This Giving Tuesday, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies is promoting local nonprofits and grassroots organizations through a “Give Local” campaign. Watch for the hashtag #GiveLocalCFA on Instagram and Facebook, or bookmark this post for updates on opportunities to make an impact locally, beginning Nov. 25.
Giving Tuesday is Dec. 3, but we’ll be embracing a full season of giving and gratitude. Here’s an excerpt from a magazine piece we wrote with Cumberland-based Community Trust Foundation that helps explain why we think it’s so important to remember local nonprofits during the holiday season.
We’re approaching the time of year when the pressure will be on.
Many of us will gather with friends and family on Thanksgiving, and take a moment to express our gratitude for the people and opportunities in our lives. The next day, we’ll be expected to start spending. Stores will be full. Lines will be long. Crowds will be on edge. All of us will be inundated with the message to buy, buy, buy.
In the midst of concerns about consumerism and the pressures of the holidays to spend more, one shift has emerged that at least helps families keep more of their hard-earned dollars close to home – buy local. It’s a great way for neighbors to show that they care about one another and their communities.
A lot of folks don’t consider how the same concept can extend to philanthropy.
As we are sifting through snail mail and emails that offer steep discounts on holiday décor, toys and party dresses, we’ll also receive appeals for national and international organizations that are working to fight hunger, renew forests and fund research.
Those are certainly worthy causes, but there’s good reason to keep some of your charitable giving close to home, too. There are organizations and people right here in your community who are working hard to keep kids in your school district fed, protecting environments you directly enjoy and supporting your friends and neighbors as they fight cancer.
If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere where people come together to support each other, there’s good reason to not just buy local, but to give local, too.
Read more here: GIVE LOCAL
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