10 Businesses That Can Help You Give Back on Giving Tuesday

Along with the parties and the shopping, the holidays are also about giving to others. And today, December 3, is Giving Tuesday, a movement that started back in 2012, which encourages individuals, families, and businesses to come together to donate to charities and nonprofits.

According to the website, there are now people and organizations participating in Giving Tuesday in every country in the world, and in United States alone, the movement has raised over $1 billion.

Learn how you can get involved by checking out some of the businesses throughout the United States that are taking part in Giving Tuesday this year.

1. Lush Cosmetics

Lush Cosmetics is working to raise $300,000 on Giving Tuesday by matching up to $150,000 from Charity Pot Body Lotion purchases. The funds that Lush matches through the sales will go directly to Retreet, The Sunrise Movement, Aliados, Climate Action Network Canada, and Amazon Watch—five organizations that support the climate movement. The proceeds from Charity Pot sales will go straight into the company's charity fund, where 100 percent of the money will be donated to grassroots organizations working on human rights, environmental justice, and animal protection.

2. Facebook

If you’ve been thinking about setting up a donation to a charitable cause on Facebook, today is the day to do it, because the social media platform will be matching donations dollar for dollar until users hit $7 million in donations.

3. Pottery Barn

Today, Pottery Barn will be matching all customer donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital both in the store and online. St. Jude is an establishment completely devoted to treating children with cancer, and, according to the website, families never receive a bill for their care.

4. Patagonia

From November 20 through December 21, the outdoor gear company will be matching donations to their Patagonia Action Works fund, which supports grassroots movements that work to find solutions for the environmental crisis. The company will match donations up to $10,000 apiece and will continue until they’ve reached a maximum total match of $10,000,000.

5. T-Mobile

T-Mobile is working to get employees and customers to help donate up to 5 million meals to Feeding America. Today, for every deal customers save with on the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, the cell phone provider will donate up to five meals. Each time someone tweets with #GivingOnUs, T-Mobile will also contribute 10 meals. The cell provider will also be hosting 100 employee volunteer events with Feeding America member food banks across the country through the rest of the year.

6. Fossil and DoSomething.org

These two have teamed up to inspire their followers to Make Time for Good and give back to their community. Their website encourages fans and followers to complete challenges, such as posting kind messages on mirrors or unplugging electronics that aren’t in use. For every challenge completed and shared on social media with the hashtag #MakeTimeForGood, Fossil will donate $1 to DoSomething.

7. EBay

Each time a major brand uses a holiday buzzword (like mistletoe or Rudolph), the online marketplace will put $1 in a #HolidayJargon Jar. Once they reach $50,000, they'll donate the money to charity, according to Mobile Marketer. Consumers can join in, too, by tagging instances of #HolidayJargon in real life and following @HolidayJargon on Twitter.

8. The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library has a network of locations throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island and helps enrich the lives of many in those communities. Today, you can help give back to this library system, because until midnight tonight, your donation to the NYPL will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $50,000.

9. Vizio

This retailer launched a 50-inch special edition VIZIO (RED) 4K HDR Smart TV, and on Giving Tuesday, 10 percent of the sales will be donated to the Global Fund, which finances HIV/Aids programs throughout Africa.

10. Paypal

This widely used service will add 10 percent up to a total of $600,000 when you support the causes that are part of the Paypal Giving Fund.

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