How to Support Nonprofits Beyond Giving Tuesday

In case you didn’t know, today is Giving Tuesday. If you are like me, you love nonprofits and your inbox is flooded with pleas for donations.

To be honest, I feel overwhelmed today. What organizations do I support? What will happen to those who I don’t support? What am I supposed to do?

First thing I always remind myself is you can’t help EVERY organization. Supporting nonprofits, and making Giving Tuesday a success, is a TEAM effort. One person can’t do it all. More importantly, nonprofits need help ALL YEAR ROUND, not just on a single day.

So to help myself, and anyone else who needs it, I have put together a simple list of other ways you can support nonprofits today and other days of the year:

• Remember: it is not all on you. Do what you can and feel comfortable doing. Nonprofits need help ALL YEAR ROUND, not just a single day. If you feel overwhelmed to do anything today, you can choose another day to help out in any way you can.
• Share donation pages of organizations you support. Share also your connection or why you support a particular organization. Stories make a huge impact and sharing can really help a nonprofit by making meaningful connections with potential new supporters.
• Sign up to volunteer at a nonprofit. You can volunteer at any date that works for you! Again, nonprofits need help 365 days a year. The holidays are when the most people give their time since it is the holiday season and the giving spirit is strong. Consider volunteering during an offseason when nonprofits are usually struggling to find volunteers.
• If you can’t donate money, see if the nonprofits you want to support receive in-kind donations. Especially these days, money is tight for many. See what other things you can donate.
• See if your company has a matching program for either monetary and/or volunteer hour donations for the organizations you want to support. This will make it easier for others to make an impact at organizations that you feel passionate about.

Going forward, how will you support nonprofits? Tell me in the comments!