NASA recently released a new high-res image of the Earth, nicknamed the "Blue Marble 2012," after the original image taken during the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. The photo was compiled from images photographed by the Suomi NPP.

The satellite was designed to help improve weather forecasts and collect data to increase scientists' understanding of long-term climate change. It will also monitor air pollution, natural disasters and the health of the ozone layer.

This spectacular photo reminds us of the beauty of our home planet and why it is important to take care of the earth and its inhabitants.

If your organization is involved in conservation or other environmental issues, you might be interested in the following grant opportunities:

Constellation Energy Seeking Applications for EcoStar Environmental Stewardship Project Grant Program

Constellation Energy’s EcoStar Grant program provides qualifying nonprofit organizations with funds for community-based projects that fit into one or more ...

---

 

Love With Food, an online service that sends its subscribers a box of yummy sample products every month, is vowing to combat child hunger with every sample box bought.

Each month, subscribers to the recently launched service will receive a box of at least five gourmet products. For every $14 box a foodie orders, Love With Food will donate one meal to No Kid Hungry, a food bank operating across the U.S.

If the samples are a hit, you can return to the site to buy a full-size version of the products. Love With Food will donate an additional meal for every full-sized product purchased.

Founder Aihui Ong, a former software engineer in Silicon Valley, started the company because she believes companies can help to solve the world’s biggest problems.

“I really wanted to break up with technology, because I was really sick of dealing with code,” she ...

---

 

Binge drinking has become a nationwide problem, with more than 38 million adults binge drinking about 4 times a month, according to a report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women in a short time period. According to the study, the average number of drinks per binge was 8.

Overindulging causes 80,000 deaths in the country each year and is associated with automobile crashes, violence, and sexually-transmitted disease. Heavy drinkers cost the U.S. economy $223.5 billion in 2006, through health care expenses, crime and lost productivity.

“We’re talking about a risk behavior that’s quite widespread in the population,” said Robert Brewer, an epidemiologist at the CDC, according to BusinessWeek.com. “And where people have the impression it’s not such a ...

---

 

If you've ever been on Twitter, then you probably know what a hashtag is. For those new to the social media site, a hashtag is a keyword prefixed by the hash symbol (#) that is used to mark and identify relevant tweets for people following a particular topic or movement.

Non-profit organizations can benefit from the use of hashtags in several ways: to share information, to connect participants at events and conferences, to build movements and to advocate for a cause.

For example, the hashtag #socialgood is added to tweets discussing a topic related to social good, while tags like #charitytuesday enable you to share your favorite nonprofit with followers every Tuesday. The Grantwell's hashtag is #grantwell. You can find a list of hashtags to follow here. If you want to search for a specific tag and see how it is used you can look for it at search ...

---

 

New research released earlier this week found significant differences in the giving habits and motivations between high net worth women and men, offering non-profits valuable insights into gender and philanthropy.

The study, conducted at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and released by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, examined the attitudes and behaviors of 628 men and 283 women with household incomes of at least $200,000 and/or a net worth (excluding the value of their primary residence) of at least $1 million.

Among the findings, wealthy women (78 percent) were more likely to have a strategy for their giving than men (72 percent).

The study also found that nearly 66 percent of the women said they volunteer for the organizations they support, but only 50 percent of the men did. A higher percentage of women (78 percent) than men (63 percent) said they donate money to give back ...

---

 

The electronics company Toshiba is holding a Facebook contest, offering a $100,000 technology makeover to one non-profit and smaller prizes of $28,500 to four finalists.

The grand prize includes consulting services, multifunction printers, desktop computers and laptops, video equipment, televisions, camcorders and more. The finalists are nominated by the Toshiba Helping the Helpers Committee. Facebook visitors will vote on the winner.

Interested non-profits have to "like" the Toshiba for Good Page, and then submit a two-minute video explaining why their organization needs the makeover. The contest is open to local charities and non-profit organizations in the United States.

The deadline to submit a video is January 7, and voting begins on January 20. Winners will be announced on February 20. 

---

 

Do a little good this holiday season and help out your favorite cause with two free services that make donations whenever you shop online.

Established in 1997, iGive works with 900 stores that will donate a percentage of your purchase to your chosen cause. Simply sign-up on the iGive website, decide what cause you’d like to support and add the iGive Button to your browser. Whenever you shop at a participating store, a donation from the merchant is made automatically. When you join $5 will be donated to your cause, with another $5 donated with your first purchase. After that, the percentage donated with each purchase varies with each store. According to the iGive website, the average shopper raises over $50 a year with the iGive Button. The small donations can add up. Last year alone, iGive users raised more than $384,000, according to Mashable.com. Participating merchants ...

---

 

According to the ProLiteracy website, 63 million adults (over the age of 16) in the United States are unable to read and understand a newspaper story written at an eighth grade level. An additional 30 million read at a fifth grade level or lower.

People without literacy skills have trouble obtaining and keeping a job, struggle to keep themselves healthy, and are less likely to vote and take an active part in their communities. Studies show they may also be more susceptible to committing a crime. More than 65 percent of all prison inmates are classified as "functionally illiterate.”

If your organization is interested in promoting literacy in children and adults, you might be interested in the following grant opportunities:

• Verizon Foundation Literacy and Education Grants aim to "improve the literacy skills of children and adults."

• Target Early Childhood Reading Grants awards grants "to schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations to ...

---

 

Violence against women during war has become a global epidemic. Rape is often used as a weapon of war in conflicts worldwide, and women and girls frequently become victims of gang rape by soldiers.

In the early 1990s, between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped in Bosnia, and during 100 days of conflict in Rwanda, approximately 250,00 - 500,000 women and girls were raped in the 1994 genocide. In a study earlier this year, The American Journal of Public Health estimated that nearly 48 women are raped every hour in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A five-part documentary series Women, War and Peace, recently aired on PBS, gives a voice to women who live in conflict zones and face brutal violence daily. The films look at war, often considered the domain of men, from the perspectives of the courageous women from Bosnia, Afghanistan, Colombia and Liberia, who ...

---

 

Recent history has shown that Twitter is more than a social media network.  It is a technological tool that connected people during the Arab Spring and aided relief efforts during the disasters in Haiti and Japan. Many organizations and individuals worldwide have already used Twitter to effect positive global change.

In the recently released book, Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time, author Clair Diaz-Ortiz shows non-profit organizations how to use Twitter to promote a cause, raise funds, and 'be a force for good"---she also advises on how to avoid common mistakes. Geared towards organizations, the tips and tools offered here can also be utilized by anyone, including individuals and for-profit businesses.

"As a simple platform where open communication reigns, Twitter elevates the individual voice; the strength of its platform is in the strength of the users. In this way, individual activism can change the ...