Giving Tuesday 2019 around Europe

The 2019 edition of Giving Tuesday took place on 3 December. Now celebrated officially in over 60 countries globally – including more than 20 in Europe – it has participants in over 150 countries. 

What issues do you really care about? What fires you up every time you read about it? How will you show up for that cause? #GivingTuesday pic.twitter.com/8J6g3pdNaY

— GivingTuesday (@GivingTuesday) December 3, 2019

Here’s a selection of this year’s activity from around Europe:

Ce matin à 9h00, @GivingTuesdayFr lançait officiellement la 2e édition #GivingTuesday 🇨🇵 dans un café @PFPauvres, café tenu par des bénévoles dans le 17e arrondissement de Paris en compagnie du secrétaire d'État @GabrielAttal et @sebastienfolin, ambassadeur #GivingTuesdayFr ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6s9rMQwfYD

— AFF fundraisers (@AFFundraisers) December 3, 2019

In France, the day officially launched in a charity coffee shop in Paris with secretary of state Gabriel Attal and Giving Tuesday France ambassador Sebastien Folin in attendance. For the second year of Giving Tuesday in France, plenty of advice was offered on how to get involved, along with some inspiring stories of what generosity means to different people available on Info Don’s site. 

The French fundraising association also tweeted to show its own staff had participated in Giving Tuesday, through a range of actions from using a search engine that donates meals to animals in a shelter, to donating to help children suffering from cow milk protein allergies. 

Parce que la #générosité, la #solidarité et l'#engagement sont des valeurs qui font sens avec la philosophie de l'@AFFundraisers, l'équipe en interne a décidé de se mobiliser pour #GivingTuesday Découvrez vite leurs actions 👇 pic.twitter.com/h5tynJDCjZ

— AFF fundraisers (@AFFundraisers) December 3, 2019

SVT Nyheter Väst rapporterar om #GivingTuesday. "Motreaktionen Giving Tuesday lockar allt fler" https://t.co/nvGcRjsPsi via @svtnyheter #givingtuesdaysweden

— GivingTuesdaySweden (@givingtuesdaysw) December 2, 2019

2019 was the third year of Giving Tuesday for Sweden, with activity in the city of Gothenburg including the Jonte Foundation, which works for young people who are waiting or having an organ transplant, appearing at the central station to try and encourage more people to sign up for the donation register, and SKF and the Rescue Mission collecting clothes for the homeless.

An interview with Giving Tuesday Sweden project manager Malin Ekeland on SVT News West highlighted these and other activities, as well as the sharp increase the country has seen in participation since launch with 160 businesses taking part last year and more expected in 2019.

In einer Woche ist #GivingTuesday.
Doch was ist der Giving Tuesday?

Mehr: https://t.co/m5Qs5w9Tko pic.twitter.com/3R6WsgIJuF

— Caritas Österreich (@CaritasAustria) November 26, 2019

This year marked the first year of participation for Austria as Stephan Kropf. Organisations came up with more than 125 actions for the day, including Amnesty International Austria, which asked people to donate to support Marinel from the Philippines in her fight for a climate-friendly future, SOS Children’s Village, which raised funds for a new home for children in the SOS Children’s Village Imst (Tyrol), and Zurich Austria, whose employees collected donations of food, clothing and other essential items for a Caritas emergency shelter for the homeless. 

In Finland, everyone was encouraged to take part. Small actions from walking the neighbour’s dog to doing someone’s shopping were just as welcome as big ones, said the Finnish Giving Tuesday site. It challenged everyone to see what they could do to improve their community. 

Charities taking part in Finland this year included The Heart League Lottery, the Finnish Red Cross & Stem Cell Registry, and Animalia.

Tänään ympäri maailmaa vietetään #TekojenTiistai ta. Hyvä päivä auttaa, antaa omaa aikaansa ja lahjoittaa yhteiseen hyvään. Minkä hyvän teon sinä aiot tehdä juuri tänään? Haastamme kaikki seuraajamme mukaan! 😘 #sydäntekeehyvää #GivingTuesday @TTiistaihttps://t.co/itPhkRs1mw

— Suomen Sydänliitto (@Sydanliitto) December 3, 2019

Charities Aid Foundation coordinates Giving Tuesday in the UK, with around 3,200 charities and businesses estimated to be playing a part in this year’s campaign. In London, Giving Tuesday messages were beamed from the BT Tower and the Canary Wharf Jumbotron screen throughout the day. Match funding of £150,000 was provided by PayPal, through its PayPal Giving Fund, and The Big Give launched its Christmas Challenge – a crowdfunding initiative offering match funding on donations to 600 charities. The Christmas Challenge 2019 aims to raise £14 million in just seven days.

The UK’s Institute of Fundraising called on charities to share their Giving Tuesday activities with Giving Tuesday UK, with #GivingTuesday trending at number one on Twitter by 10am.

Today is #GivingTuesday! How is your charity getting involved? Share your fundraising activities with @givingtuesdayuk👇

Last year, more than £7.8 million was raised in the UK in online donations alone on the day itself. You can learn more here: https://t.co/64vs1thgZe pic.twitter.com/wV7KkzoI09

— Chartered Institute of Fundraising (@CIOFtweets) December 3, 2019

And in Norway, where Giving Tuesday launched in 2017, the public were also encouraged to participate in any way they wished, from giving blood, to donating, or signing a petition. To promote the day, Hacienda Film created a video, which featured on Giving Tuesday Norge’s Facebook page, and showed people in the street talking about what they could give, while another film by Hummelfilm showed the value of giving away unwanted clothes and encouraged people to donate to organisations like Fretex Fashion and the Salvation Army. 

Last year Giving Tuesday raised more than $400m raised worldwide for good causes, and with more individuals, charities, and businesses taking part this year than ever, this year’s results will be awaited with interest around the globe.