Across the country, in big cities, small towns, and coalitions built across cultures or common interests, GivingTuesday has brought together local people with collective hopes for their communities to drive positive change. Learn more about how this movement is empowering leaders to use generosity to build a more just + equitable world, one community at a time.
For GivingTuesday 2020, the National Network to End Domestic Violence organized a network-wide community movement called #GiveForDV. The campaign garnered participation in 28 states and territories, raising both awareness and funds for hundreds of domestic violence direct service programs.
NNEDV provided a campaign structure and assets; training toolkit on campaign planning, hosted a webpage listing participants and made the messaging accessible and flexible for organizations to adapt. They plan to mobilize this community for other network-wide initiatives year round.
North Texas GivingTuesdayNow, led by the Communities Foundation of Texas, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and the Dallas Cowboys, rallied the Dallas-Fort Worth community in raising $42.5M for first responders and frontline nonprofits, as well as their COVID-19 relief funds. Their unique collaboration led to monetary support for 2,500 organizations and more than 9,400 people pledging nearly 300,000 volunteer hours.
In spring 2019, Jessica Manfre, Maria Reed, and Samantha Gomolka – three Military Spouses of the Year – messaged GivingTuesday’s Facebook page with a bold idea. They wanted to organize military spouses and families at bases around the world to participate in GivingTuesday through organized acts of kindness. GivingTuesdayMilitary reached bases across the US and around the globe, and inspired the world with the selflessness of military families.
Some examples of the 1 million acts of kindness they rallied:
Businesses, restaurants, influencers, and the Mayor of Tampa, FL partnered together to shine a light on local nonprofits. The leaders of this GivingTuesday community paired 13 nonprofits with influencers, who featured the organizations on their social channels on GivingTuesday. The $13,000 they collectively raised was split evenly amongst the nonprofits, but the awareness they each received was priceless.
The kids growing up on 65th & MLK Drive in Chicago are used to the blue lights of police cars, not the lights of holiday decorations. On GivingTuesday, community leader Jahmal Cole, a local coalition of nonprofits, neighborhood residents, and volunteers from far-reaching corners of Chicago hung lights & holiday decor. Volunteers decorated 500 street poles, held a tree lighting ceremony, and hosted holiday activities for local kids.
Nearly 100 volunteers in Conway, Arkansas turned panhandling upside down on GivingTuesday 2019 – hoping the symbolism of volunteer panhandlers asking for donations on a December day would drive home the need for resources for the homeless. “Homelessness here doesn’t look like that picture you always have of, just, maybe a guy standing on the street, holding a sign. It’s the kids that are in our school districts,” said community leader Laura King. The group raised $1,200 in spare change and small bills, which will be split between five homeless service nonprofits that serve Faulkner County.
Out of the billions of dollars that Americans give to charity each year, only a fraction goes to Black-led organizations. To advance racial equity in giving, GiveBlck organized #GivingBlackTuesday which lifted up 400 Black-led nonprofits. The campaign kicked off on Black Friday to build buzz and remind shoppers to redirect some of their Black Friday savings toward the organizations that are supporting marginalized communities. The campaign was featured on Mashable and raised awareness for nonprofits that are historically under-resourced.
