You may have noticed the growing phenomenon of Black Friday which encourages us all to spend, spend, spend in the lead up to Christmas. The Black Friday frenzy originated in the USA, it's a chaotic day when crowds of shoppers descend to scoop up bargains. Cyber Monday soon followed, encouraging the shopping frenzy to continue online.
In contrast, GivingTuesday is a deliberate response to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Launched in 2012, the idea is simple: after a day focused on grabbing deals and another day for online shopping, how about a day dedicated to giving back? GivingTuesday is a day that celebrates generosity and encourages people to donate to charities, volunteer, and help their communities.
This year GivingTuesday is 2 December, and while New Zealand is a long way from the USA we also find ourselves with many of the pressures to spend, spend, spend in the lead up to the festive season, with Black Friday deals creeping more and more into retailer practice.
Yet all the New Zealand data is pointing towards a grim festive season for many, as the cost of living bites deeply for Kiwi families, and many of our tamariki must accept the crushing reality that Santa does not treat all children equally.
GivingTuesday provides a moment amongst the madness to pause and consider: could we as Kiwi, renowned for our culture of manaakitanga and generosity, do better than spend at this time of year? Could we give? Could we build more purposeful movements for giving?
Many people don't know where to start, there is a dizzying array of community needs, which can lead to ‘analysis paralysis'. Through our work across New Zealand, we see a growing trend of Kiwi increasingly curious to know where their donations and time would be best spent. Community Foundations, 18 of them around the country, are not for profits and they help local people discover how they can give meaningfully into their communities. Community Foundations get to know who the changemakers are locally and help donors invest in their work.
As Nobel prizewinning economist Elinor Ostrom wrote, local people “have the strongest incentive to get the solution right” and there is no one who knows what your community needs more than those closest on the ground, who know the challenges and can see the solutions.
Community Foundations like Clutha Foundation specialise in setting up legacy funds that stretch beyond your lifetime. These gifts are pooled and invested, creating new community funds. These funds are change-making for local communities and – bonus - they are often very fulfilling for the givers themselves. As one person said to me recently about her personal legacy fund “it brings me great joy,” which seems a particularly fitting sentiment at this time of year.
Right now, New Zealand needs all sort of givers. Those who give now to charities address immediate needs, such as giving to City Missions, Women’s Refuges and food banks. We also need givers who step into spaces that explore long-term challenges such as climate initiatives, child poverty, homelessness, family violence and rainbow causes. These people "shift the dial" for the future.
GivingTuesday is a time to reflect. What sort of giver are you? Could you give more purposefully into your local community? GivingTuesday might be humanity’s gift to itself at this time of year, helping us reconnect with our sense of generosity and community spirit, in amongst the giddying spend fest going on all around us.
Eleanor Cater is CEO of Community Foundations of Aotearoa NZ and has a Master’s in Philanthropic Studies