There Goes Another Giving Tuesday

Since 2012, once a year, there is a day that is elevated above all others in the United States as the primary day focused on human generosity. It's the day we call Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is a one-day event promoted for weeks/months prior to the day. It's a day when non-profits particularly highlight their causes and the needs they face to fulfill their missions. All kinds of time and energy goes into raising awareness, building relationships and soliciting funding. Dreaming takes place. Planning happens. Emails are sent. Phone calls are made. Social media posts go up on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Ultimately goals are set, strived for, and met or missed.

So much effort spent on one day, and then it's gone.

I have mixed feelings about Giving Tuesday. I get excited about the day, support it and am extremely grateful for it, but I also find myself a little disillusioned by it. Like any other highly promoted day in the year, as it approaches it begins to draw attention, interest, excitement, momentum and support, and then the day arrives. Twenty-four hours of all kinds of things take place on that day to keep people's attention focused on being generous and sacrificial. Then it's over. The online banners come down, the social media posts go back to regularly scheduled content, thank you notes are sent, and typically we return to what we knew days/weeks/months before. Like the ending of most momentous days or events, oftentimes the fire dies out, it gets chilly, and we begin to look for other places to feel warm and cozy. Then the cycle begins all over again. Sound familiar? Oh the irony of me listening to Christmas music as I type this blog post.

However, despite the disillusionment the day can bring, I also love Giving Tuesday. I am most grateful for how Giving Tuesday creates awareness for a few, and increases a deepened commitment from others. I love Giving Tuesday because it reminds us to hold on to and revisit the universal call to generosity and compassion once again. If Giving Tuesday is a day, it fails to provide much more than fleeting funding and some fond memories, but if it’s an invitation...well then...let’s see where we can go together!

The primary reason why I loved THIS year's Giving Tuesday, in particular, isn't because of the funds we raised, although I am grateful for every dollar. It's because of the new friendships we made and the ones that have been rejuvenated. Without financial backing, nonprofits rarely survive. Yes, we all know the money is important. But what means the most to me are the people who say for the first time, or for the hundredth time, "Giving Tuesday isn't a day. It's an invitation to an opportunity.” Giving Tuesday makes me grateful for you. You are the people, whether you actually gave money, time or resources to A Ring of Hope as a result of this year's Giving Tuesday or not, you are the ones who are awake with us. You are paying attention, curious, committed on some level or another to being impacted by and riding with an organization trying to make a real difference. You help make up the A Ring of Hope team...the family. Whether you have just joined us, or have been on what is a very short ride so far, I appreciate you. Giving Tuesday comes to life for me when I am reminded of all of you, and the long term difference we can make together.

Thank you for helping make Giving Tuesday something much bigger than just another day. Thank you for accepting the invitation to change the world!

For the kids,

Jamie