Forget Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
I’m all about Giving Tuesday.
Every year, I like to do something different to honor the biggest giving day of the year.
There was a 25 Days Of Giving challenge I launched in 2015 (side note – let me know if you’d like me to bring it back!).
Last year, Bridge2Act launched a #IDREAMOF challenge that featured some incredible people – actress Serinda Swan, activist Marley Dias, and entrepreneur Alana Hadid.
Each year’s efforts have been directly influenced by what’s been going on in my life. In 2015, it was adjusting to motherhood and having just launched Bridge2Act. Last year, it was about creating as much awareness for B2A as possible.
This year’s efforts are reflective of my life right now. I may have taken a step back from B2A, but I’m committed to help others give back however they can (and using our platform when able). It’s why I was honored to join the board of Sundara, and why I co-created Impact Cards with my friend Laura.
Giving Tuesday is just the first step in getting involved. Give whatever you can – a small donation, a social media share, an Impact Card.
But take the next step, and the step after that. Get involved with a charity that speaks to you (from donating your professional skills to actively volunteering). Gift your birthday or another special day to an organization (Facebook makes this super easy, by the way).
Even just following a nonprofit on a social media platform and getting to know their work is a step.
Giving Tuesday is the beginning. The end is when the world doesn’t need that charity’s help anymore.
This year, I’m sharing some of my favorite nonprofits and highlighting a gift that accompanies that donation perfectly.
Make the donation. Fill out the Impact Card. Buy the gift.
Give back and get your holiday shopping done in one fell swoop.
Sundara
Perfect for mom who constantly reminded you to wash your hands and germaphobes.
There are few nonprofits that are more innovative than Sundara. The organization addresses so many concerns – basic health, women’s employment, children’s education, poverty – and recycles an otherwise wasted product in the process.
Sundara recycles soap from major hotels in India and Myanmar (putting it through an extensive sanitizing and packaging process) and distributes them to villages in India, along with hygiene programs.
The hygiene ambassadors at Sundara are mainly women, who are paid above a basic living wage. They’re able to bring their youngest children with them to work and can afford to send their older ones to a good school. The hygiene programs are mainly delivered to young students, helping to prevent potentially fatal disease.
Sundara was one of the first nonprofits that joined B2A, and I’m proud to be a board member and help raise funds for their third recycling center in Bangalore. For every donation made here through December 23rd, I’ll match it up to $1,000.
Pair the donation with an Impact Card and this incredible hand sanitizer/lotion from Byredo. It smells heavenly, the packaging is luxe, and no one will know you’re actually killing all the icky germs on your hands.
Kith
Perfect for new moms, the #nastywomen in your life, or your conservative grandmother (may I suggest these warming slippers instead?)
Reproductive rights are a hot button topic. But everyone can agree that empowering pregnant women and new parents with the right data and help, at no cost, is worthwhile.
Enter Kith. Run by my old friend Katie, the organization helps expectant mothers and families access quality prenatal education and support services.
For many of us (myself included), an infant care class and a lactation consultant were services that I took for granted – both in terms of access and being able to afford it. They definitely made me a stronger mother, and should be available to expectant parent in the USA.
They’re not. But with your support, Kith can help grow in terms of education and reach all over America.
Informed parents give us stronger families. Strong families strengthen our communities. Strong communities lead to a better nation.
Supporting Kith is a strong support to women, in whatever they choose.
Pair it with an Impact Card and Rachel Antonoff’s reproductive system sweatshirt or t-shirt. It’s a heavenly soft shirt that will literally turn heads. I’ve worn mine so often that Rho can point out the ovaries (“ova-wees!â€) and the uterus (“ooo-taaa-wusssssâ€). Parenting win.
Code To Inspire
Perfect for engineers, programmers, and STEM enthusiasts – regardless of their gender.
Girls belong in STEM. STEM jobs need girls and women.
And Black Girls Code, Girls Who Code, and Kode With Klossy are furthering that mission here at home.
Code To Inspire, however, is the one that I’m choosing to donate this year (and every year).
Founded by the incredible Fereshteh Foroguh, CTI opened the first coding school for girls in Herat, Afghanistan. With a 16% female labor force participation and 68% of Afghani women lacking a formal education, the organization brings technical education in a safe manner that’s in line with the conservative culture. Graduates of CTI can find remote technical work that allows them to contribute to their families and the economy while remaining in Afghanistan.
The problems women face in tech are vast. But I’m in awe of what Fereshteh has built in just two years, and I’ll be supporting them for years to come.
Pair it with an Impact Card. For the young techies in your life, wrap it up with a copy of Rosie Revere Engineer’s Activity book (girls and boys alike), or with a 3D doodle pen for the older tech enthusiasts.
African Wildlife Foundation
Perfect for kids or adventurous travelers (this vegan leather passport case would be perfect for their next far-flung adventure).Â
One of my most memorable trips was a safari in Botswana.
It sounds trite, but it was magical. We spent our days going for long drives in the Okuwangu Delta and watching the animals just live.
The trip ruined zoos for me. It’s also opened my eyes to how precious  it is to preserve these habitats and ecosystems.
African Wildlife Foundation is one of the most impactful organizations committed to this cause, with 87% of their donations going towards their programming. They partner with niche organizations (like the Campo Ma’an Anti Poaching Patrols and African Apes Initiative) to provide targeted support, whether it’s technical assistance or population monitoring.
We made a donation in Rho’s name to AWF this year, and I’ll be pairing his Impact Card with a subscription to National Geographic Little Kids and this small puzzle.
Kula Project
Perfect for coffee addicts and sustainability enthusiasts.
I don’t think I could survive without coffee. I don’t think my husband could either.
That said, I have no idea where my coffee comes from – the actual coffee packed tightly in my Nespresso pods.
Google is horrifying. As is the coffee industry at large.
Conditions are abysmal (meeting 100-pound quotas for just $3 a day, child labor, and razing fertile farmland in order to grow ‘sun-cultivated coffee’ (it’s traditionally grown in the shade and preserves the habitats of countless birds, insects and other wildlife.
It’s bad. Really, really bad.
Enter Kula Project. This organization is tightly integrated with Rwandan communities to create sustainable (economically and environmentally) programs in coffee growing. From washing stations to cooperatives to clean water projects (both for families and for the coffee plants), Kula is leading the way for better coffee and a better Rwanda.
Pair it with an Impact Card, a subscription to Angels’ Cup, and the ultimate coffee brewer set.
Together1Heart
Perfect for feminists, homebodies, and feminist homebodies.
I have to credit Somaly (and my best friend Samira) for planting the philanthropy seed.
Everything I’ve done to date, it’s because of them.
Some 9 years ago, Sami texted me a book recommendation.
“YOU NEED TO READ THIS.â€
It was The Road Of Lost Innocence, and it opened my eyes to the horrors of sex trafficking.
Sami became invested in both the cause and Somaly, and proceeded to throw a series of fundraisers that I’d dutifully attend. I continued to donate to the Somaly Mam Foundation and began to study this horrifying issue deeper.
Finding out that India was one of the biggest perpetrators of sex trafficking was sobering and troubling. To know that if just a few things were different in my life (my parents stayed in India, if they hadn’t been educated, if I was walking alone one day) that I could have been suffering these horrors…
It’s horrifying.
Together1Heart is Somaly’s newest venture and continues to support rescued survivors with a place to live, medical care, nutritious meals, and education. It’s an organization that still remains dear to my heart.
Pair it with an Impact Card and a pair of pajama bottoms from Sudara. These gorgeous jammies are blissfully comfortable and made by sex trafficking survivors in India. Our annual Christmas jammies have come from Sudara for the past 3 years, and Rho finally gets to join in the fun this year.
BUILD
Perfect for entrepreneurs and pep-talking dads
If you are looking to start volunteering, look no further than BUILD.
This nonprofit (now active in 5 cities), brings entrepreneurial education to underserved high schools. Students enroll in a four-year program that teaches and develops skills, and helps them apply them in internship and entrepreneurial endeavors.
The impact is priceless. 97% of BUILD students graduate high school on time, and 71% enroll in college immediately following graduation. BUILD’s results are well above the national average (81% of American students graduate from high school, and 67% enroll in college immediately).
BUILD’s strength is in the volunteer mentors. Two mentors are paired with a small group of students to meet weekly and advise the students on various deliverables. If you have the time (and live in or near NYC, LA, DC, Boston, or the Bay Area), I highly encourage you to apply.
And if you don’t, a donation will do.
Pair it with an Impact Card this game changing planner and a pen that can write anywhere – even space! The Productivity Planner has been a godsend in how I structure the day’s work and my projects, and this pen is my absolute favorite.
What organizations are you supporting today? Let me know below!
