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.
Lagoona Bloo, a New York City-based drag queen, joined Cheddar News to talk about Pride Month and her music (that’s TOTALLY giving Britney vibes by the way). "Something that drag queens don’t really do is sing," Bloo said. “I wanted to create music that I loved as a kid." The artist also touched on the serious matter of the spate of anti-LGBTQ laws being enacted across the nation.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is partnering with eye-drop brand Pataday to help those struggling with allergies — such as himself. The Super Bowl LVI MVPjoined Cheddar News to discuss his own struggle with seasonal allergies. “It's right when football's starting back up, I feel like I get so excited to finally be back playing the game, and then, you know, spring comes around and completely knocks me out," he said.
Buy now, pay later — or point-of-sales loans — might be making it difficult to get a handle on your credit. These companies typically do not report payment history during transactions, so without this data going to credit scoring companies, it makes it difficult to know how many loans a customer still needs to pay. Experts are recommend paying off these debts as soon as possible.
Host Foodgod takes viewers to the world's most interesting food spots on Discovery+’s “Foodgod," and now he is partnering with Hertz to bring food trucks to car rental customers at Los Angeles International Airport. Formerly known as Jonathan Cheban, the TV personality, food influencer, and Kardashian friend joined Cheddar News to discuss his life as the ultimate foodie and his partnership with Hertz. “I picked out two amazing food trucks. One was Korean barbecue tacos and one was poutine," he said. "People that were coming out or waiting for their cars were able to come to eat this and have this amazing experience because you know with Hertz, it's about the moments that matter," he said.
Body odor is natural, but it’s not exactly welcome… Thankfully, we have all kinds of deodorants and antiperspirants to help eliminate the stink. But believe it or not, there was a time when people weren’t so ready to accept these solutions. In fact, it took a pretty savage marketing campaign to convince us we had a problem at all.
Cannabis World Congress and Business (CWCB) Expo returned to the Javits Center in Manhattan at a very decisive time for New York's cannabis industry. Chloe Aiello reports.
Just in time for Pride Month, Hulu’s "Fire Island" is a rom-com about a group of queer friends on a weeklong vacation at the iconic vacation spot. Actor and comedian Margaret Cho joined Cheddar News to talk about her role in the upcoming film alongside two Asian American leads Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster. "I think it's really important to acknowledge how important comedy is because comedy is really a barometer of how society is feeling about topics and situations and the changing nature of our society," she said. "Humor is a way to look for hope in the situation so that you can survive it."
It's About Time: Help Stop the Clock on Meningitis is a campaign calling on parents to seriously consider the meningitis vaccine for their pre-teens and teens. Advocate and actor Tiffani Thiessen joined Cheddar News to talk about her partnership with the campaign. "I think we're so honed in on our kids getting their vaccinations from baby to like year five or six, and then we forget sometimes that there's vaccinations that need to happen when there are older,” she said. The "Saved by the Bell" star also discussed the upcoming third season of her comedy clip show "Deliciousness."
