It’s going to be especially important where your time, attention, and money goes over the next four years. These are a few areas I’m prioritizing.

News Sources

There are precious few news organizations in the United States run for the public benefit. One of them is ProPublica. From the UK (publishing a US edition), The Guardian is owned by a trust that does not control its news room. The best privately owned not-by-a-billionaire news these days comes from 404Media. In Michigan, Bridge MI, Bridge Detroit and Outlier Media are non-profit and I recommend all three. Any of these are worth trading away a streaming video service or billionaire-controlled sources like the New York Times or Washington Post.

Information Rights

The work of Wikipedia and the Internet Archive are indispensable, vital services run as non-profits. The EFF is the digital equivalent of the ACLU. Get & use Signal (and donate to the non-profit behind it) for secure messaging (end-to-end encryption and not stored in “the cloud”) for real privacy. Rebuild your social network on Mastodon, the only social media platform not owned by a billionaire, and pick a nice server owned by someone you trust & can contribute to financially to support its operation.

Personal Security

In Detroit, the Ruth Ellis Center focuses on LGBTQ health, housing, & wellness. Gleaners food bank serves all of Southeast Michigan at an incredible scale. Nationally, Planned Parenthood is a critical health resource. No Kids Hungry is focused on childhood hunger and has been my top donation recipient for the last five years. Avoid apps that demand private information, like period trackers — this is a bad time to trust technology providers.

Politics & Community

Find a candidate you like and consider a small monthly donation. This mode of giving provides stability for budgeting and long-term planning. Focus on local & state politics — who can you help? And finally, find your people by joining or starting social clubs (online or locally) that meet your needs and find ways to contribute back. We all get through challenges best collectively, not alone. Don’t get isolated.