Your Guide to Giving Tuesday
November 03, 2014
4 min read
Since its launch in 2012, Giving Tuesday, an international day of giving, has been growing in popularity. This year, Canadians are getting ready to participate in Giving Tuesday on December 2 by giving en masse to the causes they care about.
Why Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday takes place on the first Tuesday in December, right on the heels of American Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Although it originated in the US, it expanded to Canada in 2013 and now takes place in more than 10 countries worldwide.
No matter what side of the border you’re on, Giving Tuesday is a good time to kick off giving season and offers us the chance to put the focus on an important part of the holiday season: giving back.
Charities, businesses and individuals are all invited to help kick off giving season with charitable donations to their favourite causes. Last year, thousands of Canadians participated and giving grew exponentially on Giving Tuesday: an average of 221% across four online giving platforms alone.
While we at Chimp encourage generosity all year long, we can’t help but love that the world turns the spotlight on charitable giving for a day.
Why Do You Give?
Giving Tuesday is a good opportunity to consider your giving habits:
- How do you like to give?
- Do you know where to give, and if not, how to find out?
- Are you aware of the impact of your giving?
- Do you share your giving habits with your friends and family?
- Is your workplace involved in charitable giving?
- What would you like to change about your giving habits?
Answering these questions will help you make your giving habits consistent with your beliefs.
How to Get Involved in Giving Tuesday
Whether you prefer to give to charity together with friends or on your own through a Charitable Impact account, there are many ways you can participate in Giving Tuesday. In fact, the significance of the day is up to you. This is a movement made for the masses, and you’re invited to let your charitable spirit shine through however you see fit.
Need ideas for how to give back? Here are a few of our favourites:
Give your friends charitable dollars they can give away. Simply add money to your Charitable Impact account, then send charitable gifts to your friends via email. They can choose to give it any Canadian charity they like.
Donate to the charity of your choice — or many charities — with your Charitable Impact account. If you’re not sure where to give, search for charities dedicated to areas you’re interested in (i.e.: the arts, sports, education, etc.)
Start a Giving Tuesday Giving Group and invite your friends and family to join you in giving to the causes you care about. Not sure who to give to? Chimp lets you donate donate now and select your charity later.
Spread the word about your charitable activities on your social media channels. Be sure to use the hashtag #givingtuesdayca.
Want more giving? Here are six ways you can extend your generosity throughout the year and build charitable giving into your everyday life.