Another year of Thanksgiving is over and now that everyone has spent all of their money on food, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s time to toss a few money crumbs towards non-profits with Giving Tuesday. I also love giving out a good dose of sarcasm every now and then 🤭 I’m pretty pessimistic when it comes to Giving Tuesday. The biggest reason being, companies seem to be the largest proponents of Giving Tuesday. It feels like that once the companies have done their best to sell you their products, they now feel guilty and obligated to give something back. The problem is that it doesn’t feel subtle and it doesn’t feel genuine. I’m not saying that you don’t give on Giving Tuesday, but I’d like to propose a more impactful challenge to you.

I have two giving philosophies:

Be consistent
Give from surplus

Be Consistent

I make it a point to give a certain percentage of my paycheck upfront, every month, to various non-profits. This keeps my mind constantly aware of what I’m giving and who I’m giving to. It also makes my giving much more intentional and thoughtful. I am choosing who/what I feel the most passionate about. It’s ridiculous to think that we should all give to all the same things, or feel strongly about all non-profits. So this is my way being intentional with my money. Non-profits also benefit from a steady “income” since they don’t have to guess how much money “might” come in at the end of the year.

Give From Surplus

My second philosophy is to give as needed or as able. If a need arises and I feel like it is a need I should meet, I will give a chunk of my surplus, this is done from money I’ve saved up. A lot of the time I will give from my normal savings, but I also set aside a percentage of money from tax refunds, bonuses, and any other type of influx of money and give from that. Honestly, this way of giving is the most difficult for me. It feels mentally easier to give $100 a month, rather than $1200 at the end of the year. The numbers end up being much bigger when given in a single lump.

A Challenge

The problem I have with Giving Tuesday is that it feels contrived and forced. It also feels like people are being guilted into giving, versus doing it because they want to and are excited about what they are giving to. I have a similar problem with the mail I receive, “DONATE NOW OR BABY PENGUINS WILL DIE,” there’s always something terrible happening somewhere.

This year I decided that instead of just jumping on the Black Lives Matter social media bandwagon (which has unfortunately faded and become forgotten by the majority of folks), I wanted to do something long-lasting, memorable for me, and meaningful to my local community. I decided back then that I’d donate $1 for every single mile I run, to a different local non-profit, each month, indefinitely, to organizations working to eradicate racism, poverty and inequality. You can read my various blogs posts about this journey. Since November is officially over, with my running mileage tallying up to 101 miles. Therefore, this month I have donated $101 to RISSE (Refugee and Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus), which is literally two blocks from my house and meeting the many needs of refugees and immigrants in Albany!

What I encourage you to do today, on Giving Tuesday, is to make some kind of dedication to give. Don’t let this day be your single day of guilt giving, find a way to give back to the community that is meaningful to both you and others. Don’t let corporations dictate what you should feel passionate about, find the things that you are passionate about and give. One of the motivating ways I’ve found is to meet the needs of others through the thing I love doing, running. I hope you will do the same.