Giving Tuesday

Now that we’ve gotten all of that shopping out of the way, we can turn our thoughts (and spending) to Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday was an idea started in 2012 by nonprofits as a counter to all of the spending that we’ve done the past few days. Instead, we can take some time to look at our favorite nonprofits and help support them. It started as a small day, where about $10 million donations were recorded, but in the past few years the day has blown up! Last year, over $117 million was recorded in donations.

If you haven’t given on Giving Tuesday before, I’d highly suggest taking part in it this year. Many organizations have some sort of matching program on Giving Tuesday so your gift goes even further. I’d also suggest looking to give at some of your more local organizations. I have a few organizations in DC that I’ve been looking to give to this year. I figure since most of my donations are made to larger organizations throughout the year, I can focus in on local organizations this year. It’s amazing seeing how far your donation can also go in smaller organizations.

So what do you think? Have you heard of or participated in Giving Tuesday before? If you’re going to this year, what organizations do you think you’ll give to?