5 ways to make an impact on Giving Tuesday

The final weeks of November are upon us – days reserved for family get-togethers, turkey in all its glorious forms, pre-holiday shopping and, for the past ten years, an emergent observance day for doing good: Giving Tuesday. While still a relatively new movement, Giving Tuesday, observed the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, is gaining considerable steam as one of the top days of global philanthropy.

Since its inception in 2012, Giving Tuesday has garnered an estimated $1.9 billion in financial contributions and countless hours of pledged volunteer time. In 2021 alone, more than 35 million Americans participated in Giving Tuesday, and it looks like 2022 is gearing up to be even bigger and more impactful than previous years.

Participating in Giving Tuesday is a fun and impactful way to make a difference for people around the world, and Global Impact is here to guide you through the amazing opportunities that Giving Tuesday holds for individuals, companies and communities around the world. Here are five ways you can make an impact on Giving Tuesday 2022.

1. Cause Giving
Whenever we think of philanthropy, there are several global causes that lead the pack in both awareness and need. Hunger relief, refugees, women and girls, and human trafficking are top-of-mind for many people around the world and where there is great need.

Global Impact offers Cause Funds focused on these key areas, making it easier than ever to amplify the impact of your gift. Donations go to a selection of vetted, best-in-class charities that are the experts in that cause area. So, you get to skip the research and wondering where to give. Just pick the cause that means the most to you! We offer one-time or recurring gift options for every budget.

And we mean this when we say that any amount can be beneficial to families in underserved communities. Many people around the world live on $1.90 or less per day. This amounts to only $57 per year per person, which means they’re living in extreme poverty.

In the poorest parts of the world, your donation holds a much larger value than it would in the United States. For example, it costs much less to feed a child in a developing country than it does domestically, so any donation can provide more nutritious meals to a family in need.

Not sure which cause fund to support this year? Take a few moments to complete Global Impact’s Cause Fund Quiz, which explores causes that you care about the most and helps you make a confident decision in your charitable giving.

Our four key Cause Funds are:

• Women and Girls
• Human Trafficking
• Refugees
• Hunger

The good news: your donations will go to Global Impact Cause Funds will go to change lives worldwide, so whatever amount fits into your budget can make a difference! You can research our Cause Funds here and make an informed decision on where to contribute your hard-earned dollars this year.

2. Workplace Giving
In life, we spend most of our time interacting with two groups of people: our family and our coworkers. With our family, we often share our passions on a regular basis- it’s part of our personality and behavior. Likewise, our “work family” can be great partners in giving and sharing awareness for what we care about.
Because of this, giving collectively at work is convenient and can amplify your generosity. Joining with our colleagues to give at work can make a huge difference – every amount helps, and it all adds up to a large impact for people in need.

Donating through the workplace also has a variety of unique features, such as flexible payment options: setting up a payroll deduction to automatically contribute every pay period allows employees to give a lot over time. When donating through the workplace, you can benefit multiple charities at one time with one payroll pledge.

Many companies generously match employee donations to maximize monetary impact. It’s a convenient way for companies to support their employees and good work being done worldwide.
Global Impact’s Charity Alliance represents nearly 100 leading international charities in employee giving campaigns. These charities focus on a wide range of causes that help reduce poverty and boost global economies. Each workplace campaign includes an exclusive group of charities. Employees can see which Global Impact charities are in their campaign by exploring the Campaign Selector.

3. Volunteerism
Giving Tuesday is a day of global good: in a variety of ways. While monetary donations are encouraged and may be associated most with Giving Tuesday, another aspect of the day is that you can donate your time and energy through volunteer efforts.

Wondering how you can identify volunteer opportunities? Start by choosing a cause close to your heart. If you care about hunger relief, seek out opportunities to volunteer at a food pantry. Or, if you are concerned about families in disaster zones, sign up to fundraise for an organization delivering food aid in disasters.

Many companies have incorporated paid volunteer days into their Paid Time Off (PTO) benefits packages, which means that you may be compensated for the hours that you utilize in an approved volunteer capacity. In fact, many workplace campaigns encourage employees to pledge volunteer hours within their employee campaigns. This may be an amazing, double-impact opportunity for you to give back and benefit your company’s efforts as well!

There are also hundreds of opportunities available for those who choose to volunteer virtually. Global Impact has compiled a list of Virtual Volunteerism Opportunities that you can access here for free.

No matter how you volunteer, remember that you are doing a world of good when you step out and get involved. You can also get a jumpstart on volunteering on International Volunteer Day, which occurs annually on December 5 and was founded in 1985.

This year, set a goal for yourself or your family to volunteer for causes that you care about. A lot of people choose to volunteer one 8-hour-day every quarter – which adds up to a hefty 32 volunteer hours per year!

4. Cryptocurrency
Over the last decade, cryptocurrencies (“crypto”), have become the way to invest for millions of people. Cryptocurrency donations are quick, easy, and mobile.

This inventive new way of acquiring money and investments has surprising tax benefits as well – donating to charity with cryptocurrency is a wise financial decision, and donors are taking notice by putting their money into good causes. Nearly half (45 percent) of cryptocurrency investors donated $1,000 or more to charity in 2020—compared to 33 percent of the general investor population. (Fidelity Charitable) Considering that the average Giving Tuesday donation hovers around $157, this means a great influx in donations if crypto investors take part in the observance day.

Even better news for investors: There’s a reason high-net-worth individuals tend to donate property instead of cash. Donating cryptocurrency directly to a 501c3 nonprofit is more tax efficient and can save you money. Another massive benefit: the receiving nonprofit receives more of the donation since there are lower, if any, transaction fees and international donations are easier to accept with no exchange fees.

The IRS classifies cryptocurrency as property for tax purposes which means it is typically the most tax-efficient way to support your favorite cause. When donating crypto, you receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of the crypto, and you avoid the capital gains tax you would have incurred if you had sold the crypto and then donated. That means you’re able to donate more, as well as deduct more on your tax return. The difference? Sometimes more than 30%.

Even though cryptocurrency is a newer way to give, many organizations already accept it for donations! It’s easy to give, and as you can see, the benefits are tremendous! In fact, Global Impact even has a crypto donation page, so consider giving to support our work using cryptocurrency. 

5. Inspiring Greater Giving

Giving Tuesday is about using your time, energy and voice to give back to the world. One of the simplest ways to share awareness of this global movement is using social media Forums such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even TikTok can be powerful ways to talk about what drives you to donate on Giving Tuesday.

Oftentimes, it just takes one influencer to spearhead a movement: More than sixty percent of Giving Tuesday donors give ONLY on this pivotal day, so sharing your passion on your various social media channels can set off a riptide of awareness and donations, resulting in a collective impact across the world. We encourage you to reach out to your social media followers, friends and colleagues and share your passions with them- and possibly garner more donations by your sharing!

Sharing awareness and causes doesn’t have to be limited to only social media, although many people find that the easiest way to make connections with friends far and wide. When you’re gathered around the Thanksgiving table, it’s the perfect opportunity to talk about causes that you care about and how you are giving to them this year. Starting the conversation with family members, especially children, can help garner a lifelong love of giving back to needy causes.

Another worthwhile way to share your causes is by working with your workplace giving campaign to invite a charity representative to come speak at your workplace and share the impact that your donations are making worldwide.

Global Impact is excited about being a part of the global movement to do good on Giving Tuesday 2022. We hope that we have inspired and encouraged you to give back and make an extraordinary contribution to the lives of underserved populations around the world. Whether you are donating time or funds, individually or collectively, you are part of a worldwide wave of humanitarianism, on Giving Tuesday, and every day.