Election Day has come and gone, and no matter who you voted for or what your position was on the ballot issues, another type of election is looming…and this one also has far reaching outcomes.
Similar to elections in Colorado, voting begins once ballots are received and concludes on election Tuesday.
The ballots will drop on Tuesday, November 27th, also known as Giving Tuesday. Started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y in New York in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, Giving Tuesday was intended to be a charitable response to post-Thanksgiving consumerism and commercialism. The idea is that following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, if you have any money left over you should be charitable with it on Giving Tuesday. This concept proved to be successful; in 2012, approximately $10 million was donated on Giving Tuesday. By 2017, $274 million was donated and the idea spread nationwide with many large corporations providing matches.
In Colorado, election day is Tuesday, December 4th, also known as Colorado Gives Day. Started in 2007 with the website Coloradogives.org by the Community First Foundation, Colorado Gives Day began in earnest in 2010 with a strategic partnership between the foundation and FirstBank. The concept of one day of statewide giving was tremendously successful, receiving over 20,100 donations totaling $8,419,507 in the first year. In 2017 there were 153,955 donations totaling $36,556,922. Today, 2,300 non-profits have been accepted through the vetting process which is nearly 10% of all active non-profits in Colorado. It is the only place where donors can find so many approved non-profits and donate to them in one location.
With so many organizations participating, we can all expect to receive numerous emails, calls, mailings and an occasional television or radio ad asking us for donations, essentially vying for your vote of confidence in their missions. The funds raised are vital to the well-being of these organizations as each of them fill vital roles in our community and make Colorado a great place to live. Whomever you choose to elect and whether you choose to give on Giving Tuesday, Colorado Gives Day, or any day in between, your support will make our non-profit community happier for the holiday season. And unlike the political candidates who won, but for whom you didn’t vote, in this case, by supporting these nonprofits, you know that you have elected a winner and will have a truly meaningful and positive impact on thousands of lives. Please vote…again!