Giving Tuesday 2018

Giving Tuesday 2018: Get Inspired & Give Generously

​"Giving Tuesday" is on November 27th!

​According to Wikipedia: 
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"Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season (Black Friday and Cyber Monday)."
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This relative newbie on the holiday scene is one of my favorites!

November is the perfect time to take care of our family's year-end giving, and the timing really does help balance out the crazy consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Read on to find inspiration in my list of organizations we've supported this year or plan to support on Giving Tuesday.

I hope the list below inspires you to give generously this Giving Tuesday. 

And if you're not in a financial position to give yourself this year (been there!), take some time on Giving Tuesday to recruit others to support an organization that has served you or a cause you deeply believe in.

In times when we cannot count on government(s) to protect and care for the neediest among us, non-profits do invaluable work and need our support now maybe more than ever. 

PS Always do your own research on organizations before donating.

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AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU)

We make monthly donations to the ACLU and check in on Giving Tuesday in case we can give a little more.

There are two main ways to give to the ACLU: 

• Join the ACLU: (not tax-deductible because those funds can be used for lobbying)

• Give to the ACLU Foundation: (tax-deductable donations that cannot be used for lobbying)

Full Disclosure: I couldn't be prouder to be a member of the ACLU's board of directors.

The ACLU has been on the frontlines of defending civil rights and civil liberties for almost a 100 years.

Now more than ever they are leading the charge on protecting the most vulnerable among us -- nationwide.

One of the things I admire most about this organization is that it's fighting on all fronts:

• free speech,
  
• reproductive rights,
  
• LGBT rights,
  
• immigrants rights,
  
• voter rights,
  
• criminal law reform,
  
• disability rights,
  
• juvenile justice,
  
• prisoner's rights,
  
• religious liberty,
  
• & racial justice, to name a few.

And with affiliates throughout the country, the ACLU is perfectly positioned to address both local issues and national issues, often at record speed. 

If you care about civil rights, support the ACLU's invaluable work today!

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SUPPORT PUERTO RICO

• Taller Salud: Over the summer I raised almost $3,000 for this amazing feminist organization on the island that provides health education and was on the front lines of responding to the needs of their community in the wake of Hurricanes Irma & Maria. 

• ConPRmetidos: One of the organizations we supported in the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes, ConPRmetidos is a non-profit committed to creating "a stable, productive, and self-sufficient Puerto Rico." 

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• Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico / Puerto Rico Community Foundation: When I was researching organizations to fundraise for, I found this worthy foundation that supports diverse projects throughout the island. 

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ALUMNA LOVE

I received incredible educational opportunities and a top notch education from various institutions. Each year I try to give a little love back to those organizations that helped make me who I am today.

• Yale: I usually give to La Casa Cultural Julia de Burgos: The Latinx Cultural Center and/or the Latinx Alumni Association.

 

• Dalton: It was a reunion year this summer, so you know I showed my High School some love! 

 

• Prep for Prep: Prep for Prep is in a league of its own and they get monthly donations from me. Prep for Prep changed the course of my life when I was 11 years old by preparing me to be a leader in any educational and then professional setting. It also welcomed me into an inter-generational community of leaders of color — some of my longest & most meaningful friendships come from my early Prep for Prep days. Prep for Life!

• Side Note, I haven't added Fordham -- where I earned my PhD -- to my rotation, but I might think about how I might support the Poets Out Loud Prize and Reading Series, since I spent many years working on POL as the graduate student assistant.

Remember, even modest donations help keep alumni giving numbers up, so if you're a proud alum, consider giving something to your own alma mater this Giving Tuesday!

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Happy Thanksgiving!
&
Please Give Generously (or Raise Funds) on Giving Tuesday!

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Before You Go...

CONNECT

• What organization(s) are you supporting this Giving Tuesday? Let me know in the comments!

​​READ MORE

• Holiday Picture Books
• Book Friday: 2018 Books for Gifting
• ​Thanks & Giving: Reframe Your Holiday Stress