If you’re anything like me, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is spent recovering from the late night of Cyber Monday shopping, scrolling through social media to catch up on all the holiday photos and polishing off the final plate of leftovers. While you may think the season of thanks is officially over at this point, don’t forget about #GivingTuesday! GivingTuesday is a growing tradition of charitable giving on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. The movement designates an opportunity for us all to do good for our favorite causes on the same day – whether it’s volunteering, donating or spreading awareness.

If you’re looking to get involved in GivingTuesday, Global Impact has four high impact funds that each focus on a critical humanitarian issue. All donations go to a selection of vetted, best-in-class charities working in the cause area (so you can be confident that your donation is making a direct difference and save the time doing research).

With so many important causes to support, we know it can be hard to choose! Take our quiz to find out which high impact fund you should support this year, then learn more about the work our partners are in doing in each area:

End Human Trafficking
Freedom and safety are two important things that every person deserves. Unfortunately, 40 million people in the world today are deprived of those rights as victims of human trafficking. Our Charity Alliance partners International Justice Mission, Free the Slaves, ECPAT-USA, World Relief and The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO) work to provide rescue and child protection programs, safe places and services for survivors.

Free the Slaves rescued residents from Kukdaha who had been trapped in slave labor, working in a brick kiln for slave owners. Once liberated, these survivors decided to do in freedom what they did in slavery – make bricks. Except this time, they’d get paid and use the earnings to build new lives in freedom. They say: “With this brick, we build houses and earn our living. This brick is necessary for our progress. This brick means freedom.” Read the full story from Free the Slaves.

Want to help end human trafficking? Bring new beginnings for survivors with a gift today. $160 teaches five survivors in the Congo how to support themselves and their children through a savings group.

A woman holding up a brick

Photo Credit: Free the Slaves

Women & Girls
Poverty disproportionately affects women and girls – especially women and girls of color. In developing countries, women make up around 43% of the agricultural labor force and are responsible for nearly 90% of household food prep – but they make up less than 20% of the world’s landholders, putting them in a disadvantaged position for escaping poverty. Thankfully, women and girls are at the center of many impactful and sustainable programs run by our charity partners, helping them reach their full potential and make long-term impacts on their communities. Our partners International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Plan International USA, World Vision, Episcopal Relief & Development, Women for Women International and American Jewish World Service provide education, protection and rehabilitation from violence and exploitation, job training, health care, safe drinking water and a host of other services to women and girls around the world.

Monica, a girl from South Sudan, was told that her value was the equivalent to a trade for cows. Livestock are often used as dowry payments, something that Monica discovered when her uncle demanded she be sold into marriage. In South Sudan, and many places around the world, child marriage is forcing girls to abandon their dreams. Girls have to live a lie that tells them they are not human beings destined to thrive, rather objects to be bought, sold and do whatever they must to just survive. Plan International is working in South Sudan to keep girls in school and ensure their families are financially supported. To incentivize parents to keep their daughters in school – rather than force them into early marriage – female students like Monica receive food rations to share with their families. Read the full story from Plan International USA.

Want to help girls see that not only do they matter, but that their potential is exactly what is going to bring us into a better world? Your gift helps girls like Monica learn. Just $30 supplies books and interactive games promoting gender-responsive learning, caregiving and play.

Close up of a female student holding a paper

Photo Credit: Plan International

Refugees
As over 70 million people across the world have been displaced from their home countries due to conflict, we are grateful for our partners Church World Service, Refugees International, MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station), International Rescue Committee (IRC), HIAS and Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee) for providing critical services to refugees. These services include microfinance programs, trainings that foster entrepreneurship, business-building programs, asset recovery and protection services, and income and growth investment packages.

Two years ago, Rita embarked on a path toward securing a safer, more prosperous future for herself and her mother when they sought refuge from the Democratic Republic of Congo. After receiving help and guidance from the IRC, Rita became a certified nursing assistant, and now lives in Missoula, Montana.

As her state was thrust into the coronavirus pandemic with the rest of the country, she worked on the front lines with other health care workers. Her work is saving lives of her neighbors in the U.S. “I take my work very seriously,” she said. “I am caring for people and helping people.” Without Rita, or the several other health care and essential workers in Missoula who are also refugees, there would be fewer front-line nurses in her community, fewer hands to hold through the hardships and more lives at stake in the pandemic. Rita is a refugee. She is skilled. She is a lifesaver. And she is essential to the lives of those around her. Read the full story from International Rescue Committee.

Want to support refugees? Your gift helps provide prosperous futures for others like Rita. $120 equips patients in Yemen with over 5,000 doses of penicillin.

Nurse smiling in front of a health center sign

Photo Credit: The International Rescue Committee (IRC)

End Hunger
Food security is increasingly important during holidays and into the winter months. As many of us are fortunate enough to fill our tables end to end with delicious foods to celebrate the holiday season, it’s shocking to think that there are more than 815 million hungry people in the world. Donations to this fund support Rise Against Hunger, Feed My Starving Children, Action Against Hunger, Heifer International and World Food Program USA, which all work to end hunger by providing education to teach more productive agricultural practices, distributing food, helping farmers adapt to climate change and teaching families about nutrition and diet around the world.

Below is a community garden that Ibrahima and his community in Senegal built after completing Rise Against Hunger’s 16-week training on vegetable gardening techniques. The lot was previously a dumping ground for plastic and other village waste. Ibrahima said that the garden has improved conditions in his community because the land that was previously not utilized now produces food for the village and gives them the opportunity to earn money by selling produce at the local market. He also hopes that the community’s youth will continue making money and feeding the village with the garden’s produce. Read the full story from Rise Against Hunger.

Want to help end hunger? Your gift supports real and meaningful work for communities like Ibrahima’s. $200 educates a mother on farming techniques, helping her feed her children and increase her income.

People in a community garden

Photo credit: Rise Against Hunger

Whichever fund you choose to support, rest assured that you’re making a lasting impact around the world – and that’s the true spirit of the season. Be sure to share how you do #GivingTuesday on social so your friends and family can get inspired and become global champions too.