What if there was a day each year dedicated to giving back in the midst of the holiday spending season? Now there is! To answer the need, GivingTuesday is coming to Canada on Tuesday, December 3, the Tuesday following Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
GivingTuesday, initiated in Canada by CanadaHelps and GIV3, marks the opening day of the giving season. The movement encourages individuals and organizations to join together and find innovative ways to give back to the charities and causes they support throughout the holiday season. Fifteen organizations have already become GivingTuesday Founding Partners.
Charities, business, media and individuals are encouraged to join in making a pledge to participate to make Canada’s first annual GivingTuesday a resounding success. Canadians can learn how to get involved or sign up for free partnership at GivingTuesday.ca.
Giving soared on 2012 GivingTuesday in US
The GivingTuesday movement was created in the US by 92nd Street Y, which led the inaugural 2012 movement in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and a group of founding partners including The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and Microsoft. Over 2,500 partners came together across the United States for the first GivingTuesday.
In the US last year, the collective efforts of partners, donors and advocates saw a significant increase in online charitable giving. Paypal saw an increase of 487% in online donations on the first GivingTuesday as compared to the Tuesday after US Thanksgiving the previous year.
“We are proud to be a founding partner of Canada’s first annual GivingTuesday,” said CanadaHelps CEO Marina Glogovac. “GivingTuesday is an invitation not only to the charitable sector, but to all Canadians. We encourage everyone to participate by finding ways to give back to causes that are important to them, whether it is making donations to a charity of their choice or by volunteering in their communities.”
“We are really excited to support this new movement, and to help people connect with their communities,” said GIV3 chairman John Hallward. “We want people to feel great giving…in December and throughout the year!”
To learn how to get involved or sign up for free partnership, visit GivingTuesday.ca.
(from a GivingTuesday press release)
