Everyday Citizens Can Become Philanthropists This Giving Tuesday
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It's time to take out your wallet -- again! But this time for a good cause. Today is Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is a movement started to encourage philanthropy on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the same way that Black Friday and Cyber Monday promote consumerism and shopping.
According to researchers, last year nonprofits raised $116.7 million on Giving Tuesday. In the first year, 2,500 organizations participated, but by 2015 that number grew to more than 40,000.
Here in North Texas, hundreds of volunteers spent the afternoon delivering more than 1,000 hot and cold meals to homebound seniors. The Texas Instruments (TI) employees made the effort as a part of 'Big D Gives' - a citywide campaign that encourages volunteering and giving back.
Today the nearly 500 volunteers formed an assembly line and loaded coolers filled with food onto waiting trunks. The food will feed low-income homebound seniors in Dallas and Collin County.
Volunteer Dana Collins said, "It's really for me. It's a way to check on 'em and see how they're doing, you know. You never know… I would like to know that one day the community will reach out to me when I'm waiting for someone to knock on my door."
Numbers for Big D Gives are up just like those for Giving Tuesday. Catherine LaCour of Blackbaud, the company that provides tech support for Giving Tuesday, said, "We've consistently seen double-digit, year-over-year growth in online donations since we began tracking the holiday in 2012."
This year Giving Tuesday will be celebrated in more than 70 countries ‐‐including Brazil, Canada, UK, Singapore and more. The movement isn't just looking for monetary donations. At the top of givingtuesday.org the website encourages people to "help others through the gift of your time, donations, goods or your voice."
Not sure what organization you should donate to? On the website there's also a directory to help find organizations, charities, and events that are in your area.
In addition to everyday citizens, the #GivingTuesday movement has attracted major attention from high-profile philanthropists. This year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match donations made on the crowdfunding platform GlobalGiving at 50 percent -- up to $1 million.
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