Give the Gift of Giving this #GivingTuesday

On Thanksgiving Thursday, we ate. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we shopped. But today on #GivingTuesday, a national day of charitable giving, we’ll give. Anyone can do it — whether you’re highlighting why it’s important to give back, donating to your favorite charity, volunteering for a good cause or asking your network to give.

givingtuesday

As someone who has been working in the nonprofit space for many years and cares deeply about social change, I signed up to be a champion for #GivingTuesday.

I’ve also been sharing #GivingTuesday with my extensive network through all my social channels. It doesn’t take a whole lot of time when you incorporate a “giving mindset” into your life.

Even when Conan of Late Night with Conan O’Brien fame poked fun at my red hat because I have more LinkedIn followers than him, I turned that into an opportunity to support #GivingTuesday. I got over 5,000 people to sign an online petition, urging Conan to get more followers by joining #GivingTuesday. (It seems to be working, because he has joined LinkedIn Influencer Craig Newmark’s Holiday Funding Challenge and is raising money for a local charity).

I’m giving money and encouraging my network to give too. I’m taking off my red hat on #GivingTuesday to celebrate and fundraise for NTEN, a community of techies who help nonprofits make the world a better place.

Join me for a chat at 9am PST today on my LinkedIn Influencer platform with NTEN CEO Amy Sample Ward. We’ll be talking about NTEN’s great work, #GivingTuesday, and why collective philanthropy and community participation is so powerful. You can donate here.

Don’t be the only person not giving on #GivingTuesday! Here are a few easy ways to celebrate #GivingTuesday with your LinkedIn network.

  • Share this #GivingTuesday post about the unselfie by LinkedIn Influencer Matthew Bishop.
  • Even better, take an unselfie yourself and share it.
  • Spend a few minutes crafting a message on LinkedIn, sharing what charity you are supporting with a donation of time or money.
  • Share an article about #GivingTuesday on your profile or with your favorite LinkedIn Group.
  • Update the Volunteer Experience & Causes section of your LinkedIn profile to show the organizations you support.

How will you give on #GivingTuesday?

bethkanterunselfie