In 2018 Ukraine became 154th country, which joined the global initiative #GivingTuesday. In the first year of the project we managed to raise UAH 15 mln and involved hundreds of companies and NGOs. The initiative is scaling up every year.
What Is #GivingTuesday?
In short, it is a global movement or International Good Deeds Day. The initiative originally was launched in the U.S. and traditionally takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year it falls on December the 1st. #GivingTuesday is not only about raising funds. You can join the initiative in different ways: by organizing flash mobs, sharing information, hosting charitable marathons and auctions, etc.
#GivingTuesday in Ukraine: How It All Started
The idea to launch #GivingTuesday in Ukraine belongs to the co-founder of the Zagoriy Foundation Kateryna Zagoriy. In 2012 Kateryna visited the U.S., where she got acquainted with the initiative. There was a sale period, and when making a purchase she was asked to donate to charity 2% of a purchase or $10 due to #GivingTuesday. Kateryna spent a whole week in the U.S. and found out more about the initiative. After the trip she made a strong decision to bring #GivingTuesday to Ukraine. Following lengthy negotiations, in 2018 the Zagoriy Foundation jointly with Tabletochki, Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum and Dobrodiy Club finally launched #GivingTuesday in Ukraine. In 2018 Dobrodiy Club officially received the franchise. In 2019 the Zagoriy Foundation as a major inspirer and initiator took over the franchise. The initiative is growing rapidly every year. #GivingTuesday has gained more than 500 projects and over 120 thousand participants.
In 2020 the Zagoriy Foundation team together with charitable organization «Zaporuka» launched a special project #GivingTuesdayKids. The main goal of the project is to encourage children to join charitable practices and develop a culture of charitable giving.
#GivingTuesday in Ukraine: Best Practises
Media Holding «1+1 Media» joined #GivingTuesday in 2018 and hosted a charitable fair. Using a special charitable currency, all the guests could buy souvenirs, toys, Christmas decorations, clothes and even consultation with top-managers of the holding. All raised funds were donated to the project “Grant a wish”, which helps to grant the fondest dreams of little patients.
Niko Group of companies (official distributor of Mitsubishi, Nissan, Fiat, Mazda, Renault, Ford, Citroën, Suzuki) donated a part of their income earned during the #GivingTuesday campaign. New medical equipment for children with heart disease has been bought with this money.
Startup Ukraine — the first entrepreneur’s learning centre in Ukraine also joined #GivingTuesday by sharing their knowledge. Company has launched a free intensive course START YOUR BUSINESS for three best startup ideas.
Global Companies Join #GivingTuesday
PayPal is one of the most active participants of the initiative. For instance, on #GivingTuesday in 2019 the platform PayPal Giving Fund offered a match funding opportunity, furthermore, granted an additional 10% of the donation to the chosen charity.
Google usually adds a donation button on #GivingTuesday. You can look through all the registered charitable organizations and make a direct donation.
In 2017 Tinder created hashtag #ImAvailable which meant “I am ready to help”. Users could offer any assistance: buying presents, sharing stuff, free workshops, etc.
Tinder donated to charity $100 for each user with this hashtag.
Amazon offers to make a Christmas present for children, whose parents are not able to buy a toy. You should choose this option and Alexa App will automatically match your donation with an item on a gifts list.
Giving Tuesday NOW – Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
On May 5th an additional project #GivingTuesdayNow was launched as a response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The main goal was to resist the pandemic and support those who found themselves in a difficult situation after the lockdown had been implemented. More than 60 companies, foundations and NGOs had joined the initiative.
For example, Raiffeisen Bank Aval held a charitable event and has raised funds for the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Kherson. All the funds went to protect doctors and medical staff and buy for them personal protective equipment. Charitable foundation “Ridni” also provided Lviv doctor’s with personal protective equipment. Furthermore, the foundation launched a flash mob “You are my hero”. Children were painting doctors as superheroes, who are fighting coronavirus. Charitable foundation “Kvitna” initiated raising funds for renovation of 12 ALV apparatuses located in National Cancer Institute. SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine did not forget about psychological support and launched a few projects for families. For instance, they arranged free online consultations with psychologists for moms and dads, who raised their children without a partner. All-Ukrainian Charitable Fund “To You” has been providing seniors and large families with food packages.
Save.restaurant was created to support restaurants and the food services industry. There were different ways to join the initiative: share information, support restaurants with monetary donations or even apply for help.
«Good deeds should make a loud sound» — that is a motto of #GivingTuesday in Ukraine. We are sure that good deeds should be shared with others. Good stories can inspire people to join charitable practices and develop a culture of charitable giving in Ukraine.
Find out more about the initiative on our #GivingTuesday website.