Today and Every Day

Today is Giving Tuesday. No official status has been bestowed on it. It’s no national holiday or anything like that. It’s just an idea, a marketing strategy really. Giving Tuesday aims to piggyback on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzies for the benefit of good causes. It’s an attempt to harness the power of the Internet and social media to inspire more year-end charitable giving.

It’s needed. According to Giving USA’s annual report on philanthropy, total giving to U.S. charities from individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations declined by 3.4% in 2022—down 10.5% after adjusting for inflation. At the turn of this century, two-thirds of Americans were giving to charity. Two decades later, only half are.

Donors gave U.S.-based charities $3.1 billion on Giving Tuesday last year. American consumers just got done spending over $37 billion in online purchases alone during a five-day shopping spree starting Thanksgiving Day.

Over 30% of all charitable giving happens in De…