Maximize Your Impact with TriplePundit's GivingTuesday Guide

GivingTuesday started as a social media hashtag back in 2012 and grew into a national movement. Observed each year on the Tuesday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, GivingTuesday aims to channel support to nonprofit organizations in a counter to the hyper-consumerism associated with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

GivingTuesday is now one of the biggest nonprofit fundraising events of the year, raising $3.1 billion in the U.S. alone in 2022. The support is needed now more than ever, as nonprofits report donations are down this year as inflation leaves many less able to give. 

This year, TriplePundit turned to our readers, writers and colleagues to develop our crowdsourced GivingTuesday Guide, with the aim of providing a platform for our community to learn from each other about how best to support the causes we care about. Even if you're not financially able to give this year, volunteering or offering your support on social media can make a world of difference for these nonprofits. Read on for some of your favorites. 

CampLauncher

CampLauncher provides free camp scholarships for neurodiverse young people, such as those on the autism spectrum or who have diagnoses like Asperger’s or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). "Summer camps are often life changing for any individual, regardless of their social and emotional profile. For neurodiverse children and young adults, camp is uniquely positioned to be a transformative force in their lives," the organization's website reads. 

Participating camps include Camp Akeela in Vermont, MGH Aspire in Massachusetts and Talisman Summer Camp in North Carolina. "I have personal experience with Camp Akeela, which changed my son's life and mine," said TriplePundit reader Leslie Ochroch in her nomination of CampLauncher. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

The Friendly Fridge Foundation

The Friendly Fridge Foundation operates the first community refrigerator in the Bronx, New York. Founded by two friends of TriplePundit writer Tina Casey in 2020, the fridge now brings an average 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of food per week to Bronx residents. The mission? "Normalize reducing environmental waste and harm while also reducing stress of many."

Neighbors can donate their unwanted food, and the nonprofit also partners with more than 25 schools, pantries, community centers, restaurants, catering companies, farms and other organizations, according to its website. Along with a community fridge on the sidewalk in the Bronx, the group's volunteers also serve regular hot meals to their neighbors and give away essentials like children's toys and warm clothes. 

"I love this nonprofit because it enlists the whole community as donors, receivers and hosts, and because it preserves the dignity of those in need of food," Casey said. "There is no schedule or waiting in long lines."

Click here to donate for GivingTuesday

Rural Youth Voter Fund

The Rural Youth Voter Fund works to "mobilize young voters in small towns, sparse suburbs and rural areas to power a clean economy," said TriplePundit reader Bill McClain, who is involved with the effort. The Fund supports grassroots community organizations focused on engaging young voters, particularly young voters of color.

Those groups include Get Out The Native Vote — "which provided stipends, materials, and training to Native Alaskan youth organizers who worked in 10 rural Alaskan communities to register their neighbors and turn-out the vote for Mary Peltola," the first Alaska Native member of Congress and first woman to represent Alaska in the House of Representatives, according to the Fund's website. 

Click here to donate for GivingTuesday

YMCA

The YMCA focuses on youth development and community enrichment through more than 2,700 local chapters across the U.S. Programming includes sports and athletics, as well as childcare, education, youth leadership, and senior and immigrant services. 

"YMCA branches across the United States rely on donations to continue bringing vital services to communities," says Dave Armon, CEO of TriplePundit's parent company, 3BL. "Whenever I travel, I visit local Ys to swim. Invariably, these facilities are welcoming to visitors and patronized by a diverse set of users. Those unable to pay for a YMCA membership are eligible through assistance funds.  Whenever I can, I contribute beyond my own membership to ensure others can access learn-to-swim programs and all sorts of other activities from tai chi and dance to basketball and pre-K classes." 

Local YMCA chapters consistently receive the highest marks possible from Charity Navigator for transparency, governance and efficient use of funds. 

Click to donate to the national chapter or search "YMCA" and your city to find a chapter near you.

Camino

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Camino is a faith-based nonprofit that primarily serves Latino communities in the U.S. and around the world. Founder and CEO Rusty Price has helped organize more than $150 million in aid to communities across Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador and the United States since 2003, according to the organization's website. 

Camino also provides vital services in the Charlotte area, including a bilingual health center and bilingual career training and social mobility programs, as well as a community thrift shop and a food pantry that served more than 12,000 people across the city last year. 

"Overall, it's a great organization!" said TriplePundit reader Arhys Cruz Mora. "And this Christmas, their goal is to give away over 2,000 gifts at their annual Christmas With Camino gift giveaway." 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

 

It Takes A Village

It Takes A Village provides free support to new families and postpartum parents in Western Massachusetts. Services include a home visit program for families with new babies, as well as social groups, educational programming and other resources for new parents in the area. The Village Closet in Huntington, Massachusetts, provides free diapers, clothes from newborn to adult, baby supplies, toys, books and other essentials that families need. 

Mary Lorbert, a client success manager at 3BL, volunteers with It Takes a Village regularly and serves on its board of directors. "Being a parent is hard work," Lorbert said. "The difference It Takes A Village makes is huge to each individual and family it serves. Most recently, it has held car seat fitting clinics, with new car seats provided and installed by a professional, and winter coats and toy gathering initiatives for the upcoming winter and holiday season." 

Other 3BLers who live near the company's offices in Northampton, Massachusetts, including content specialist manager Carreen Cook, also donate to It Takes a Village. Like many smaller, local nonprofits, it is not rated by Charity Navigator, but you can learn more about the organization and its mission here. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

The Miracle League 

The Miracle League believes everyone — regardless of disability — should have the opportunity to play baseball. Founded in Georgia in 2000, the nonprofit now includes more than 350 chapters across the U.S. and Canada, serving over 450,000 children and adults.

TriplePundit writer Megan Amrich, who chronicles her experience parenting a child with disabilities on her blog Joyful, Brave & Awesome, found her family's experience with the Miracle League of Western Massachusetts to be life-changing. 

"My son began playing in the league this year, and it has been such a transformative experience not only for him, but for our entire family," Amrich said. "He has the opportunity to learn sportsmanship, get outside, be active, and be a team player while surrounded with other kids who move, communicate, think, and act differently or similarly to him. In addition to the weekly baseball games, there are social events throughout the year. And this fall, the league opened its first Inclusive Playground, which is fully accessible for children like my son who use wheelchairs. I cannot say enough good things about this group!" 

Click here to donate to the national chapter or search "Miracle League" and your city to find a chapter near you.

CreatorsCircle

TriplePundit writer Nayelli Gonzalez founded CreatorsCircle to help connect diverse young people to purpose-driven careers. The organization hosts a summer fellowship for young people interested in careers in sustainability and social impact, and it provides online databases of impact stories and other impact-focused youth programs. 

"CreatorsCircle is a resource hub that connects diverse youth with opportunities to create a life of purpose and impact," Gonzalez said. "Our programs provide high-school youth from historically marginalized communities with access to free resources⁠ — including a searchable online database, workshops and a summer program — to help close the opportunity gap for future generations of impact creators and connect them with avenues to explore purpose-driven careers that will help build a new, regenerative economy that advances transformative systems change for the good of all."

All donations this giving season will be used to support stipends for high-schoolers to attend CreatorsCircle's summer fellowship in 2024.

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

Center for Employment Opportunities 

Opportunities are often limited for the more than 650,000 men and women who leave U.S prisons and jails each year after serving their time. People with records are often turned away by employers and locked out of housing. More than half of those leaving incarceration in the U.S. are unemployed a year later, increasing the likelihood they’ll return. 

The Center for Employment Opportunities is a U.S. nonprofit on a mission to provide pathways to employment for formerly incarcerated people and reduce the likelihood they'll return to prison. The organization began as a project of the Vera Institute of Justice in the 1970s and branched out on its own in 1996. It now operates in 30 cities across 12 U.S. states and has placed more than 34,000 justice-impacted people into full-time jobs through transitional employment, career coaching and support services, according to its website. 

The Center earned the highest possible score on Charity Navigator, and I personally send them a recurring donation every month to support the fantastic work they do for people who deserve a second chance. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

OpenOceans Global 

TriplePundit writer Carl Nettleton is the founder of OpenOceans Global, a nonprofit on a mission to keep plastic waste out of the world's oceans. The group uses crowdsourcing to map plastic pollution on beaches around the world and works with dozens of organizations focused on plastic pollution globally to amplify their work. 

"OpenOceans Global brings to light innovations in ocean plastic policy, plastic substitution, waste management, river intervention and many other solutions," Nettleton said. "Your contribution will fund the mapping of plastic-fouled beaches, curate solutions, host a collaborative hub for global experts, and support the award-winning The Transition newsletter, reporting on people and progress in solving the ocean plastic crisis."

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation works to eradicate type 1 diabetes among young people. TriplePundit writer Ellen Delisio has raised thousands of dollars for the Foundation over the years — and the vast majority of those funds go directly to research. The Foundation channeled $473 million into research for type 1 diabetes therapies in 2022, according to its website, with four stars from Charity Navigator for transparency and efficient use of funds. 

"They say they exist to put themselves out of business," Delisio said. "Once a cure is found, their job will be done." The Foundation also supports services for people and families living with the diagnosis and public policy advocacy — including campaigns to lower the cost of insulin in the U.S. and the Children’s Congress, which brings young people to meet with and educate lawmakers around the world about type-1 diabetes. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

Black and Pink

"Black and Pink is a prison abolition group specifically advocating for the rights of LGBTQIA+ and HIV+ incarcerated people," explained John Arvanitis, director of client success and onboarding at 3BL.

The group has seven chapters across the U.S. that provide transitional housing and wraparound services to LGBTQIA+ and HIV+ people who are justice impacted and advocate locally for policies that are more inclusive of the community. It also advocates for criminal justice reform nationally through its Working Group and leads a national penpal and support program for people in the community who are incarcerated. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

 

The Nature Conservancy 

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental organization working in 79 countries around the world. With more than 400 environmental scientists on staff, the Nature Conservancy conducts pivotal research, supports conservation and restoration projects, and advocates for public policies that protect people and the environment. 

Content specialist Andrea Voytovich is among the 3BL staffers who give recurring donations to the Conservancy. "I'm an enthusiastic member," Voytovich said. "Through that membership, I'm able to help them effect positive global change for both people and nature. I appreciate their frequent updates on how funds are used in specific ways, as well as the ease with which anyone can learn about the natural world and how to help protect and preserve it through information they provide." 

The Conservancy received four stars on Charity Navigator, the highest score possible. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

Center for Communication

Another favorite of 3BL CEO Dave Armon, the Center for Communication is a New York City-based organization committed to driving representation among creatives. The mission: "promote diversity in media by providing students with the knowledge, skills and connections they need to succeed in the industry."  

"Presidents and CEOs of many NYC-based ad and PR agencies, fashion houses, news outlets, video production houses and book publishers participate in CenCom events, which are open to current college students of all ages, as well as recent grads," Armon said. 

The organization reaches undergrads, graduate students, and recent grads from more than 200 colleges and universities across the New York area and nationwide. Its program series — including panels and career summits — aims to get more passionate young people into media, particularly those from communities that are historically underrepresented in the field. It is not rated by Charity Navigator but has attracted the attention of partners like Google, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

Able Gamers

Another favorite of 3BLer John Arvanitis, Able Gamers connects people with disabilities with low- to no-cost gaming setups. Nonprofit staff works with people individually through peer counseling to develop a setup that meets their needs. If a certain controller or device is not available with existing gaming technology, they invent it at the AbleGamers Center for Inclusive Play in Kearneysville, West Virginia, a maker space that includes 3D printers, a laser and electronics manufacturing capabilities.

But even if the right hardware is developed, too often gamers with disabilities find the features of the game itself are not accessible. To help, Able Gamers also hosts courses for gaming developers focused on accessible and inclusive game design. 

Click to donate for GivingTuesday

Don't forget your local news outlets this GivingTuesday

Local news organizations provide critical services in cities and towns across the U.S. and around the world. They offer a platform for local people and their stories, and in many cases uncover glaring cases of public harm that undoubtedly would have continued if not for their reporting.  

But local news is a dying breed. Even in major cities, local newspapers, magazine publishers and broadcasters are being forced to downsize, and the services they provide are at serious risk. As you think about your GivingTuesday donations this year, consider subscribing to or supporting your local news outlets. TriplePundit staffers — including myself, editorial assistant Taylor Haelterman and many of our writers — do the same in an effort to support public information and the people who provide it. 3BLers including client success manager Mike Isopi also choose to donate to public news outlets like the Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) to support educational broadcasting.