User:Vipul/Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday refers to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States (always held on a Thursday in late November). On this date, people are supposed to engage in altruistic acts, such as donating money to charity or signing up for volunteering activities. Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 as a response to what people perceived as increasing commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season (Black Friday and Cyber Monday).

2012
The idea for Giving Tuesday was first announced in October 2012, a month before the first planned Giving Tuesday (November 27, 2012). The announcement was made by Giving Tuesday founding partner Mashable, a technology website. Other founding partners listed in the story were Skype (launching Skype for Peace) and Cisco. Other partner organizations announced over the coming weeks included Microsoft, Sony, Aldo, Case Foundation, Heifer International, Phoenix House, and Starwood Hotels. Mashable provided detailed coverage of Giving Tuesday.

Other news and opinion websites that announced Giving Tuesday well in advance were CNet, the Huffington Post, and Deseret News.

Shortly before, during, and after the date, Giving Tuesday was covered by Washington Post, the White House official blog, ABC News, and the Huffington Post. Forbes used the occasion to publish a guide to effective giving.

2013 and later
Mashable also covered Giving Tuesday in 2013, including a partnership with Google+ to hold a "hangout-athon" for Giving Tuesday. The Huffington Post also covered Giving Tuesday extensively.

Giving Tuesday also received coverage in many philanthropy information websites, including Charity Navigator and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The December 4 Chronicle of Philanthropy article highlighted a donation by Good Ventures (a foundation funded by Dustin Moskovitz and run by his wife Cari Tuna) to GiveDirectly, Google's hangout-a-thon, and matching grants announced by the Case Foundation.

Giving Tuesday was also covered by mainstream newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and USA Today.

Charitable giving on Giving Tuesday in 2013 was approximately twice the value in 2012. Over 7,000 nonprofits participated in the 2013 Giving Tuesday.

Reception
Reception of Giving Tuesday has generally been positive, with a large number of organizations, including Google, Microsoft, Skype, Cisco, UNICEF, the Case Foundation, and others joining in as partners. Giving Tuesday has been praised as an antidote to consumer culture and as a way for people to give back.

Timothy Ogden, managing director of the Financial Access Initiative at New York University and board member at effective altruism organization GiveWell, wrote articles for the Stanford Social Innovation Review skeptical of Giving Tuesday, one in 2012 and another in 2013.