The holiday season moves quickly, transitioning from friends-and-family time at Thanksgiving to the hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping season on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, we have the chance to remember the needs of others on Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving to elevate philanthropy and volunteering during the holiday season. This event is a fitting celebration for a country filled with generous people.

This giving spirit was apparent in the findings of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s 2018 Volunteering in America study. Our study found that a greater percentage of our citizens are giving their time to the causes they support and being better neighbors in their communities. That’s good news for philanthropy and charitable organizations, because we also learned that volunteers are more likely to donate money to causes and groups in need.

Once you start to give, it’s hard to stop.

The Value of Service

We understand the benefits of giving and volunteering intimately at the Corporation for National and Community Service. We lead and support the nation’s volunteer sector along with guiding nearly 300,000 people in impactful community action through our AmeriCorps and Senior Corps national service programs.

CNCS programs not only encourage service, but this federal agency also encourages public-private partnerships that leverage the dollars we are appropriated to stretch those investments to increase the impact our programs make. Thanks to contributions by private businesses, foundations, and other sources, CNCS programs generated $1.25 billion in outside resources, an amount that exceeds the amount of our federal appropriation. 

In a statement, President Trump said, “Through acts of charity, we reveal the compassionate foundation of our country. Acts of kindness are hallmarks of our great Nation, and we acknowledge the tremendous contributions of the many organizations that provide love, hope, care, and counseling all year long, especially on #GivingTuesday.”

During a season of thanks and giving, we encourage our fellow citizens to use Giving Tuesday as an inspiration for not just one day, but all year long.