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Some Thoughts on Giving Tuesday Directly

Over the next couple days you’ll be inundated with Giving Tuesday solicitations from every non-profit you’ve encountered in the last 20 years. We encourage you to ignore them. Better yet, delete them.

Before anyone @s us, we’ll acknowledge that at some point, the idea behind Giving Tuesday was a good one – countering the consumerist message of pre-Christmas sales with a reminder that there are people and entities who need money more than Wal-Mart and Amazon. But those days are behind us.

These days, Giving Tuesday Inc (yes, Inc) is a multi-million dollar organization helmed by a CEO who’s compensated to the tune of nearly $600,000 per year. Pretty wild, considering that in 2020 the organization reported only $300,000 in annual revenue. What changed? For starters, in 2021 the Chicago Community Trust GAVE Giving Tuesday a $7,000,000 gift, though it’s not clear how that $7,000,000 came to the Chicago Community Trust. 👀 Then in 2022 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation GAVE Giving Tuesday another $10,000,000. In fact, the Gates Foundation is Giving Tuesday Inc’s biggest donor.

Primarily, Giving Tuesday seems to spend its money on research, or, more specifically, data. You can probably guess why. As The Giving Review notes: “In a 2013 opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal … [Bill Gates] argued, if a better yardstick for measuring the value of philanthropic output could be developed, society would realize a great leap forward.”

Backed by millions of Gates Foundation dollars, the research must be groundbreaking, right? Erm … no. Says The Giving Review: “The work product all seems derivative of the hundreds of major giving reports, sector analyses, case studies, surveys, and white papers churned out by universities, think tanks, policy groups, and private-sector fundraising factories and consultants year after year.”

Yikes.

Giving Tuesday professes to unleash “the power of radical generosity around the world,” but seems way more like a recipient of generosity than anything. (And forgive us if we’re not sold on the idea that anything funded by the Gates Foundation could be considered “radical.”)

But maybe we’ve gone off the rails a bit. Giving Tuesday Inc.’s revenue and donors aren’t really of consequence to us. What is of consequence is what happens when we donate—on any day of the year.

Redistribution of wealth is more important than ever, but the loudest voices on Giving Tuesday (read: the organizations with fundraising teams) are the ones who can leverage visibility into money. And yet, they’re also the ones who use those donations on overhead costs and to offset stupid shit.

In 2023, says Inside Charity, “The average non-profit” brought in under $4,000 on Giving Tuesday—enough to cover catering for the annual holiday party, or spring water and Keurig refills, or—if they’re feeling awfully generous—to GIVE the staff small bonuses.

Consider what a volunteer-run Mutual Aid group with minimal overhead could do with $4,000—how many meals they could prepare, hygiene kits they could assemble, or blankets, tarps and tents they could distribute. Consider the number of people helped through those efforts as a result of that $4,000.

When we suggest ignoring those emails, it’s because, after a year of fires, abductions, food tariffs and lost SNAP benefits, helping our neighbors and community members is pretty fucking important, but “Giving Directly” is clearly not the kind of “radical generosity” that Giving Tuesday promotes.

If you’d prefer to help people around LA County gain access to supplies and food, over helping an organization ensure its employees have access to both Sumatra and breakfast blend, you’ll find some groups and projects below that would be grateful for your support.

For reference, $100 could buy these groups…
20 tarps,
150+ pairs of HotHands,
5 sleeping bags,
10 blankets,
3 tents,
6 bags of groceries,
or 12 hot meals from a local street vendor.

Everyone approaches mutual aid from different financial situations. If you’re able to give recurring donations, that would help ensure this work may continue long after the holiday season.

Eva and the Mac Park Crew

For years, Eva and the Mac Park Crew have been bringing hot meals, hygiene items, winter supplies, and so much more to the residents of MacArthur Park. Currently, the team is hosting a Winter Supply Drive to bring cold weather gear to MacArthur Park (think cozy clothes, tents and tarps, handwarmers, hot meals). They’re seeking donations, as well as volunteers, so head to @evadotwoods on Instagram to find their current wishlist and sign up to volunteer, or send cash to @catherine-schetina on Venmo.

Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid

Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid are abolitionists dedicated to community care in West LA.  Their operations include harm reduction efforts, sweep defense, court support, outreach and political education, as well as support to immigrant families and individuals impacted by recent raids. You can give cash to them here.

Echo Park Mutual Aid

Echo Park Mutual Aid continues to show up for the neighborhood’s unhoused population through weekly PowerUp tables, food and hygiene supply distributions, and fundraising drives for local vendors affected by ICE raids. You can set up recurring donations to their Patreon, make a one time Zelle donation to mutualaidechopark@gmail.com, or pick up some items for their winter donation drive (wishlist linked here) to bring to the park! 

Barrio Power

Barrio Power, a mutual aid collective in Los Angeles, is working to bring holiday cheer to families impacted by violent and devastating ICE raids. Your donation to their current campaign, Angelitos Sin Miedo, will fund gifts and toys for the children of 200 families affected by the ICE raids across several different states. You can make a cash donation using their GoFundMe, visit their Amazon and Walmart wishlists to buy specific items on kids’ lists, or sign up here to sponsor an entire family.

Check out Barrio Power’s Instagram here to meet some of the families they’re supporting this Christmas.  

Aetna Street Solidarity 

Aetna Street Solidarity is a network of community organizers dedicated to building a more visionary and inclusive world for folks living on Aetna Street in the Valley. At their community nights, they cook hot meals and share harm reduction and hygiene supplies. You can support these efforts by giving to their Venmo, or donating items like tents, sleeping bags, or clothing. DM them on IG to coordinate drop off or bring to any of their events, including the Really, Really Free Market on December 20th from 1-5pm at 6270 Van Nuys Blvd.

Lincoln Heights Outreach

Lincoln Heights Outreach runs a regular unhoused outreach session each weekend to provide unhoused residents of Lincoln Heights with basic necessities and hot food. Reach out to them on Instagram to get plugged in and join them! You can also make donations by Venmo.

OatBoat

OatBoat works in coordination with mutual aid groups across the city to bring warm and nourishing home cooked meals to unhoused and food insecure residents across Los Angeles. You can make a donation via Venmo, $5 buys a plate, $15 feeds a family! 

Union de Vecinos

Union de Vecinos is built by neighbors who fight every day for dignity, housing, and community control. For almost 30 years, their work has supported community members’ abilities to stay housed, provided food and other necessities to members and neighbors, and created and stewarded third spaces for residents and community members. 

You can give to UdV on Venmo or Zelle them at info@uniondevecinos.net.  A donation to Union de Vecinos is a donation to help protect the future of our neighborhoods.

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