This site takes no money and is not affiliated with any of these organisations. Each entry says which layer of the problem it works on, so you can choose where you want your money to land.
Tijuana Estuary Foundation
Donate to a project. Layer 1: At the coast. Tijuana River Estuary
Ongoing.
Has worked since 1979 to protect the estuary, one of Southern California’s largest remaining coastal wetlands. It holds a nonprofit fund at the San Diego Foundation.
How to get involved: Give through its fund at the San Diego Foundation.
Citizens for Coastal Conservancy
Donate to a project. Layer 2: At the border. Imperial Beach
Ongoing.
A local nonprofit advocating that the PB-CILA pumps run around the clock. It says that would cut transboundary sewage by 78%, a figure that is the group’s own and hasn’t been independently evaluated. The pumps currently shut off in storms to avoid damage from sand and trash.
How to get involved: Donate through the group’s website.
WILDCOAST: canyon trash boom and paid collectors
Donate to a project. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana
Ongoing.
Supports the trash boom in Los Laureles Canyon and a network of residents paid per kilogram of plastic collected before it reaches the creek. Stops trash at the source, upstream of the Goat Canyon collector.
How to get involved: Give through the trash boom campaign page or WILDCOAST’s general donation page. The campaign page hasn’t been updated recently, so it’s worth confirming with WILDCOAST that it’s current.
Alter Terra: Tijuana River watershed projects
Donate to a project. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Tijuana River Valley and Tijuana canyons
Ongoing.
The binational nonprofit whose director designed the main river trash boom, with decades of work in Los Laureles Canyon. Donations support its broader watershed and community projects; the boom itself runs on a state grant, extended with $2 million through the 2026–27 storm season.
How to get involved: In the U.S., Alter Terra is a project of Earth Island Institute, which accepts donations on its behalf.
San Diego Foundation: Binational Resilience Initiative
Donate to a project. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Both sides of the border
Grants awarded yearly.
Pools donations into grants for groups on both sides of the border working on water quality monitoring, watershed restoration, and community projects. It awarded $650,000 in 2025.
How to get involved: Give to the initiative through the San Diego Foundation.
San Diego Coastkeeper: water testing and legal pressure
Donate to a project. Layer 4: Root causes. San Diego and Tijuana
Ongoing.
Runs binational water quality monitoring with partners in Tijuana, and uses legal action, including a complaint to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation over Mexico’s enforcement of its own environmental laws.
How to get involved: Donate through Coastkeeper’s website.
Surfrider: Clean Border Water Now
Donate to a project. Layer 4: Root causes. San Diego region
Ongoing.
Surfrider’s San Diego program co-leads a coalition of more than 50 organizations and agencies and pushes for state and federal funding. Surfrider says it and its partners helped secure about $490 million for border water infrastructure in 2024.
How to get involved: Give to the program or join its advocacy campaigns.
[Stacy: the Tijuana Estuary Foundation and San Diego Foundation entries link to background pages rather than direct donation pages. Confirm the right link with each organisation before launch.]