The history of Giving Tuesday

Happy Giving Tuesday! I'm going back to the creation of the holiday with PBS NewsHour describing How Henry Timms was inspired to create Giving Tuesday in 2018.

Henry Timms is the creator of Giving Tuesday and co-author of the bestselling book “New Power,” which explores how people gather and galvanize today, often via social media. For this week’s That Moment When, Steve Goldbloom speaks with Timms, who explains why “we need to stop seeing people as donors and start seeing them as owners.”

As The Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact (92NY), the 92nd Street Y is a member of Bridge Alliance, which I have volunteered for since it absorbed the Coffee Party in 2021. Knowing that a member organization helped create this day gives me a warm feeling about my involvement.

That was the past. WUSA gave an update on the tenth anniversary of the day's creation in VERIFY: What's the history of Giving Tuesday?.

On the 10th anniversary of the holiday following consumer holidays such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Verify looks at how Giving Tuesday changed donation habits.

The categories Woodrow Rosenbaum named that showed the most growth during the pandemic remind me of the ones Charity Navigator uses. Since I'm a big fan of Charity Navigator, that pleases me, too. I recommend my readers use that site to look for worthy nonprofits to contribute to.

Speaking of nonprofits and the pandemic, watch as the Michigan Nonprofit Association explains Michigan’s Unsung Heroes: How Nonprofits Stepped Up During the Pandemic.

When 2020 began, no one imagined the challenges Michigan’s residents and its economy would face. Especially nonprofits. But in the face of pandemic-induced hardships, nonprofits stepped up and played a pivotal role in keeping Michigan afloat during difficult times. They provided essential services, aid, and unwavering support to communities in need. Nonprofits were the safety net.

Take a look at their remarkable story of survival and service.

I listed some Michigan charities worthy of donations last year.

I like this list, which includes food banks like Forgotten Harvest, animal welfare organizations like the Michigan Humane Society, and political advocacy groups like the ACLU of Michigan. As I wrote nine years ago, Detroit has great charities.

After a week of holiday posts, it's time to return to current events. Stay tuned.

Hey, I'm an environmentalist. I recycle!