01 Dec Giving Tuesday: What is it, why is it important, and how you can get involved

During this time of year, individuals and organizations alike spend millions of dollars on gifts for themselves or other people. The combination of holiday shopping and Black Friday has created and driven people to spend their money in numerous ways. In the year 2021, sales on goods during the months of November and December alone are expected to exceed $843 billion. For many people, this yearly spending spree is basically tradition. However, what if there was a different way to celebrate that tradition that can be beneficial and make an impact in our communities?

Giving Tuesday, or the #GivingTuesday movement, has gained momentum thanks to social media and has proven to be one of the most impactful donation days of the year. Individual donors and companies have helped so many different efforts with their outgoing generosity to fuel this movement. You may be asking yourself, “what is #GivingTuesday? Why is it so important? How can I be involved in it?” In this blog post, we’ll explain exactly what it is, how you can participate, and specifically how Scion as an organization has participated.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a generosity movement that was started in 2012 in an effort to counteract the spending from Black Friday and Cyber Monday with a global day of giving on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. Founded by New York’s 92nd Street Y with a partnership by the United Nations Foundation as a day that encourages people to express their generosity and kindness. The organization GivingTuesday was created in 2019 and now spearheads the movement. Even with the pandemic of 2020 having such a big impact on individuals and companies alike, more than $2.7 billion was raised in the United States alone.

When is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, the date is November 30, 2021. For 2022, the date will be November 29. It directly follows three of the largest spending days of the year: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.

Why is #GivingTuesday so important?

Giving Tuesday is important because it inspires and offers a challenge people all around the globe to truly utilize their powers for good. It is more than just donating an amount of money to a random cause. It’s about generating an impact on the issues and causes that they truly care about. Creating a campaign for a cause in need and donating to fundraisers can be a great way to impact the community and help an organization in need.

Giving Tuesday is especially important to the team at Scion Staffing. This year, Scion made contributions to several different nonprofit organizations including Fear No Music and Mercy Housing.

Fear No Music is a nonprofit organization in Portland that is focused on promoting music education through public performance of classical and modern music and offers comprehensive youth mentorship in music composition.

Mercy Housing helps build affordable housing through their core values of respect, justice, and mercy. From project financing and housing development to community outreach and long-term resident services, everything Mercy Housing does is in service of their mission to create stable, vibrant, and healthy communities.

How can I participate in Giving Tuesday?

There are several ways that you can participate in Giving Tuesday as a group or as an individual. Here are just some ideas of the ways that you can help:

• Advocate for a cause by sharing nonprofit organizations and their Giving Tuesday campaigns on social media platforms with the hashtag #GivingTuesday
• Volunteer your time for a Giving Tuesday event. Organizations like food banks can always use an extra set of hands!
• Make a donation to a new cause that you are passionate about! Help solve a problem within your community or elsewhere!
• Create a fundraising campaign on behalf of a cause or organization that you’re passionate for! You can also add areas for online donations and promote matching for donations to increase the amount raised!

These are just some simple ideas to get you started on your Giving Tuesday journey! Give the gift of giving this holiday season and practice your radical generosity by giving to a charitable organization. Scion Staffing is proud to participate in Giving Tuesday and we hope that this article inspires you to be just another one of the supporters of these extraordinary efforts.