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Monday Buzz: Associations Embrace #GivingTuesday

Associations far and wide are getting in on the #GivingTuesday fun—check out a few examples. Also: How one major brand teamed with a band of expert viral-video creators to promote its #GivingTuesday efforts.

Feels like #GivingTuesday just crept up on us, doesn’t it?

The hugely popular charitable holiday, which started in 2012, has become a major event on the nonprofit calendar. Charities around the world have turned it into something nearly as buzzy as Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

And associations aren’t missing out on the annual occasion, either. Here are just a few ways they are embracing #GivingTuesday this year:

The American Marketing Association, through its foundation, is working to raise money to support its collegiate scholarship programs. AMA is looking to support two social impact and two diversity leadership scholarships to student members. Its donation page can be found over this way.

The American Counseling Association Foundation, which sponsors essay competitions for students, is using testimonials from previous winners to highlight the value of the foundation.

Donations to the American Autism Association won’t benefit just the association—the group is teaming with Ballet for All Kids in New York City to help pay for individual classes for children in the program.

The Penn State Alumni Association is hoping to use #GivingTuesday to help boost its FastStart program, which pairs mentors with new students at the university. “With 658,000 alumni and 100,000 students, there’s any number of ways that we can continuously improve to provide engagement opportunities and that’s what this does,” noted CEO Paul Clifford in comments to the Centre Daily Times. “The more money we have the more we can do.”

What’s your association doing on #GivingTuesday? Share your campaigns in the comments.

OK, Go, Give

For more than a decade, the band OK Go has been impressing the heck out of YouTube users with its colorful, unusual music videos, and its latest, for the song “The One Moment,” has a #GivingTuesday tie of its own. The band, which teams with big brands to pay for its viral visions, worked with Morton Salt on the clip, which is part of the company’s Walk Her Walk campaign. (The “her,” of course, refers to the Morton Salt Girl, one of the greatest ad icons ever created.)

The clip, in its own subtle way, highlights the missions of the five charities that Morton Salt partnered with this year—with missions as diverse as art, music, water, and nutrition.

“The One Moment music video is filled with color, energy and wonder. It’s unlike any other. And it shows us how we can create brightness in the world—if we just slow down and realize there are opportunities to make a difference all around us,” Morton states on its website.

Check out the Walk Her Walk page to learn more.

Just because people can’t give money doesn’t mean they can’t give. Mashable highlights a few examples of giving that go beyond donations.

Arm donors with info. At Forbes, contributor Richard Eisenberg interviews J.P. Morgan philanthropy guru Nick Tedesco, who offers tips on how the public can maximize their #GivingTuesday donations.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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