, family farmers, and human rights organizers to challenge trade policies that accelerated environmental destruction and undermined democratic accountability. That moment helped demonstrate that environmental protection and social justice are inseparable.

The same systems that exploit oceans, forests, rivers, and wildlife often exploit workers and frontline communities. We see this every day in industrial fishing practices, fossil fuel extraction, and pollution in frontline communities. Environmental justice requires social justice.

By observing this day of solidarity, we are recognizing that meaningful environmental protection depends on people having the power, security, and freedom to advocate for themselves, their communities, and future generations. There is no such thing as a green dictator.

Our staff will return to regular operations on Monday, May 4. During this pause, we encourage our supporters to reflect on the connections between environmental protection and collective action, and to support peaceful efforts that advance justice, sustainability, and democracy.

When people think about supporting environmental conservation, they often picture one-time donations tied to major moments—Earth Day campaigns, disaster relief, or year-end giving. While those contributions matter deeply – and we are always grateful to receive them – but there’s another form of support that quietly fuels some of the most effective, sustained conservation work happening today: monthly giving.

A monthly donation might seem small on its own, but it has a huge impact. Recurring giving is one of the most powerful ways individuals can protect nature; by providing sustainable gifts to an organization like Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN), we can use your support to project annual revenue, plan ahead for restoration projects and marine conservation work, and create a long-term, organizational strategy for growth.

Nature Needs Consistency, Not Just Urgency

Nature doesn’t operate on a campaign calendar. Marine species don’t face threats only during headline-making crises. Climate change doesn’t pause between fundraising pushes.

Environmental challenges are constant—and our response must be constant, too.

Monthly giving creates a steady, reliable stream of support that allows us to plan long-term conservation strategies, respond quickly to emerging threats, and sustain critical programs without interruption. Instead of reacting to crises, nonprofits like TIRN can stay ahead of them.

Small Gifts, Big Impact

One of the most common misconceptions about monthly giving is that it requires a large financial commitment. In reality, even modest monthly donations add up in powerful ways:

• $10/month can support ongoing monitoring and protection of our restoration sites, such as Redwood Creek and Chicken Ranch Beach in Marin County, CA.
• $25/month can help restore native habitats over time, like our beach clean-up and marine debris surveys on the Gulf coast.
• $50/month can fund advocacy efforts that drive systemic environmental change, such as our opposition to the ever-expanding fossil fuel industries.

When combined with the contributions of others, these recurring gifts become a dependable force for good. What feels manageable for one person becomes transformative at scale.

A Simpler, More Meaningful Way to Give

Monthly giving also benefits donors themselves; it removes the pressure of making large, one-time contributions and replaces it with a manageable, ongoing commitment.

Instead of parting with a large gift all at once, your smaller monthly gift will add up over time, and not break the bank! This shift makes generosity more accessible—and often more meaningful.

Responding Faster When It Matters Most

Environmental threats can escalate quickly—illegal deforestation, pollution events, and climate-driven disasters often require immediate action.

For example, TIRN and our partners recently sued the Trump Administration’s approval of BP’s Kaskida drilling project in the Gulf, which was announced exactly 16 Years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. 

With a strong base of monthly support, we are equipped to respond in real time to environmental attacks like this. We don’t have to wait for emergency fundraising appeals in order to take action. We can – and do – act decisively, knowing we have the support of a dedicated community behind us.

Join the Movement

Protecting nature is a year-round responsibility. Our monthly sustainers help Turtle Island Restoration Network turn that responsibility into action, transforming small, consistent contributions into lasting environmental impact.

If you’re looking for a way to make a real difference, consider becoming a monthly donor today. Because when it comes to protecting our planet, consistency is everything!

By Stella Little, Communications Intern

To me, Earth Day has always been a reminder not to take things for granted. Whether that’s recognizing big things like the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we walk upon, or smaller joys like a visit to a local park or a cool dip in the ocean, Earth Day calls us into the present. 

In the same breath, Earth Day urges us to look beyond our day-to-day. Its origins mobilizing millions after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill remind us that it’s not just a single day of action, but an invitation to a larger movement. 

At first, this invitation can be an overwhelming letter to receive: “Dear human, please join us in the face of endless obstacles to sustain movement all year round that will foster the long-term changes we wish to see in the world.” At this point you may feel lost as to how you, one person, can impact climate change’s current trajectory. I myself have spent many days in this sorrow, a vastness filled not only with my ecological grief, but a sense of helplessness and loneliness that was just as potent. In time I opened my eyes, I reached out, and I connected, and it brought me to my first lesson: 

Step 1: Remember you are not in this work alone. 

Welcome to the first stage of your activation. By heeding Earth’s invitation, you are joining a network of leaders worldwide fighting for a just, resilient future for all beings. Lean on this community as you embrace all your emotions, fearful and fantastic, because they will fuel your activism fire. Challenges that once felt impossible as an individual, are invigorating and surmountable together. The environmental movement needs every mind, every skillset, and every pair of hands at its disposal. Let’s begin!

Step 2: Consistency > Quantity 

Whether this Earth Day marks years of your dedication and energy, or is just the beginning of your journey, let it be a reminder that your time and engagement matters, no matter how great or small. Sometimes over committing yourself too quickly leads to burnout which can dissuade future action. Seek balance and be mindful of times when you need to take care of yourself – humans need to be sustainable, too! 

Step 3: Speak up and speak out! 

As you nurture your activism, call in your community! Empower yourself and those around you to be Earth Day allies. Share this invitation, and with it your knowledge, your skills, your inspirations. Talk to your neighbors about composting, volunteer to lead an environmental justice workshop, donate to causes you feel strongly about. 

At TIRN, we believe in the power of our collective network. That’s why this Earth Day, we are launching our newest and most accessible membership – “Network Advocate” – an opportunity to join our community and be witness to the incredible impacts we create together.

I know I found my antidote to climate anxiety through action. This Earth Day is a reminder to keep showing up. Let’s accept Earth’s invitation and keep getting our hands dirty, knowing that we are a part of something much greater than any one person: a momentum that will carry forth to future generations, protecting the blue-green planet we all call home.