In the spirit of #GivingTuesday (today), I wanted to refresh an older post on one of my favorite days of the year. Giving Tuesday is 6 years strong today and looking at #socialmedia is growing in leaps and bounds.
For many, the holidays bring stress and pressure in not only finding the right gift, but how many gifts to give, what is the best price for said gifts, and of course 
the annual question on whether to shop or not to shop #BlackFriday. And as you know, Black Friday has even creeps infringes on our time with family over the Thanksgiving holiday!
While all of these things may be seem important, why not stop and take the time to go back to what the holidays are really about, saying thanks and giving back. Here at The Appreciation Factor, I’ve found a way you can do this — consider spreading the word and participating in #GivingTuesday2017. This year, November 28th marks the sixth annual Giving Tuesday.
Haven’t heard about it? What is Giving Tuesday?
Set on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday was started in 2012 as a global, 24-hour giving challenge created by thought-leaders at the UN Foundation and the 92nd Street Y.
#Giving Tuesday’s focus was to bring back the original sentiments of the holiday season:
- Generosity
- Hope
- Goodwill, and
- Community
As per the Giving Tuesday organization:
#GivingTuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities; it provides a platform for them to encourage the donation of time, resources and talents to address local challenges. It also brings together the collective power of a unique blend of partners— nonprofits, civic organizations, businesses and corporations, as well as families and individuals—to encourage and amplify small acts of kindness.
If you’ve been following me/read other posts on this blog, you’ll agree that these are all things I can get my hands around. It shows appreciation for more than just the retail side of things during the holiday season.
The concept gained steam with the help of founding partnerships with The United Nations Foundation, Donors Choose, Mashable, Global Giving, the Darden Restaurant Group, Groupon, and Unilever and several others. There ongoing success is partly due to the assistance from renewing corporate sponsorships by Google, Microsoft, Skype, Cisco, UNICEF, and the Case Foundation. This participation has helped the #GivingTuesday initiative raise millions of dollars for thousands of non-profits. – Wikipedia
Did you know? Americans give more to charitable organizations in dollars :$300B
When seen as a percentage of the GDP, 2.1% more than any other developed country
Source: Forbes 2014
There are many non-profit organizations participating/asking for your help on #GivingTuesday, maybe one of your favorites, and many more that truly need our help at this time of year. Plus #GivingTuesday is a great alternative to the pressure to spend, spend, spend on gifts that may not make as much of an impact.
How Can You Participate?
The idea is simple. Give to a non-profit organization of your choice Tuesday, November 28th. BUT… don’t feel that the only way you can join in is to give financially.
Here are 3 ways you can make a difference:
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- You can post an “Unselfie” (You read that correctly. It’s UNselfie not Selfie.)
Still going strong in 2017, although many companies create their own, with their own humanitarian efforts and hashtags included.
In 2013, #GivingTuesday supporters were encouraged to take a photo of themselves or something that represented their giving, upload it to their social media account of choice, and use the hashtags: #unselfie and #GivingTuesday. It was a resounding success and they’ve asked that we take on the Unselfie challenge again this year.
You can download your own Unselfie
2. Give of your time. Pledge to give 10 mins or 10 hours of volunteer or your expertise to help further their efforts. Every little bit will help.
3. Choose to make holiday purchases from retailers who give back. (Check to see if they donate a portion of their profits, have a company foundation that supports those in need, or even better, are they participating in Giving Tuesday?
You can of course also simply just spread the work and kindness through a random act of kindness (#ROAK) or publish a post on your social platforms, but I hope you’ll consider doing more.
So… What will you do?
MY PLEDGE (aka: Unselfie) FOR 2017
– Pledge to give 30 hours of volunteer time over the next 6 months
– Promote and buy more gifts/items from companies that give back
– Make a $100 donation to an organization or organisations that I feel passionate about.
– Promote #GivingTuesday through my social media profiles
Want more information/Want to get involved?
Learn More:
- Go to the #GivingTuesday Website: Find Events, Ways to give, participating non-profits, and even ways to spread the word/participate if you work for a non-profit. There’s still time!
- To partner (as a non-profit) with #GivingTuesday click the link.
Share:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GivingTues
- Instagram: https://twitter.com/GivingTues
- Snapchat: givingtuesday
- #GivingTuesday share page: Share what you did or what you plan to give (Photos encouraged!)
The Appreciation Factor 