#GivingTuesday Shows America Gives as Good as it Gets

Partners Join a New Movement to Celebrate Giving and Encourage More, Better, and Smarter Giving during the Holiday Season

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) September 13, 2012

A movement to create a national day of giving on November 27, 2012 ? the Tuesday after Thanksgiving ? a day people coast-to-coast are calling #GivingTuesday, launched today. This first of its kind effort will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners?charities, families, businesses and individuals?to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.

The Genesis of #GivingTuesday

Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends and partners, led by 92nd Street Y, came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92nd Street Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and by bringing together a group of founding partners?including the United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable, Blackbaud, charity: water, GlobalGiving, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Kiva, Darden Restaurant Group, Groupon, Unilever and VENTURE3Philanthropy?a nationwide series of discussions about how to make #GivingTuesday a success is already underway. Each week, new organizations have joined the movement and are providing creative ways people can embrace #GivingTuesday and collaborate in their giving efforts to create more meaningful results.

?Communities like ours are about opening doors and bringing people together," said Sol Adler, 92Y Executive Director. ?#GivingTuesday allows us to create a new kind of community ? across geographical borders ? around the idea of ?doing good.??

?It?s been a privilege to work with remarkable leaders all over the country building a movement around #GivingTuesday,? said Henry Timms, 92Y?s Deputy Executive Director, Strategy, Innovation and Content. ?This initiative has truly been crowd-sourced by some of the smartest and most connected minds among the new generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurs.?

A team of influencers have met to discuss the innovative ways that people are approaching giving during challenging economic times, along with how Americans can give smarter and use new media to encourage positive change in their communities.

Getting Involved in #GivingTuesday

Driven by the guiding principles of inclusiveness and creativity, along with the promise of crowdsourcing solutions to today?s challenges, #GivingTuesday suggests many easy ways that charities, businesses, organizations and individuals can participate in the movement. On Nov. 27, communities across the U.S. will come alive with efforts to give back: from incentives for donations to special offers and matching campaigns at businesses to fundraising initiatives organized through nonprofits and personal efforts like bake sales or drives that support a favorite cause. Organizations are finding creative ways to volunteer their time and talents to help their favorite charities. Celebrities and experts are offering their time to raise awareness about issues and help their charities reach their holiday season fundraising goals.

?#GivingTuesday offers America a new narrative, challenging us to think beyond Black Friday and Cyber Monday and reminding us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,? said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. ?The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to build a better world.?

Several #GivingTuesday partners have already announced how their organizations will participate on Nov. 27. For example, the local commerce expert Groupon (http://www.groupon.com) will feature a collection of pro-bono fundraising campaigns on its website with a custom groupon.com/givingtuesday URL. Blackbaud (http://www.blackbaud.com), a leading developer of software and services for nonprofits, will tap into the organization?s intellectual assets to provide expert commentary on philanthropy trends and educate employees, customers, and partners about opportunities to get involved in #GivingTuesday. 92Y has secured an anonymous donor who will match donations to 92Y on #GivingTuesday, leading the way for 92Y?s matching campaign that day. Mashable (http://www.mashable.com) has committed to volunteering to support digital literacy among youth. Other partners will announce their individual #GivingTuesday initiatives in the weeks leading up to November 27.

?Americans as a whole are the most generous people in the world when it comes to giving,? said Thomas J. Tierney, chairman and co-founder of The Bridgespan Group. ?This effort taps that spirit, unleashing its power by pulling together the creative ideas of myriad people committed to having real and lasting impact.?

Those who are interested in joining the #GivingTuesday movement can commit to give back to their favorite charity on Nov. 27, 2012, or plan to participate in one of the many #GivingTuesday partner initiatives. Details about partner initiatives and ideas for creating individual #GivingTuesday events and actions are available at the #GivingTuesday website (http://www.givingtuesday.org) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday). People can help spread the word about the movement by using and following the #GivingTuesday hashtag, which will serve as a centralized hub to share why the movement matters, highlight successes and celebrate giving.

#GivingTuesday is endorsed by Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, Dorothy A. Johnson Center on Philanthropy, Giving Institute, Giving USA Foundation and InterAction. Charity Navigator and GuideStar are serving as the movement?s charity advisors. VolunteerMatch is a volunteer advisor to #GivingTuesday.

About #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give. It will culminate with a national day of giving on November 27, 2012. This first-of-its-kind effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners? charities, families, businesses and individuals?to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season.

#GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays that is dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are synonymous with holiday shopping.

A team of recognized experts and influencers, initially convened by leaders of 92nd Street Y and supported by a core group of founding partners, are spearheading this effort. Founding partners include United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable, Blackbaud, charity: water, GlobalGiving, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Kiva, Darden Restaurant Group, Groupon, Unilever and VentureThree Capital. Leaders in philanthropy, social media, innovative giving, grassroots organizing, marketing and communications are providing counsel and resources to help build this movement.

FOUNDING PARTNERS

92Y, Crowdrise,????IAVA, (RED), Darden Restaurants, Kiva, American Red Cross, DoSomething.org,????Mashable, Benevolent????DoGoodBuyUs,????Microsoft, Blackbaud,???? DonorsChoose,????Pencils of Promise, Case Foundation,????Financial Times,????Skype, Causes,????Games for Change,????UN Foundation, charity: water, GlobalGiving????, Unilever, Charity Miles, Groupon, VENTURE3Philanthropy

ENDORSERS

Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

Dorothy A. Johnson Center on Philanthropy

Giving Institute

Giving USA Foundation

InterAction

CHARITY ADVISORS

Charity Navigator

GuideStar

VOLUNTEER ADVISORS

VolunteerMatch

To learn more about #GivingTuesday participants and activities or to join the celebration of giving, please visit:

Website: http://www.givingtuesday.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday

Twitter: twitter.com/GivingTues

Amy Freeland

303-882-6464
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/givingtuesday-shows-america-gives-good-gets-150156739.html

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