Graphic designers design for many reasons. Because it’s a job for a lot of us, we design for the client and their customers, and their respective needs. Some of us design for personal reasons — flyers for a friend’s band or cookbooks for your wife’s grandma.

Many choose to lend their design skills to a greater and larger purpose which, when properly executed, can rally support for a cause and make a change for the better. One courageous cause benefiting from smart design is Buyameter. Buyameter, which allows users to help donate to bring water into the homes and community of Hale County, Alabama, is a great example of what design brings to the communication of a message. Good Magazine describes the story behind buyameter.

The topic of climate change and sustainability are finding designers increasingly lending their support, ideas, and skills — addressing these issues with the hope of accomplishing something good. There is, of course, the national and global rally for change: to change our ideas, habits, thinking and even lifestyles. Design Can Change is “an initiative aimed at uniting the world’s graphic designers to use their influence and purchasing power to combat climate change.” Their website is smart, slick, compelling and offers facts and solutions to how graphic designers can “raise awareness of the importance of sustainable-thinking.” Graphic designers are often the link between the idea and the public. With their skills, designers play a crucial role in how this idea is presented. It is up to the designer to offer the best possible solution no matter how large the cause may be.

Not a designer, but believe that great design can bring power to these messages? Designers who want to do this work may be looking for your support… Check out these communities.