90-Day Countdown to #GivingTuesday December 2, 2014

Today marks the 90-day countdown to the third annual #GivingTuesday, to be held this year on December 2, with more than 10,000 partners in the US and independent #GivingTuesday initiatives around the world, including New Zealand, which was recently added to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Latin America, Mexico, Singapore and the United Kingdom – all spearheading activities in their own countries and regions.

#GivingTuesday follows the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday and kicks off the holiday giving season with a global day dedicated to charitable giving.  The movement harnesses the power of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities.

Planning for #GivingTuesday 2014 Gears Up
At the 90-day mark, international and local non-profits, small businesses and multinational corporations are firming up their plans for #GivingTuesday and the 2014 giving season, and #GivingTuesday has expanded on its connected learning initiatives with live webinars, on-demand video and other tools.

#GivingTuesday’s webinars feature industry experts on topics including fundraising, branding and digital marketing strategies, like how to engage volunteers and how best to use #GivingTuesday to kick-off your end-of-year campaign.  Webinars are hosted by partners including Blackbaud, VolunteerMatch, Social Media for Nonprofits and Eventbrite, TechSoup Global, Salsa Labs, UJA Federation, GlobalGiving, and Network for Good; webinars are also posted at www.#GivingTuesday.org/watch.

In addition, #GivingTuesday recently completed its first-ever Summer School: Making #GivingTuesday Work for Your Nonprofit.  Summer School featured short learning videos and Office Hours with experts from the Case Foundation, Network for Good, Rachael Ray/Watch Entertainment, Women Online, and the United Nations Foundation, along with Beth Kanter.  Summer School videos are also available at www.GivingTuesday.com/watch.

By harnessing the expertise of the #GivingTuesday community, the movement is providing partner organizations, individuals and philanthropists with the tools and resources to build campaigns with big results, making it easier for anyone, anywhere, to make a difference.  These tools and shared expertise also help to catalyze not only more, but smarter giving, and to drive measurable results.  Additional resources to help donors and organizations learn how to make smart giving choices are available from expert organizations such as Guidestar, Charity Navigator, DonorsChoose, Global Giving, and Network for Good – all available at www.GivingTuesday.org.

#GivingTuesday continues to rely on the strength and voices of its partners as well as its Social Media Ambassadors who leverage digital tools and social media to spread the word about giving, causes they care about and easy ways to take action.

#GivingTuesday Partners and Projects
The diversity of the partners involved with #GivingTuesday is as varied as the creativity and excitement they bring to the movement.  By developing creative strategies and making it easy to engage, this year’s partners are building on the success stories of the past and using the lessons learned from the various #GivingTuesday workshops and webinars to ensure more quality campaigns that will lead to better, smarter and more achievable giving goals. As the list of partners in the US nears 10,000, with thousands more around the globe, these examples show the ingenuity and passion that partners are bringing to the #GivingTuesday movement. Examples of partner plans for #GivingTuesday this year include:

• Girl Up: The UN Foundation’s Girl Up campaign will be launching SchoolCycle to provide hundreds of bicycles to girls in Malawi through the United Nations Joint Program on Adolescent Girls. In Malawi, girls are disproportionally affected by widespread poverty. While girls enroll in primary school at high rates, they are more likely to drop out than boys and nearly a third of enrolled girls fail to finish primary school. Many adolescent girls walk as far as 12 miles get to school, health centers and/or a victim support. Stay tuned for more information and visit www.girlup.org to learn more information about the campaign.
• Good Mind Hunting: http://www.goodmindhunting.com Good Mind Hunting (GMH) aims to create a more sustainable and efficient world. To promote this mission GMH will deliver mass collaboration solutions that will enable corporations, governmental and non-profit organizations, universities, professors, students, and subject matter experts from around the world to join forces. On #GivingTuesday, for everyone who joins their platform, Good Mind Hunting will donate 5 dollars (up to 15k) to Projects For All’s initiative to build digital schools that bring child-led digital education to those without access to formal schooling.
• Goodwill Industries International, Inc.: Goodwill® provides job training, financial education and other services such as child care, mentoring and transportation, to people looking for work and building their careers. As one of America’s 25 most inspiring companies, according to Forbes.com, Goodwill is a social enterprise and leader in equipping people to succeed in the workforce. The U.S. Department of Labor reports there are 9.7 million people who are unemployed. On #GivingTuesday, Goodwill invites people to help their friends and neighbors searching for employment by making a tax-deductible donation to Goodwill. Visit www.goodwill.org for more information about donating to Goodwill.
• Laughing Man: https://secure.laughingmancheckout.com While visiting Ethiopia with World Vision, Hugh Jackman met a coffee farmer named Dukale. He worked the farm with Dukale and saw how much a community could benefit from one person’s hard work coupled with a little assistance. Inspired by his time with Dukale, Hugh promised he would help. Laughing Man Worldwide is the fulfillment of the promise; a company that supports entrepreneurs who believe commerce and community grow together and that gives 100% profits to charity. The first company incubated by Laughing Man Worldwide is Laughing Man Coffee & Tea, which imports, roasts and serves specialty coffee and tea. On #GivingTuesday, Laughing Man Coffee & Tea will donate 20% of their profits to Projects For All’s Hello World initiative to help build digital schools that bring child-led digital education to those without access to formal schooling.
• Lothian Autistic Society (LAS): LAS have joined with their corporate partners White Stuff for a treasure hunt around Edinburgh. They have teamed up with 10 local businesses who will each place clues to the next location in their window. The clue will be a poster with information about the LAS, information about #GivingTuesday and text donate information. The winners will end up in the flagship White Stuff store where they will win a gift voucher.
• Music Heritage UK: Music Heritage will be renaming the day ‘#GivingTunesday’ and will be encouraging people to donate the cost of a download to help preserve music heritage sites across the UK. People will be asked to share their song across social media, i.e. ‘I just donated with a little help from my friends this #GivingTuesday’.
• Projects For All: http://projectsforall.org Project Hello World builds digital schools to bring child-led digital education to those without access to formal schooling. Based on the research of our board member Sugata Mitra, the winner of the 2013 TED Prize, Project Hello World works with local communities to design and build Internet-enabled, rugged, outdoor computer kiosks for education, connectivity, community journalism, business and play. The organization’s founding belief is that development must be led and defined by the community in order to better serve the community, and all of their work is in service of that belief. On #GivingTuesday, children at each of the Hello Hubs will come together and take photos of what they are most grateful for learning with hashtag #givingtuesday.
• WaterAid: One in ten people globally don’t have access to safe drinking water. It’s a crisis that kills, and WaterAid is out to change the story. This #GivingTuesday, WaterAid is challenging everyday heroes from across the country to help keep 100,000 kids under the age of five alive by giving them the gift of safe water. On December 2, WaterAid will kick off its largest US matching gift campaign to date, meaning every donation made will go twice as far. Now in its 33rd year, WaterAid has helped over 19 million people gain access to safe water and, since 2004, helped over 15 million people gain access to toilets and sanitation.

#GivingTuesday : Uniting Nations, Uniting Communities

#GivingTuesday launches in New Zealand this year (www.givingtuesday.co.nz); the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand, TechSoup New Zealand, Philanthropy New Zealand and Volunteering New Zealand are leading the charge to get Kiwis giving on December 2.

They join Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Latin America, Mexico, Singapore and the United Kingdom – all with initiatives being planned for 2014.  In addition, with the help of Pvblic Foundation, TechSoup Global, United Nations Development Programme and other multinational organizations, the #GivingTuesday movement reaches countries around the world, where local heroes are embracing new ways to connect with causes and giving of themselves to make change in their communities.

More information, including background, partner information and tools, can be found at www.givingtuesday.org. 

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About #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday, December 2, 2014, follows the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, kicking off the holiday giving season with a global day dedicated to charitable giving, harnessing the power of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities.  Now in its third year, #GivingTuesday is a worldwide movement that celebrates the power of giving in all its forms.  This 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 inspires 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 harnesses the power of social media to create a global moment that is dedicated to giving around the world.  #GivingTuesday was founded by 92nd Street Y and is spearheaded in tandem with the support of the United Nations Foundation.

A team of recognized experts and influencers, initially convened by leaders of 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation and supported by a core group of founding partners, originally spearheaded this effort. The founding partners in 2012 included Blackbaud, CECP, charity: water, GlobalGiving, Groupon, Kiva, Microsoft, Pvblic Foundation, (RED), and Unilever, United Nations Development Programme, among many others.

Website: www.givingtuesday.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday
Twitter: www.twitter.com/GivingTues