Philanthropy

At PayPal, we are motivated and united by a central mission: to democratize financial services so that as many people and businesses as possible can join and thrive in the digital economy. That’s a big mission. It’s challenging to achieve, and progress can sometimes be difficult to measure. Yet one of the more demonstrable areas is the impact that PayPal has on charitable giving. I am thrilled to share that $64 million was donated to charities and non-profits via the PayPal platform on #GivingTuesday. This is a 33% increase over donations in 2016, and includes donations originating from 175 different countries.

For Teryn Buster, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade started well before the holiday. In early November, Columbus-based insurer Aflac flew the 10-year-old, her mom and grandmother to New York City for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Macy’s Parade Studio and VIP access to “Balloonfest” to see up close the newest balloonicles (self-powered balloon vehicles).

Quick delivery of excess fresh produce to people in need is crucial. The General Mills Foundation and Second Harvest are making healthy happen for nearly 1,000 food shelves, pantries and other partner programs.

Whirlpool Corporation volunteers pitched in to help complete construction of a Habitat for Humanity home for a woman and her daughter, who is handicapped, in Ottawa.

The Ocean Shores Food Bank is one of four groups on Grays Harbor County that have started receiving help from the Aberdeen Safeway store with ongoing efforts to feed hungry Harborites through a program administered by Seattle-based nonprofit Food Lifeline.

When disasters strike, Major League baseball players strike back. That's why Major Leaguers from across the United States and Latin America traveled to Texas recently to trade in their bats and gloves for hammers and hard hats. The Players Trust relief efforts in Dallas this week were a reminder from Major League Baseball players that they haven’t forgotten victims of the natural disasters that befell southern Texas, Florida, Northern California, Mexico and Puerto Rico earlier this year.

As a member of the evaluation community, and in my work as an advisor to foundation clients including Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit, the Kresge Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation, I think about trends shaping the field, and how they are showing up in practice.

Since it launched in 2012, #GivingTuesday has grown to become a recognized day of giving back in the U.S. and around the world. Last year, charities raised $180 million —an increase of 44% over the previous year. Now, what started out as a day focused on nonprofits has garnered the attention of companies as well. This year we saw companies create fun and unique ways to invite consumers to purchase while giving back on one of the biggest giving days of the year. Here are a few campaigns that caught our eye:

Working in communities across the country, the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund is implementing programs and training leaders to help expand access to financial services and education for unbanked and underbanked individuals.

Albertsons employees and customers worked together to raise funds this month to help solve hunger in Idaho, and on Thursday, Albertsons came to The Idaho Foodbank with a truck filled with 2,616 full turkey dinners for the families who need them most.