A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

BBB Trends: Feeling charitable? Give where it counts on Giving Tuesday; check out your charities


During the holiday season, the desire to help out the community and donate to a favorite charity becomes a big part of the gift-giving list.

In fact, American charities receive approximately one-third of their annual donations this time of year.

In 2016, $177 million was contributed to charitable causes on Giving Tuesday – a national movement started by several charities in 2012 to celebrate and encourage the act of giving. This year, Giving Tuesday falls on November 28.

Although Giving Tuesday is a national campaign, contributions have an impact locally too.

One Way Farm – a BBB Accredited Charity Seal Holder that provides care for at-risk children and youth with disabilities – states that the holiday season, and Giving Tuesday in particular, is a great time to learn more about the causes they support and build relationships with the nonprofits they choose.

“Giving Tuesday really allows us to feel the love from the community,” said Sabrina Smith, Interim Executive Director. “As a small nonprofit, we believe it’s important for donors to have a relationship with us and have a say in where their donation goes.”

Smith encourages donors, if they decide to make a donation to One Way Farm, to specify how the would like the donation to be spent; contributors can ask that their money go to providing a meal or funding a special activity, for example. However, if nothing is specified, donations will be used where they’re needed most.

“We take any donation given to us very seriously, and treat is an investment from the person who made it,” Smith said. “It really makes an impact on how we’re able to take care of the children we have here.”

As donors carefully consider where to make their end-of-year contributions, BBB encourages everyone to plan ahead and verify their chosen charity meets the BBB’s 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

BBB’s 20 Standards are used to review a nonprofit’s inner workings to determine how it’s run and how donations are spent. This includes looking at things like governance, effectiveness, and funding, giving potential donors a better overview of where their money goes.

Giving Tuesday is a great time to support a local cause you trust. Visit givingtuesday.org to learn more about how you can contribute, and check give.org to find out how your preferred charity uses your generous gift.

Sandra Guile is the Community Outreach Specialist for BBB. She promotes BBB’s message of marketplace ethics through public speaking engagements, presentations, media relations, press releases, web content, and other written materials. Contact Sandra at (513) 639-9126 or sguile@cincinnati.bbb.org. Your BBB is located at 1 East 4th Street Suite 600 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 – to reach the office, call (513) 421-3015.


Related Posts

Leave a Comment