What Is Giving Tuesday and Why Should You Care?

We're not going to tell you where you should give or if you should give. Those decisions, as always, are yours. But we would like to let you know that Giving Tuesday is a thing. What exactly is #GivingTuesday? It's not something where you get to gift an extra day of the week to someone. (Although we could all use that, right? "Hi, I gave you an extra Tuesday in December. What are you going to do with it?") No, Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to the commercialization of the yuletide holidays. It's an international, global day of donations, often with large organizations (like Google and Microsoft) joining as partners in matching gifts and promotion. In 2016, $168 million in charitable donations were made worldwide for Giving Tuesday—a 44% increase over the 2015 total. That's no joke! Who knows how high the total will be for 2017? Why are we telling you this? Because giving is at the roots of 1440 Multiversity, which is part of the 1440 Foundation. We're a nonprofit organization, steeped in the traditions of service to the community and the world, and we know that giving not only feels good, but it does good in the world. In addition, did you know that giving is good for you? According to this article from Greater Good, giving:

• Can make you feel happy
• Is good for your health
• Promotes cooperation and social connection
• Evokes gratitude
• Can be contagious.

So, as you move through your day on Tuesday (and through the entire holiday season), tuck these words from Robert Ingersoll into the back of your mind: "We rise by lifting others." Head out there and lift others, if you can. Tell your friends. We'll do the same. Maybe between all of us, we can do some good in this world. Wouldn't that be nice?