On Giving Tuesday, be generous

Get ready to give. Today, in New Mexico and across the globe, Giving Tuesday is here. The idea is simple. After an orgy of shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, people can take a breath and give back before rejoining the holiday frenzy that constitutes the Christmas season. Last year in New Mexico on Giving Tuesday, a total of $300,000 reportedly was raised for 216 New Mexico nonprofit groups in 28 communities. That’s a lot of giving.

By focusing a day for charity, people who otherwise are overwhelmed with so many competing demands — of the season, life and work — can remember to donate to nonprofits by the end of the year. Charitable deductions, after all, are useful for people who itemize their income taxes. By giving now, they pay less in April.

Look on Twitter at #GivingTuesdayNM to see what nonprofits are taking part in the branded campaign. You’ll find organizations that help veterans, promote literacy, bring transparency to government and do such important work all across the state. At New Mexico State University, school officials are using the day to try and raise money for 16 scholarship endowments.

Or, donors can focus on health care (La Familia Medical Center or Villa Therese Catholic Clinic), feeding the hungry (Santa Fe Food Depot or Feeding Santa Fe) or helping the homeless (St. Elizabeth’s Shelter, Interfaith Community Shelter, Youth Shelters and Family Services). Other potential recipients are cultural organizations, environmental watchdogs, children’s advocates or animal-rescue groups.

So many choices to do good, with all day to focus on where best to donate. Do some research, too, and find out where your dollars can make the most impact — the American Civil Liberties Union, for example, will be matching donations dollar for dollar up to $425,000 on Giving Tuesday. All sorts of nonprofits are taking part, making Giving Tuesday a good day to donate to a Puerto Rico hurricane fund or to help relieve famine in Yemen.

For people who want to help individuals struggling right now, The New Mexican’s annual Empty Stocking Fund Campaign is taking place. This annual tradition brings neighbors together to help neighbors here at home.

The campaign is a project of the newspaper, The Santa Fe Community Foundation, Los Alamos National Bank, The Salvation Army, Presbyterian Medical Services, with The Life Link and Linda Zingle donating services to administer the fund.

(Donate at www.santafenewmexican.com/empty_stocking or mail a check to The New Mexican’s Empty Stocking Fund c/o The Santa Fe Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1827, Santa Fe, NM 87504-1827.) Donations for the Empty Stocking Fund take place throughout the holiday season, of course, but today is a good day to remember to give.

This year, there is special urgency to Giving Tuesday — the tax bill being debated in Washington, D.C., could eliminate an incentive for many Americans to donate to charity. Tax changes in the GOP-sponsored bill double the standard deduction for single and married couples, which would result in fewer people needing charitable deductions to help reduce their income taxes. It is estimated that charitable giving might drop as much as $13 billion.

Many nonprofits would struggle without the generosity of individuals — Amanda Douglas of the New Mexico Center for Nonprofit Excellence, which helps organize GivingTuesdayNM, says that individuals are responsible for three-quarters of all charitable giving in the U.S., donating $280 billion to charities in 2016.

This generous spirit helps both giver and recipient, on Giving Tuesday, and all year long. Be generous, today and every day.