First, it was Black Friday. Then came Cyber Monday. Then Small Business Saturday became a thing. Holiday shopping events are a marketing team's holy grail, an opportunity to change consumer behavior writ large that doesn't come around very often.
Enter Giving Tuesday, the most recent of the holiday shopping holidays ー though this one is all about altruism. Started in 2012 by the New York nonprofit 92nd Street Y, in partnership with the UN Foundation, the movement has grown to become a de facto response to the consumerism that surrounds the holiday season, in which companies and non-profits urge people to donate money or time to charity ー at least for a day.
According to predictions from the data firm Whole Whale, #GivingTuesday, as it's known online, is expected to top $500 million for the first time, a 25 percent increase from the estimated $400 million that was donated online last year. Still, that haul represents less than 14 percent of the amount of money that will be spent online on Tuesday, according to Adobe Analytics data.
Save the Children, the 100-year-old charity that works to help disadvantaged kids in 120 countries, is among the nonprofits that looks to Giving Tuesday for a portion of its annual fundraising. CEO Carolyn Miles told Cheddar in an interview that millennials still have limited awareness of the day. Save the Children is trying to leverage its relationships with brands and celebrities to spread the word on its social media accounts (and to broadcast that it is matching all donations, 1:1, on Tuesday).
The charity has partnered with red-hot designers like Gabriela Hearst, who is donating 100 percent of the net proceeds from her handbag sales to Save the Children's efforts in Yemen. Those handbags are typically only available by invite, though Hearst is opening the collection to the public this week to spur donations. There are also partnerships with Dave Matthews Band, Jennifer Garner, and the shoe brand Toms.
Many people who give want their donations to help "closer to home," Miles said, noting that Save the Children also works in impoverished communities in the U.S. as well as "all the toughest places to be a child in the world."
The charity counts on the last few weeks of the year for nearly a third of its donations, she said, which is why the awareness around Giving Tuesday is particularly important. Save the Children has an operational budget of $2.2 billion ー equivalent to the entire budget of the newly created U.S. Space Force over the next five years. Last year, it brought in a half-million dollars, the latest in a number that has been "growing every year," though it is still a fraction of the overall budget. The rest comes from corporations, foundations, individual donors and grants from the UN, she said.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest with the infrastructure bill, the growing state rebellion over boosters, Trump's dereliction of duty on the pandemic, Taylor Swift's reign of cultural domination and more.
Danielle Mone Truitt, the actress who stars as Sergeant Ayanna Bell and partner to Chris Meloni's Elliot Stabler in the latest series in the Dick Wolf universe, joined Cheddar to discuss her leading role.
2021 has been the year of many things, and one of them is the NFT or non-fungible token. We've seen NFTs come about for so many different things.
Digital artists have used them to sell their artwork in a more traditional art transaction than the internet had previously allowed. We've seen specific NFT campaigns like the pudgy penguins amass large followings. And now we're seeing them expand into horror films just in time for spooky season.
The iconic horror movie franchise "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has launched its debut NFT line entitled "Leatherfaces." the illustrations are designed by Skinner in partnership with Ultra Rare to reveal a total of over 10,000 Leatherface avatars. The collection gives fans, NFT fiends and blockchain fanatics access to a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre metaverse unlike any that has been seen before.
Richie Hobson, co-founder of Ultra Rare, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The USO is hosting a 72 hour streamathon on Twitch called #OperationPlayItForward, and is tapping into Gen Z superstars and gamers to raise money for the organization through the power of the esports community. The goal here is to help support both the new generation of troops and their families. Director of Global Gaming Operations at USO Callum Fletcher and Former UFC Lightweight Champ and Twitch Partner Jens Pulver, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined Cheddar to discuss the latest push to get rid of Daylight Savings Time. A practice where several say can cause havoc on one's sleeping schedule and cause disruptions to our economy.
The past decade or so has been a has seen massive change-- usually good-- for the LGBTQ+ community. Same-sex marriage has seen broader acceptance, and there's been increased conversation about the reality of gender identity. Now, folks who don't identify as male or female can travel while staying true to their more authentic self.
The Biden administration has issued the first passport with a gender-neutral designation "X." the passport was issued to Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Colorado, after a long legal battle with the state department in which Zzyym argued they shouldn't be required to lie about their identity on their passport. Advocates for such changes have applauded the move, saying it will allow people who don't identify as male or female to travel the globe in a more safe and visible way.
Paul Castillo, counsel at Lambda Legal and Zzyym's attorney in this case, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The Biden Administration has announced its latest plans to support veterans who had been exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits. According to several veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a number of them were exposed to hour-long periods of burn pits. As a result, many of them say they have suffered from severe life-long side effects. Co-founder at Burn Pits 360 Le Roy Torres, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
If you've been to the grocery store lately you may have noticed that your grocery store bill is higher than usual. It looks like prices aren't slowing down anytime soon. According to recent data, inflation has spiked to a 30- year high. Editor-in-Chief from Investopedia Caleb Silver, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
On this episode of 'Your Future Home', Chip Wade, Emmy Award-winning HGTV Host, breaks down all the ways you can avoid breaking the bank on energy costs this holiday season, especially when it comes to outfitting your home with smart tech; Dr. Wendy Osefo, Entrepreneur, Professor & Cast Member of Bravo's 'Real Housewives of Potomac', discusses her popular new Onyi Home Essentials line and how ideas of family and legacy helped shape it; Cheddar breaks down everything you need to know about how to determine your non-negotiables when purchasing a house.
