The global phenomenon #GivingTuesday is set to hit Northern Ireland for the first time on December 2.
#GivingTuesday has been supported by The White House, Bill Gates, Hugh Jackman, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez, Ringo Starr, Kevin Bacon, Heidi Klum, Lily Cole, Facebook and Google to name a few.
And while it started in the US, this year it’s being held in countries across the world including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore – and now Northern Ireland.
The grassroots movement began nearly three years ago in response to the high volume shopping days of Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday – the busiest online shopping day of the year. #GivingTuesday has now swept across the globe creating an international day of giving.
It serves as a call to action to inspire personal philanthropy and encourages bigger, better and smarter charitable giving during the festive season, showing that the world truly gives as good as it gets.
Online giving on #GivingTuesday 2013 was up 90% on 2012 and the average online gift increased from $101.60 to $142.05.
#GivingTuesdayNI is being co-ordinated by Giving Northern Ireland and The Charities Aid Foundation and will highlight that even amidst the busy shopping season before Christmas people in the Northern Ireland will go out of their way to give to others
“On #GivingTuesday we are asking everyone to come together to show the world why it is good to give. Whether it is making a donation, volunteering your time or just spreading the word, Giving Tuesday is a call to action for everyone who wants to give something back. It spread around the globe as people decided that the festive season isn’t just about consumption but about thinking of others and this is the first time that we in Northern Ireland have the chance to participate,” explained Sandara Kelso-Robb, Strategic Advisor to Giving Northern Ireland, an organisation which encourages strategic philanthropic giving.
Ben Russell, Director of Communications at the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “We’re thrilled #GivingTuesday will be coming to Northern Ireland. #GivingTuesday is global but works best when communities take it up for themselves and create something new – and we hope we can inspire people to do just this.
”#Giving Tuesday just means doing one thing for a good cause on December 2, offer to volunteer your time, set up a regular donation to your favourite charity, get on Twitter or just talk to your family about a cause you care about – anything goes.”
Individuals and businesses can get involved in a number of ways. Individuals can simply donate to their favourite charity on December 2nd – or pledge time or talent to help!
Businesses and charities can sign up to be a partner of #GivingTuesdayNI . Charities can run an event and businesses can engage staff in charitable activity on December 2.
Part of the success of Giving Tuesday was generated by social media – last year there were 200,634 Tweets sharing everything from fundraising events to offering donations. Two billion impressions were achieved across all social media channels.
To find out more about #GivingTuesdayNI go to www.givingnorthernireland.org or contact Tracy Bell at Tracy.bell@givingnorthernireland.org or 02890 446407.
