Giving Tuesday 2018 is here! Likely the largest single day dedicated to giving, helping others, contributing to our communities, and making a difference – annually. After a week of possible indulgence at the Thanksgiving table, and in retail spending, what a refreshing tradition to come up for air and truly think about – and act on – how to help those who may not have had such a delightful week – due to medical, financial, or other life challenges.

Did you know #givingtuesday has been in full effect since 2012 and according to Vox and Chronicle of Philanthropy via Wikipedia, donations annually have increased exponentially to ~$250 Million in 2017? Amazing! But, we can do more!

Earlier this year, I wrote about creating an annual Giving Plan. It’s a personal plan designed to help us focus each year on the areas, organizations, or causes where we’ll make a difference. For example, this year we focused on children, education, and medical efforts. One project I’ve been involved with this year includes mentoring and teaching at YearUp to provide young adults with education about personal branding and career development for a brighter future. I was thrilled to present my 8 step method for building thriving career relationships, The Knock Method, at their Job Search Workshop in Chicago earlier this year.

A personal annual Giving Plan helps us find ways to give that are in line with our areas of focus, and prioritize how we help others. A Giving Plan also helps us account for natural disasters or events that may come up that are unexpected where we want – or need- to help throughout the year.

Giving Tuesday is a great time to dust off that old Giving Plan and refocus our giving based on what our communities, cities, and important causes need at this point in the year. It can also help us with ideas for where to contribute if we feel inclined to give our time or monetarily on Giving Tuesday this year.

Even if you haven’t given much thought to how or where to help this holiday season, here are some ideas on how to help this Giving Tuesday! And, it doesn’t take much to participate. You can give volunteer time, money, or even just a couple clicks that will pass on some love and support to those who may need it this year.

Top 10 Giving Tuesday Ideas: Where and How to Amplify Your Giving

1. Donation matching. Does your employer or company match donations? Many of us may not realize that our companies will match donations that we, as employees, make personally. Check out these resources from Double the Donation to learn about the opportunities we have if we work in the corporate world to work with our companies to increase our personal donations to make a bigger impact on our world. If you work for a non-profit, Double the Donation has tools you can incorporate into your website so that donors can look up their company when giving a donation to see if it can be increased through corporate matching. How handy is that?

2. Get a group of friends together to contribute to a larger gift, like adopting and granting a specific wish to a child with medical challenges. According to Make a Wish Foundation, you can complete the form at this link to be connected with a donation specialist and find a specific wish to grant – teaming up with friends or family can help make that wish even more special for a child who needs extra special love this season.

3. Donate Airline Miles. Have some airline miles from rewards credit cards or recent travels? Share them with organizations and individuals who need them for medical emergencies, meaningful travels for veterans traveling to DC to visit memorials and honor their service, or even children with terminal illnesses that would have a trip of a lifetime with your help! Make a Wish highlights ways to donate airline miles and Southwest Airlines supports several organizations of your choice where you can donate travel miles and points.  I just donated and it only took a few minutes!

4. Move for Hunger. Are you moving soon? Book a mover that is part of the Move for Hunger network, which will pick up your non-perishable food items in your pantry that you won’t move with you, along with your boxes of belongings, and take the food to a local food bank so it doesn’t go to waste.

5. Macy’s $1 Matching Program – Write a letter to Santa on the Macy’s website and Macy’s will donate $1 per letter to Make a Wish up to $1 Million! A fun, easy way to help with kiddos!

6. Make the most of your time scrolling on Facebook. Facebook & PayPal are partnering to match donations up to $7 million! Learn more about how to use Facebook for fundraising to help important causes, and Facebook may match the funds you raise!

7. Help young adults achieve a brighter future at YearUp, an organization that helps bridge the opportunity divide by providing education and job resources for young adults. Help amplify your gift by donating today, and The Salem Family Foundation will match your gift dollar for dollar. If 500 gifts are accepted, they will donate a significant additional gift to the organization.

8. Sign up for a volunteer project during Christmas, or the winter season. Donating time and skills is a great way to spend some downtime this holiday season. Use VolunteerMatch to discover volunteer opportunities and projects that need your help. Not only has VolunteerMatch connected 14.4 Million volunteers to projects or ways to give, and supported 122,000 nonprofits, they have measured that 4.2 million volunteers are needed across communities and organizations connected with their site. Be one of the 4.2 million volunteers they are looking for to lend a hand!

9. Donate unused gift cards to local organizations in need. Looking for an excuse to clean out that miscellaneous drawer or your wallet? You may come across some old gift cards that you haven’t used yet. If the expiration date hasn’t passed, and you haven’t used them in awhile, consider dropping them off at a local organization for food, clothes, or other items to make someone’s day!

10. Buy a gift that makes an impact. Shopping for holiday gifts already? Consider Packed with Purpose, a thoughtful, socially conscious company that curates gift sets comprised of products from companies and organizations that have a higher purpose. Not to mention, they’re cute and tasty too!

11. Help families who are experiencing early child loss. Support the Rhett Sullivan Foundation, founded by a dear high school friend who has experienced unimaginable loss and is helping to provide comfort and guidance to others who have similar experiences.

What have I missed? What are your ways of making a big impact on Giving Tuesday? Share in the comments for us all to learn how to make a bigger difference!