Giving Tuesday

Key Concepts

• Wasteful Holiday Gifting: The practice of giving gifts that are not needed or desired, leading to financial and environmental waste.
• Charitable Donations as Gifts: Gifting a donation to a recipient's favorite charity as a more meaningful and impactful alternative.
• TisBest and DonorsChoose: Organizations that facilitate charitable donations as gifts, allowing donors to specify the recipient and the amount.
• Impact of Holiday Spending: The significant financial expenditure on non-essential items like candy during the holiday season, which could be redirected to charitable causes.

The Problem with Traditional Holiday Gifting

The speaker identifies a personal struggle with holiday gifting approximately 20 years ago, characterized by:

• Difficulty in Finding the "Right" Gift: The challenge of selecting a gift that the recipient would genuinely appreciate or need.
• Giving "Junky Gifts": The tendency to give unwanted or low-quality items (e.g., a sweater) to people who didn't require them.
• Wastefulness: The realization that these gifts represented a wasteful expenditure of money and resources.

A Joyous Alternative: Charitable Donations as Gifts

The speaker discovered a more fulfilling approach by observing friends who were charitable and cared about social causes. This led to the practice of:

• Gifting Donations: Donating to the recipient's favorite charity in their name.
• Flexibility in Amount: The donation could be any amount, from $20 to $100 or more, depending on the giver's capacity.
• Alignment with Holiday Spirit: This practice was perceived as more in keeping with the true spirit of the holidays, fostering a sense of shared good deeds.
• Ease of Shopping: It simplified the holiday shopping process.

Recommended Organizations for Charitable Gifting

The speaker specifically recommends two organizations that facilitate this type of gifting:

• TisBest: This organization allows users to specify the recipient of the gift and the amount of money to be donated.
• DonorsChoose: Similar to TisBest, DonorsChoose enables donors to select a recipient (often a teacher or classroom) and a donation amount.

In both cases, the process involves:

1. Specifying the Recipient: Identifying who the gift is for.
2. Specifying the Amount: Deciding on the monetary value of the donation.
3. Talking About It: The act of discussing the gift and its purpose with the recipient.
4. Feeling Good: Experiencing the positive emotions associated with making a meaningful contribution.
5. Redirecting Wasteful Money: Ensuring that funds are used for good instead of being spent on unnecessary items.

The Scale of Holiday Spending Waste

To illustrate the magnitude of wasteful holiday spending, the speaker provides a striking statistic:

• Candy Spending vs. Charity Budgets: The amount of money spent on candy alone during the holiday season is greater than the combined annual budgets of the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and Habitat for Humanity. This highlights the potential for significant positive impact if such funds were redirected.

Conclusion and Call to Action

The speaker strongly advocates for considering charitable donations as gifts, particularly with Giving Tuesday approaching. This approach offers a more meaningful, less wasteful, and ultimately more joyous way to celebrate the holiday season by contributing to causes that matter.