by Kathy Arney, president and founder
The days between Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving are a great time to sit back and reflect on the past year and express gratitude to friends, family, colleagues and community.
But over the years, Thanksgiving seems to have become more and more of a shopping holiday, with Thanksgiving Wednesday, Grey Thursday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.
Thankfully, a new movement has cropped up.
Giving Tuesday began in reaction to the focus of these holidays on consumerism; an opportunity to step back and reflect gratefully on the past year and share that gratitude with charities and people who need your support.
It is an opportunity to consider your philanthropic strategy. Whether you have $10 or $10,000 to give — your gift can do wonders. This year, I challenge you to use Giving Tuesday as a kick-off to a new New Year — the New Year of giving, and to consider how you can make an impact by supporting organizations not just on Giving Tuesday but also regularly through the year.
Now, not all of us have $10,000, but we can find ways to create impact with the funds that we do have available to us by using tools like monthly giving. Monthly giving is an automatic monthly commitment that allows you to support charities automatically and within your monthly budget.
If you aren’t clear on where you want to direct your gift,places like charitableimpact.com and abundance.ca allow you to donate to your charitable account monthly, and distribute whenever and to whomever you like.
If you are a charity, consider acknowledging Giving Tuesday this coming week. Use the opportunity to thank all of those who support you, and give them an opportunity to support your cause.
Finally, as friends and colleagues of KEA Canada, we want to thank you. Thank you for having the courage to make this world a better place. We are a better society, a better planet, a better community because of your efforts. And we are so lucky to have you! We are grateful to work with amazing people and organizations, and we celebrate you this season.
Warmest wishes,
Kathy