The Tuesday following Thanksgiving is known as Giving Tuesday. It was a movement started about six years ago by a New York City YMCA on 92nd Street in concert with a component within the United Nations.

The movement has gained international following and is a time when people are called upon to be charitable to those in need. The worthy causes out there can be overwhelming, so it is important to think about what resonates the most with you.

This is particularly important when you have a budget with which to give, which is the case with most people. The causes that are the “closest to your heart” will become the priority. In the event that you are new to donating, then check out Charity Navigator or Guide Star, two websites that inspect and rank charities based on their financial responsibility, transparency, and the amount of funds that go to the cause versus administrative/fundraising costs.

The past holiday weekend featured news and promotions for stores and for online shopping deals. The weekend is an ideal time to get gifts for your loved ones for Christmas. The point of today, Giving Tuesday, is to give back to those who are less fortunate, to help advance research of various diseases, and to pool our resources to help solve the problems in our society.

The act of charity is seen by some as not a popular thing in what many people portray Americans as consumed by materialism or their own self-gain. I disagree with the portrayal and know that many Americans are very generous, and although we are the wealthiest nation, we are also the most generous nation on Earth.
The platform of social media will be used to raise awareness and funds on Giving Tuesday as Facebook, Twitter, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will all be doing matching of some kind based on the gifts given today by generous Americans.

This is a good time to take a personal inventory of all that you have in your life that you are grateful for, and to think about how you could give of your excess resources to help those causes or people that really need assistance. Your generosity will help many worthy organizations to provide services and programs to people who are struggling and suffering.

Here are some worthy causes and four star rated charities that could be a potential partner for your donation activity today:
Salvation Army: www.salvationarmyus.org
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America: www.alzfdn.org 866-232-8484
Catholic Charities 800-919-9338
Food For The Poor: www.foodforthe poor.org 800-427-9104
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255
Samaritan’s Purse: www.samaritanspurse.org
Zero- The End of Prostate Cancer: zerocancer.org 888-245-9455
MAP International : www.map.org 800-225-8550

Thank you for your support of Giving Tuesday and for giving to “the least of these”. God bless you.