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What is Giving Tuesday? What to know about the global generosity movement

Ashley R. Williams, USA TODAY
·4 min read

Following two of the biggest shopping days of the year, Giving Tuesday celebrates generously giving back. The organization dedicated to encouraging kindness marks 10 years in 2022 on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

"There's not a person or community in the entire world where generosity is not important," Giving Tuesday CEO Asha Curran said.

Here's what you should know about the global generosity movement on Nov. 29, and how anyone can participate any day of the year:

Who created Giving Tuesday?

The annual day of giving began in 2012 following two major consumption days in the U.S., Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as a way to honor the value of generosity, Curran told USA TODAY.

“In the very beginning, we acknowledged there are two days that are tremendously powerful for the retail sector and for-profit businesses,” said Curran, who added that countries where Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t recognized participate in Giving Tuesday.

Receiving food bank produce, dry goods and meat on July 29, 2020, in New York City.
Receiving food bank produce, dry goods and meat on July 29, 2020, in New York City.

“This was just an interesting counternarrative to challenge ourselves to think about the importance of giving back to nonprofit organizations, causes we care about and to each other."

It has since grown to a year-round movement officially celebrated across more than 85 countries, including Brazil, Ukraine and Zambia. Giving Tuesday activity takes place in every country and territory around the world annually, according to the organization.

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The billions of dollars donated to Giving Tuesday over a decade have come not from wealthy philanthropists, Curran said, but from everyday Americans inspired to support meaningful causes.

How does Giving Tuesday work?

Giving Tuesday revolves around the power of “radical generosity,” the concept that others’ suffering should be as intolerable to people as their own suffering, according to its website. Simply put, it means we’re all in this together, Curran said.

“We can make it really hard on each other, or we can make it much easier on each other, lighten each other's loads and make each other's days or lives better,” she said. “By doing that, it will create a more generous future at the roots.”

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Money isn’t needed to make an impact, Curran said, as generosity comes in many forms – such as checking in on a neighbor or cooking a meal for a homebound or elderly person.

“We all have the ability to make a huge difference in the lives of other people without spending a dime,” she said.

What’s the impact of Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is significant for various reasons, said Commissioner Kenneth Hodder, the Salvation Army’s national commander in the U.S.

The organization planned to unveil its giant Red Kettle in New York City on Giving Tuesday to mark the start of the giving season. The annual national Red Kettle campaign launched Thanksgiving for its 132nd year.

“It can serve as a reminder to anyone who has been shown kindness by someone else; it serves as an opportunity for us to express care for one another, our neighbors and our own communities,” Hodder told USA TODAY. “It can also be a way of magnifying the joy of the season.”

Investing time in a few generous acts on Giving Tuesday or any other day can leave a “profound” impact on those who give, like feeling happier, healthier and more connected to communities, Curran said.

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“It’s an incredible opportunity to transform behaviors, spark civic participation and ignite real systemic change," she said.

How to participate in Giving Tuesday

For those not sure where to start, Giving Tuesday organizers often post ideas on how to get involved on their websites and social media.

The organization shared a list of 50 ways to give kindness via Instagram, which included:

  • Paying for the coffee of someone behind you in line

  • Beautifying a neighborhood corner by planting flowers

  • Donating old laptops to a STEM school or nonprofit

  • Picking up trash around the neighborhood

  • Leaving quarters at the laundromat

Syndication Detroit Free Press Comerica Bank VP of Community Affairs Patricia McCann, center, and Comerica Bank Michigan Market President Mike Ritchie load items into a car as a family picks up food at Capuchin Soup Kitchen Services Center in Detroit on Nov. 23, 2021. Comerica Bank partnered with Capuchin Soup Kitchen to give 568 families from Metro Detroit all the items for a traditional Thanksgiving meal for those experiencing hardship.

How global groups celebrate Giving Tuesday

These 2022 Giving Tuesday campaigns are working to inspire people to give back:

  • #GivingTuesdayMilitary is challenging military members, families, veterans and supporters to share 1 million acts of intentional kindness.

  • Grass-roots environmental movement Tuesdays for Trash is encouraging people worldwide to pick up litter in their communities on Giving Tuesday.

  • Giving Tuesday Guam is taking its annual food drive on the road with its first Giving Tuesday bus tour. The donation-filled bus will make surprise stops to local nonprofits to show gratitude for those working in the community year-round.

  • Giving Tuesday Ukraine is hosting an online giving festival where people can share kind words, make donations and inspire others by posting about their good deeds.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giving Tuesday 2022: How to participate in biggest giving day of year