MNN - Mother Nature Network

What is MNN's Nest?

The Nest is a powerful program for members at Mother Nature that combines recognition for everything you do at MNN and allows you to turn those actions into donations for your favorite nonprofits.

 

When you take actions on MNN, it directly benefits the top environmental causes in the country.

 

Simply become an active user at MNN, earn points, and then redeem them into nest eggs. The more actions you take, the more good you do. And when you redeem your nest eggs, MNN sends cash donations to the nonprofits you've chosen.

 

You can raise money for your favorite causes simply by being online. You have to admit, this is cool.

 

I'm already a member at MNN. Do I need to join the Nest? 

No. All members here are automatically enrolled in the Nest, meaning that all of your actions are earning you points and your profile page is tracking your donations. (If you're having problems signing in with your original account, please email us at Contact@mnn.com). Also, check out the most active Nest members here. 

 

How do I earn points?

Simply by doing the things you're already doing. Here are some examples:

And you can earn 50 points just for joining.

 

And how do I turn those points into Nest Eggs?

Here's where you really have power. Points are like dollars. We'd love it if you had a bijillon points and were queen of Mother Nature. But they don't do you any good until you step forward to help save the planet. For every 100 points you accumulate, you earn one Nest Egg. And that Nest Egg can be directly given to the charity of your choice. The more you give, the more we admire you. As you go around the site, you'll see "Top Shareholders" listed on most pages — those are our members who are doing the most good with their actions.

 

How do I choose where to donate my points?

Come on over to the "Cause Storefront" and you'll see the nonprofits that would love your support. Want to see more local agriculture and farmers in the United States? The American Farmland Trust would love your support. Feel passionately about the future of the coral reefs? The Nature Conservancy is working to save them. Want to see your actions turned into houses for the poor? Habitat for Humanity will take your shares and turn them into homes. Check out the whole list here.

 

How do I track my Nest Eggs?

When you're logged in, you'll see your name at the top of every screen on MNN.com. Click on your name and jump to "My Profile," and you'll see your current number of points and how many shares you've donated.

 

Can I redeem my points for cash?

Points have no cash value to you — meaning you can't somehow cash them in and fly to your favorite eco-resort. Points may only be redeemed on MNN for the gifts we offer via our nonprofit partners.

 

What are the bird levels that I see on the site?

As you accumulate more points, you also become part of a larger group of folks who are at a similar activity level. Everyone starts as a newly hatched Chick here at MNN, and a few of us have made our way to Eagle. Here's how you move up the ranks:

• 50 to 99 points = Chick
• 100 to 199 = Parakeet
• 200 to 599 = Cardinal
• 600 to 1,499 = Blue jay
• 1,500 to 6,999 = Owl
• 7,000 to 15,000 = Bald eagle

 

What are personal pledges?

In addition to earning points for taking actions, you can also join with hundreds of other members at MNN to accomplish your own goals. Want to eat more locally grown food? We have a group for that. Planning an energy audit of your home? So are these members. Want to get your kids outdoors more? Get great ideas from fellow members. And the best part of all? Every day you reach your goal, you earn more points. Here's the complete list.

 

Sometimes I earn points for taking actions and sometimes I don't. What's up with that?

Each action type has a limit on the number of credits you can earn through that type of action. For example, you can spin the wheel up to three times a day and earn points. Or you can make up to 10 comments a day. After that, we're happy for you to keep clicking away, but you've earned your point level for the day. Come back and visit us at 12:01 a.m., and you can start over. All actions and limits are listed on the how to earn points page. (Because we're still in a beta with this product, points and limits may be changed as needed.)

 

How is this program available?

The Nest works because MNN.com is able to attract more sponsors and partners when our traffic grows. The more users who participate, the more our message gets out and the more that people become interested in our message of conscious living. We then take a portion of the sponsorship that we receive and we apply it to the Nest. So the bigger we become, the more that we have to donate

 

Anything else I need to know?

We're in beta and that means that there may be bugs, dead ends, unexpected moments and things that don't work quite as we expected. If you see something you think we could do better, send a note to WorldShares@mnn.com and let us know. We'd like to turn the Nest into the largest green giving campaign on the Web, and your insights will help us.

 

Want more? Visit our Terms & Conditions for the fine print.