Giving Tuesday: How day for 'radical generosity' went global

More than 80 countries from around the world are expected to join this year's Giving Tuesday, when acts of "radical generosity" are encouraged.

The growing global phenomenon takes place each year on the first Tuesday after US Thanksgiving.

GivingTuesday, the non-profit that created the movement in 2012, says every act of generosity counts.

It tracked a record $2.7bn (£2.2bn) donated by 35 million people on Giving Tuesday in the US last year.

That was a 10% increase from the year before. It was also more than double the estimated $1.3bn or so in charitable giving by Americans on a typical day last year.

Every act of generosity will count on Tuesday 29 November, said Asha Curran, chief executive and co-founder of GivingTuesday, whether its donating money, volunteering or simply smiling at someone.

"Radical for us actually means how can generosity become embedded even in our most mundane micro actions," she said.

"Generosity is not only a value expressed in a transactional way, but really in the way we treat our fellow humans in every interaction, every day of our lives."

This includes things like saying hello to someone you might usually ignore, Ms Curran said.

She developed the idea for Giving Tuesday in 2012 with co-founder Henry Timms while working with a social impact programme at a YMCA in New York City's Upper East Side.

The initial idea, she said, was to leverage the power of social media "to make generosity go viral".

"Right away it was bigger than we expected," Ms Curran said. "Country after country began to join the movement. And now we're in over 85 countries."

Amany Killawi, co-founder of the crowdfunding platform Launchgood, said the organisation had pulled in over $1m on Giving Tuesday in both 2020 and 2021 and was expecting a similar figure this year.

"No matter what's happening," she said, "people are more generous on Giving Tuesday than they are on any other day of the year."

To those who want to participate in Giving Tuesday this year, experts recommend first considering what causes they feel strongly about.

Giving Tuesday is not linked to supporting a single cause, but provides a list of possible organisations, as well as various ways to give back without donating money.

The website also suggests searching for organisations supporting any would-be donor's areas of interest on websites like Charity Navigator and Volunteer Match.

"See what speaks to you," Ms Curran said. "Think about whether it feels more meaningful for you to give back locally - maybe on your block - or globally like the floods in Pakistan."

"Also, think about how many kind actions can you get in on that day," Ms Curran added. "How many micro ways can you make someone else's day brighter?"