Norwalk Charities Prepare For 'Giving Tuesday'

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday have all added themselves to the post-Thanksgiving calendar in recent years. Now, nonprofits in Fairfield County and across the country hope to add their own event to the holiday rush -- “Giving Tuesday.”

Giving Tuesday started in 2012, and has grown this year.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

by Greg Canuel

12/02/2013 5:00 a.m.

New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation spearheaded the Giving Tuesday movement last year. Nonprofit organizations across the country will make pushes through their Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and other social media sites to encourage charitable donations during the holiday shopping season, especially on the first Tuesday in December.

“Giving Tuesday is a counter-narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” Kathy Calvin of the United Nations Foundation said in a press release. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to build a better world.”

In 2012, more than 2,500 organizations participated, and national nonprofit collections websites saw donations increase as much as 50 percent compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving the previous year. The organizers expect to surpass those totals this year, with more than 6,500 charities participating in 2013.

Several Connecticut charities have arranged for special offers on Giving Tuesday. For example, the Connecticut Association for the Gifted has announced it has lined up anonymous donors willing to match any contributions made Dec. 3.

“Your donation allows CAG to provide resources, information, research, education, support, MIM discounts and much more,” the group says on its website. “Be a part of a national celebration of giving, be part of Connecticut's great tradition of generosity.”

Other groups have designated specific programs for their Giving Tuesday collections. Stamford-based AmeriCares is asking donations go toward its ongoing work to help the recovery effort in the Philippines after a huge typhoon struck the island nation last month. The agency has been providing medical aid to many of the 4 million Filipinos who were displaced by the storm.

In total, 130 Connecticut organizations have signed on as official partners of the Giving Tuesday movement. A list of other participating charities is available on the Giving Tuesday website.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.