3rd annual GivingTuesday inspires Canadians to give back during the holidays

More than 4,500 charities and businesses across Canada join together on December 1st to kick-off the holiday giving season  

TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Falling on December 1st this year, GivingTuesday is calling on individuals and businesses across Canada to celebrate giving back and support the causes and charities that matter to them most.

Just as Black Friday kicks off the holiday shopping season, GivingTuesday marks the official opening of the holiday giving season— a critical time for charities as over the past decade Canadians have made more than a third (34.4%) of their annual donations in December. 

"This year, more than 4,500 charities, businesses and communities, and hundreds of thousands of Canadians from coast to coast will join together on the 3^rd annual GivingTuesday to give a much-needed kick-start to the holiday giving season," said Marina Glogovac, president and CEO, CanadaHelps. 

"This day is a celebration of giving", said Lys Hugessen, president of GIV3. "By coming together collectively, we create a groundswell movement that inspires others to grow in their charitable contributions. But GivingTuesday is about much more than just donations – it's about giving back generously in whatever ways we can." 

GivingTuesday is a global movement for giving and volunteering that was co-founded in Canada in 2013 by CanadaHelps and The GIV3 Foundation.  From its inaugural year to 2014, GivingTuesday donations have increased 369 per cent and organizers are hopeful for another big jump in donations this year.

On December 1st and throughout the holiday season, Canadians are invited to take part in campaigns, activities and events organized by GivingTuesday partners from coast to coast. To get involved in GivingTuesday, you can:

• Commit to volunteering ;
• Donate to a cause you care about;
• Take time to discover a new charity;
• Fundraise for a charity;
• Share your story – how charity has helped you, people you care about, or your community;
• Spread the word and join the conversation with the #GivingTuesdayCA hashtag 

With thousands of organizations involved, it's easy to participate on GivingTuesday. 

• Learn about exclusive GivingTuesday campaigns on our blog You'll find businesses like PayPal and Interac supporting the movement with matching gifts for donations made through CanadaHelps and the Mobile Giving Foundation offering fee-free text-to-donate campaigns, plus campaigns run by charities of all types and sizes, serving locally, nationally, and internationally.  
• Interested in supporting your local community? There are 24 civic movements taking place in cities across Canada. These civic movements, where local charities, business and citizens all come together to set specific goals for their communities, make it even easier for everyone to get inspired and give back. Discover a civic movement near you.
• Still unsure how to get started?  Find more ideas on how to participate at www.givingtuesday.ca. You can even take a short quiz and get matched to a volunteer opportunity or donate to any registered charity online. 
• Do you have a website? Inspire your website visitors to get involved. Join the free affiliates program and easily add GivingTuesday ads to your site and track your impact in inspiring donations.   

Around the world, more than 30,000 partners in 68 countries took part in GivingTuesday in 2014. To learn more about how you can get involved this year, sign up to be a partner or view a full list of partners and activities, please visit GivingTuesday.ca. You can also share stories and join the GivingTuesday conversation online using #GivingTuesdayCA.  

About GivingTuesday (#GivingTuesdayCA)
GivingTuesday was launched in Canada in 2013 by The GIV3 Foundation and CanadaHelps.org and lists 15 Founding Partners. GivingTuesday is a day for the entire charitable sector and encourages all Canadians to join the movement and give and volunteer for charities of their choice. GivingTuesday was first initiated in the US by 92nd Street Y in partnership with the UN Foundation.  www.givingtuesday.ca

About GIV3
GIV3 is a movement of The GIV3 Foundation, a registered Canadian charity with a unique mission: to encourage more Canadians to be more giving (greater Giving, Inspiration, Volunteering). GIV3 does not represent any specific charity but encourages Canadians to give to any registered charities of their choice. www.giv3.ca

About CanadaHelps.org
CanadaHelps.org allows donors to safely donate and fundraise online for any registered Canadian charity and provides charities the secure online fundraising platform they need to succeed. As a registered charity itself, CanadaHelps has facilitated over $540 million in donations to Canadian charities online since it launched in 2000. Over 1 million Canadians have donated to charities using CanadaHelps and over 15,000 Canadian charities fundraise online using the CanadaHelps platform. The mission of CanadaHelps is to engage Canadians in the charitable sector and provide accessible and affordable online technology to both donors and charities to promote - and ultimately increase - charitable giving in Canada.  www.canadahelps.org 

SOURCE GivingTuesday

Image with caption: "Each year, #GivingTuesdayCA inspires more Canadians to give back (CNW Group/GivingTuesday)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151201_C4827_PHOTO_EN_555623.jpg

For media inquiries, please contact: Kathleen Grace, Marketing Manager, CanadaHelps, 416-628-6948 x2387, [email protected]; Allison Macdonald, High Road, 416-644-1644, [email protected]