Giving Tuesday: A Chance to Give Back During the Holiday Season

Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season?

A partnership of nonprofits hopes so.

For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then comes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week.

Now, there's a new campaign asking you to open your wallet: Giving Tuesday.

Coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, Giving Tuesday is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations."

Several Montgomery County nonprofits are among those using their websites and social media networks to kick off the inaugural effort, including the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County, Rebuilding Together Montgomery County, the Black Rock Center for the Arts, the Manna Food Center, Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County and many more.  

Statewide, the Casey Cares Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Maryland Food Bank, and the American Visionary Art Museum are among dozens of other organizations participating statewide. (Find a full list here.)

The effort includes the Twitter hashtag #GivingTuesday, designed to help spread the word.

What do you think? Can a social media push get people giving more of their money and time to charities during the holiday season? Let us know in the comments.