GivingTuesday

November 28, 2016 6:52 PM

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, a marketing ploy for sure, but one I'm fully behind. But who should you give to? TinySpark helps answer those questions.

Part One: Is it Better to Give Locally or Globally?

Part Two: Tools for Good Giving

Part Three: Is This Charity Any Good?


Bonus: What's the history of GivingTuesday?

posted by garlic (10 comments total)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. I've had 3 friends forever that I've wanted to stop exchanging holiday gifts with. It's an awkward conversation to have, because it's hard to have it without sounding like you didn't like the last thing they gave you. But it's not that - is just that it seems so silly and trite to get each other a book we don't need or whatever, when there's better uses for our limited income. This is a perfect way to help others and stop a needless tradition that I think causes more stress than enjoyment. I've already messaged all three with a link to the article asking them to donate to one of the these organizations if they haven't already bought me a gift.
posted by greermahoney at 8:16 PM on November 28, 2016

This is fantastic. Thanks for posting.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:40 PM on November 28, 2016

I knew Giving Tuesday was relatively new but I had no idea it was 2012 new. Thanks for that WaPo link!
posted by librarylis at 6:27 AM on November 29, 2016

Part One has a pointer to Givewell, which is basically a hedge fund for charitable giving: They do indepth research and select a few top charities. Are those necessarily the best and most effective charities? Possibly not. Are there amazing organizations that Givewell doesn't consider because they don't have enough data? Probably.

But when I give to their recommended organizations, I can be quite sure that that money will be making a huge benefit to extremely needy people. It's basically a best bet.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:49 AM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

Please MeMail me if you're concerned about energy/environmental issues related to Florida!
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:08 AM on November 29, 2016

As someone who works in the nonprofit sector and has worked for an international development charity, I'd like to issue a small reminder that the questions of what charity to donate to, how to measure impact, and global versus local donation are complex and depend a good bit on context. The linked articles are helpful guidelines, which have been simplified/condensed so as to provide good starting points for thinking through your decisions, rather than easy answers. Don't let the first link put you off donating to well-run local charities, for example. I'm always happy to see people spending time considering where their donations will be most helpful, which is great for the nonprofit sector. Happy donating!
posted by Concordia at 7:17 AM on November 29, 2016 [6 favorites]

I like that the occasion inspired someone with funds to offer matching donations today for the org I wanted to donate to. My employer does not offer matching, so the private match is a great opportunity.
posted by blakewest at 10:47 AM on November 29, 2016

Part One has a pointer to Givewell

Snap, I came in here to make Givewell jokes too. Have they been forgiven now? Maybe they were forgiven back in the day? Looks like the responsible parties got their beatdown coming but are back at their old positions. An American redemption story? I didn't think we believed in that any more if we ever did.

I hear my local NPR station snappily get up on me for Giving Tuesday which they were totally wrong about because after last year's utter saturation, no, its Go Fuck Yourself Tuesday. I like the idea of a day of giving but there's only so many compulsory theme days I can tolerate and only so much clamor from every media surface I can take. We're Taking The Next Day for Our Great Idea was just a day too late in an already exploitative season.

When you're trying to disengage from the hoo-hah of the season, this doesn't help.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:42 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

charities asking for donations of money or time instead of buy buy buy is part of the "hoo-hah of the season"?
posted by garlic at 4:10 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Snap, I came in here to make Givewell jokes too. Have they been forgiven now? Maybe they were forgiven back in the day? Looks like the responsible parties got their beatdown coming but are back at their old positions. An American redemption story? I didn't think we believed in that any more if we ever did.

Didn't mean it as a joke, as I was unfamiliar with that entire episode.

Annoying, but it doesn't change my beliefs. If there's some reason it should, I'd like to hear it, as I'm planning to donate 4% of my income to Givewell this week.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:11 AM on November 30, 2016