International NGOs raise money for Giving Tuesday

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International NGOs took advantage of Giving Tuesday. Photo: Wikimedia
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Giving Tuesday is charitable response to consumerism. Image: Union for Reform Judaism
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Doctors of the World's Logo. Image: Doctors of the World

On 28th November, international cooperation and development NGOs celebrated Giving Tuesday and seeked support from citizens through the donation platform.

Some weeks ago, on the 28th November, Giving Tuesday took place. This is an event that has entered its sixth year and that has become increasingly pivotal for many non-profit organizations. On Black Friday, shoppers flocked to busy shops and shopping centres, hunting for bargains. As a charitable response to consumerism, Giving Tuesday brings NGOs and citizens together to collaborate through social media and digital platforms. Dozens of organisations involved in development cooperation, human rights and peace building activities took advantage of Giving Tuesdays to promote their projects and raise funds online.

Action Against Hunger, Plan International, Educo, the Red Cross, Doctors of The World, Oxfam Intermón, WWF and Doctors Without Borders are among many of the participating organisations to have publicized their projects, ranging from campaigns against child labour, hunger reduction programmes in Zimbabwe to projects against animal trafficking. Giving Tuesday, which originated in the US, is a global movement that has been celebrated in Catalonia with increasing enthusiasm year after year. Its main objective is to encourage people to donate food, money, second-hand items or volunteer their time to make a better world.

These initiatives are brought together on social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram under both international hashtag #GivingTuesday and regional hashtag #GivingTuesdayCat. In 2015, Spain celebrated Giving Tuesday for the first time, raising €405,000 in total for more than 260 projects. Last year’s donations amounted to €558,617 with 321 participating projects.

Born out of of an alternative to consumerism associated with Christmas or Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday has consolidated in countries such as Canada, Australia and Singapore, where thousands of organisations have joined this global movement. Citizens can take part in Giving Tuesday by supporting participating projects, submitting their own initiatives or sharing related content on social media.