Gift of Presents that Give Back

A special series on the 5 Giving Tuesdays—a campaign launched by the Case Foundation to celebrate the gift of giving this holiday season. Each week we will feature stories and resources showcasing the different ways you can give back to make a greater impact in your community.

Today we’re kicking off the third week of our 5 Giving Tuesdays campaign with a special focus on the gift of presents that give back. How do you know if the item you are giving gives back? Perhaps part of the proceeds help to support an issue, the item aims to raise awareness about a cause, or your purchase of an item allows someone else to benefit from the purchase in some way—those are what count as presents that give back. Presents often bring joy to not only the recipient, but also the giver, so why not take the opportunity to extend your reach and impact by giving a present that gives back?

Here are four ways you can get involved today!

Commit to Give: Join in on our celebration of giving by entering The 5 Giving Tuesdays sweepstakes and help us to award $100,000 in grants and prizes ($90,000 to nonprofits | $10,000 to individuals)! We invite you to commit to “Give the Gift of Presents” that Give Back and choose to give a gift that helps others or pick one of the four other featured acts of giving.

New prizes are up for grabs each week! This week 10 lucky winners will each receive a $100 gift card or shopping credit of their choice to Eco Vessel, TOMS, or Tory Burch. Winners get to choose so enter today!

Eco Vessel – Specializing in water bottles and food storage containers, all of Eco Vessel’s products are BPA and phthalate free, recyclable, and environmentally friendly. Eco Vessel is passionate about giving back. Part of their mission is to support organizations that work to provide clean drinking water around the world. Eco Vessel donates one percent of the purchase price of every product to Water for People (a grantee of the Case Foundation), whose mission is to provide long-lasting solutions to the water, sanitation, and hygiene problems in the developing world.

TOMSTOMS believes business can be used to improve lives. But it takes more than belief to make that a reality. So, TOMS recently launched the TOMS Marketplace, a platform to help other social entrepreneurs succeed. The Marketplace is about emerging companies, their products, their causes, and it’s a new destination for making a difference. Some products available through the TOMS Marketplace provide improved economic opportunity to individuals who otherwise might not find employment. Other products use a portion of their proceeds to support education, fight hunger, or fund reforestation. What they all have in common is a belief that everyday purchases can create positive change.

Tory Burch Foundation – Inspired by her own experience as a business owner and working mother, designer Tory Burch launched the nonprofit Tory Burch Foundation (TBF) in 2009. The Foundation supports the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs and their families in the U.S. through small business loans, mentoring programs and entrepreneurial education. You can support the Foundation through purchases on the Tory Burch, Shop for a Cause site featuring an assortment of accessories. All profits from the purchase of items benefit TBF. You can also donate directly to the Tory Burch Foundation.

Share your story of giving with us in the comments section below or on Twitter (@CaseFoundation).

Black Friday … Cyber Monday … here comes #GivingTuesday!

This post was written by Henry Timms on behalf of the Case Foundation:

“Yes—these feel completely right!”

That was my first reaction to the Case Foundation’s five Be Fearless principles. My next was, “I need to double down on all five…”

I suspect many people have had a similar response. Certainly when we have made progress with the #GivingTuesday movement, it has often come from taking Be Fearless steps. Make Big Bets; Reach Beyond Your Bubble; Let Urgency Conquer Fear—these have proved themselves ideas to live by.

Following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a campaign to add a national day of giving to the calendar. This campaign came to life here at 92nd Street Y, in close partnership with our friends at the UN Foundation. And from a standing start, we have now been joined by over 1,000 organizations in all fifty states.

So on Tuesday, November 27, charities, companies, institutions and individuals will come together to encourage people to “commit an act of giving.” Whether that means participating in a food drive, making a special donation or volunteering your time, #GivingTuesday is a day to celebrate our country’s great tradition of giving, and to support the cause that matters most to you.

All kinds of plans are in the works. A group of pilots have come together to provide funding to enable people with disabilities to learn to fly. A newsroom of writers in Salt Lake City are drafting letters of encouragement to people in recovery. Families all over the country are planning book drives and family gifts to encourage the next generation of philanthropists.

Major organizations are making big bets on #GivingTuesday. Microsoft and Global Giving have partnered on a $100,000 matching campaign to support global youth. On #GivingTuesday, JC Penney will be giving up to $100,000 to the Salvation Army in an innovative button campaign (as well as having a live John Legend performance and free hot chocolate for New Yorkers!). Unilever will run its first-ever company-wide food drive for Feeding America, in 30 locations across the US.

It’s especially rewarding to see the innovative partnership that has been created between three #GivingTuesday founding partners, the Case Foundation, CrowdRise, and SixDegrees.org. On #GivingTuesday, the Case Foundation is providing $25,000 in matching donations, and SixDegrees.org is adding in additional $10,000—so if you use Crowdrise to contribute to any cause or nonprofit on #GivingTuesday on this page on CrowdRise, your contribution will be matched up to $35,000.

As we enter the holiday season, let me encourage you to add a new date to your diary. Join us on Tuesday, November 27—the first #GivingTuesday. And help make it a date that will live on the American calendar every year.

No matter what you give, no matter which cause you support, take the time to get together with people everywhere to participate in one of our country’s proudest traditions. And make sure you tweet and post about what you are giving.

In Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we have two days that are good for the economy. Help launch a new day that’s good for the soul.

Henry Timms is the Deputy Executive Director of Strategy, Content and Innovation at the 92 Street Y in New York City.