Giving Tuesday is now in its seventh official year – a time for people to focus on others headed into the Christmas season following Thanksgiving. And in these modern times, it is a day for people to take a break from much of the commercialism that has become so much of Christmas. A break from the madness of Black Friday that periodically results in shoppers literally trampled to their death during a dash for the latest sale.
#GivingTuesday – the official hashtag that readers may see frequently today – has become a movement in the U.S. and internationally, raising millions of dollars for charities. Last year, donations to thousands of different charities poured in from more than 150 countries, raising more than $300 million, with the average donation just over $100.
Personal-finance website WalletHub has done studies on the giving from individual states and Georgia ranks highly. The rankings are determined based on two categories – ‘Volunteering and Service’ and ‘Charitable Giving.’ Georgia is ranked ninth overall but is ranked number 2 in the charitable giving category, only 29th in volunteering and service. Mormon-dominated Utah, a religion known for public service, is ranked at the top.
The U.S. overall is ranked number 5 out of more than 140 countries, according to a study from the World Giving Index. U.S. donors gave nearly $400 billion to charity in 2016, and of that, 72% comes from individuals. Besides monetary donations, nearly 63 million people volunteer their time each year, to the tune of 7.9 billion hours per year – roughly the equivalent of $184 billion in service.
Besides individual giving, foundations are also a big part of both #Giving Tuesday and annual giving overall. In Georgia specifically, some of these foundations have become household names. Some are the charitable arms of well-known corporations, like the Coca-Cola Foundation – which gave more than $90 million last year, and the Home Depot Foundation – more than $57 million. Others are the products of personal fortunes, generously dedicated to making a difference both here in Georgia and across the country and world.
Of those types of foundations, there is one that really stands above all – the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. If you went to college in the state of Georgia, if you weren’t in a program that benefited from the foundation, you almost certainly passed the name Woodruff at some point. When Robert Winship Woodruff became the president of a local soft drink business called Coca-Cola in 1923, few could have predicted that it would eventually become the world’s best-known brand. Fewer still would have predicted that president would go on to begin a foundation that would make a difference in millions of lives.
Known as “Mr. Anonymous,” Woodruff established the Trebor Foundation in 1937 and he often gave anonymously, living by the creed “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” Only after he died in 1985 was Trebor (“Robert” spelled backwards) renamed the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. Last year, the foundation contributed more than $121 million to groups in six main areas: health, education, environment, human services, arts and culture, and community development.
You may not be able to contribute on Coca-Cola money level, but the receiving group will still appreciate it. Keep an eye out for that “#GivingTuesday” tag.
