Loving Chimay Ale brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium. This is one of only seven beers that are allowed to carry the Authentic Trappist Product logo which adheres to the following standards: 1) The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist abbey, by or under control of Trappist monks. 2) The brewery, the choices of brewing, and the commercial orientations must obviously depend on the monastic community. 3) The economic purpose of the brewery must be directed toward assistance and not toward financial profit.

A beautiful bottle, a fantastic tasting beer, and a good cause! I’ll drink to that….

For more on Chimay, visit their (English translated) website.

Check out the next page for more of my (slightly obsessed) photos.

Check out wearpact.com, an underwear company that lets you decide what charity gets your support. Whether the charity you support is 826 National, ForestEthics or Oceana, Pact has got your back… errr… behind.

I’m loving Global Giving—a website that is dedicated to connecting donors with non-profit organizations that need funding. Their site is simple to navigate and has a great overall design. Go to their website and see if you can find one of their “million little earth changing ideas” that you’d like to help.

More screen shots of their site on the next page…

Sappi Paper is in it’s 10th year of their “Ideas That Matter” grant that goes towards designers & ideas that make the world a better place. Check out their site to get inspired by past recipients or to learn more about their 2009 call for entries. Go to the next page for more screen shots from their site and lovely intro video…

Michael Osborne was one of the speakers at the HOW Design Conference and I felt very inspired by seeing some of his work. This is a video that chronicles the “Hearts In San Francisco” project that he was very involved in. Various artists took part in designing hearts that were placed around the city which were then sponsored by businesses. The financial beneficiary of Hearts in San Francisco was the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, whose sole purpose is to fund projects that will enhance patient care and comfort at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.

Osborne also designed a love stamp for the US Postal Service. Check out some more (sort of blurry!) slides from his presentation on the next page.

ONE is a global advocacy and campaigning organization backed by more than 2 million people from around the world dedicated to fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

Besides having a beautiful, clean website, they are doing real and relevant work to make the world a better place. In their latest political endeavor, they are asking the public to petition senators to cosponsor legislation that will enable them to help 100 million people gain access to clean water and sanitation by 2015.

Please consider signing the petition to help ONE improve access to clean water and sanitation for the world’s poorest people by asking your senators to cosponsor the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009 (S. 624).

This important legislation is stuck in the Committee on Foreign Relations, and it needs at least 20 cosponsors in order to get the attention of Senate leaders.

Go to the next page for a video that brings home the reality for those without clean water.

Found this one is a recent Daily Candy and must say the name does it justice.  I LOVE it! Amazing logo, great packaging, cool website – mycurrylove.com – I mean even the navigation buttons are clever.  Talk about branding – well done Curry Love! And that’s not all I LOVE…the product is USDA Organic and a member of 1% for the Planet.  I had not heard of this organization until I clicked on the beautiful blue logo on the Curry Love Website. What a program…but that’s another blog post all together. But wait here’s the kicker, I haven’t even had my first taste. My LOVE stems soley from the sheer brillance of the branding, packaging & mission of the company. (But perhaps its time to change that, I am a little hungry).

Mother’s Day is coming up quick! Still haven’t gotten her anything? Do something good for the planet by purchasing a beautiful e-card from Charity: Water. Just one $20 e-card can give one person clean water for the next 20 years. She’ll also be able to choose the country where the money is used and learn more about their work. Giving flowers is great. Giving life is better. What mom could ask for more? Get your card now at charitywater.org/mothersday

While I was digging around on Heifer’s website, I found this great interactive window which explains more about what they do. It’s engaging and well designed… check it out here