GivingTuesday 2026 is on Tuesday

About GivingTuesday

Charities, schools, faith groups, local businesses and individuals use the day to launch fundraising drives, donation matches, volunteer projects and collection drives. Giving can take many forms, from a donation to an afternoon of volunteering or helping a neighbor, and the movement encourages all of them.

GivingTuesday began in 2012 at the 92nd Street Y, a cultural and community center in New York City, where it was developed through the Y's Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact. Henry Timms, then the 92nd Street Y's executive director, created it with support from Asha Curran, who went on to lead GivingTuesday. The United Nations Foundation was among its founding partners. The founders' reasoning was that the calendar had days dedicated to shopping, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but no comparable moment for giving and community.

GivingTuesday has since become an independent nonprofit, and the movement now supports local and national campaigns in many countries. Because it is tied to US Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November, GivingTuesday always lands between November 27 and December 3.

Sources: GivingTuesday: About, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society: GivingTuesday's history. How we check dates.

How to mark GivingTuesday

• Pick one cause you care about and look up how the organization uses donations before you give.
• Check whether your employer matches charitable gifts, which can double what you donate.
• Volunteer a few hours at a food bank, shelter, library or community group.
• Donate gently used coats, books or household goods to a local charity that accepts them.
• If money is tight, give in other ways: donate blood if you're eligible, write a thank-you note to a nonprofit worker or help a neighbor with an errand.

GivingTuesday dates