The first Tuesday following Thanksgiving is Giving Tuesday which, for many nonprofits, is a day for concentrated fundraising. The timing is designed to help people kick off their season of giving and generosity.
Giving Tuesday, which falls on Dec. 3 this year, seeks to bring attention to worthy causes around the world and help people become more involved and generous in their communities. A new aspect of the Giving Tuesday campaign is called My Giving Story, which encourages people who have had positive experiences helping in their communities to write an essay describing what they did and the impact it had.
The prompt for the essay is, “Every Act of Giving Has a Story, What’s Yours?” A panel of judges will choose the top essays for prizes of up to $10,000 which is awarded to the author’s favorite nonprofit, with sponsorship coming from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
One registered Giving Tuesday participant is Living Waters of Hope, a nonprofit ministry based in Canby that helps women affected by domestic abuse.
Living Waters of Hope also exists to raise awareness about domestic abuse by offering churches and other ministries training seminars. The group’s website compiles resources for women such as contacts for the National Domestic Violence 24/7 Hotline, safety tips, definitions, legal tips and book titles.
Living Waters of Hope encourages anyone who is involved in their community to consider writing an essay for My Giving Story. The giving story can be either written or a video.
