Collective Giving Makes a Huge Difference!

Tags: Giving Tuesday

The United States of America is a very big place with approximately 325 million people residing on the mainland, the islands, and the state up towards the north pole. It can make a person feel very small, a perspective which can provide a dose of lighthearted presence during a stressful day. In a world filled with adversity, it can also make someone feel unimportant and incapable of creating change. It can fool a person into believing that they are too insignificant to make a difference.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Last year, our country gave $373.25 billion to charitable causes working to rescue animals, save the environment, and cultivate a society that puts human services, education, and arts within the grasp of all. And don’t think these dollars were donated in the form of elegantly signed checks handed over by the top percentiles, rich corporations, and famous foundations. $264.58 billion of that altruistic giving was donated by individual donors giving what they could, that’s 71% of total giving! Furthermore, through 7.8 billion hours of volunteering, 62.6 million of our country men, women, and children gave another $184 billion worth of services. Still feel small?

Whether you are able to give $2 or 2 hours, those significant gifts can change the day of a senior citizen or help buy emergency food supplies for a growing child. If that’s still hard to grasp, think about #GivingTuesday. In 2015, the international day for giving inspired 700,000 people in over 70 countries to donate more than $116 million in one 24 hour time period! By the time this article is printed, we will have seen these numbers increase in 2016 as more and more individuals rally around the causes that align with their vision of community.

Collective giving campaigns like #GivingTuesday and our region’s Give Back Tahoe Giving Guide elevate the power of individual donors to make a huge difference in shaping their communities.

Yesterday’s #GivingTuesday launched our own Give Back Tahoe Giving Guide season, developed and promoted by Sierra Sun and Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF). So far, we have raised over $40,000 for local nonprofits and we still have over a month to give! Donations of $25 can help your favorite local nonprofits as they work towards earning $1,000 – $4,000 Challenge Grants! Donate now at www.givebacktahoe.org.