On this day, everyone can be a philanthropist

Not everyone can be John and Jan Magnolia.

They were named the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County’s Philanthropists of the Year last month at the organization’s 20th Celebration of Philanthropy awards ceremony.

The couple established the Magnolia Family Fund at the foundation in 2009. Since then, the Magnolias have been one of the foundation’s largest fundholders and donors, with contributions totaling more than $1.7 million over the last 11years.

Their generosity has supported Anne Arundel Medical Center, YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Hospice of the Chesapeake, St. Mary’s High School, Boys & Girls Club of Annapolis, Annapolis Area Christian School, Our Lady of the Fields, South River Athletic Association and GiGi’s Playhouse.

While you might not be able to match that admirable achievement, you have an opportunity to a philanthropist for the day.

Giving Tuesday is a worldwide effort to promote philanthropy on all levels, from the small contribution to a large sponsorship. Two nonprofit organizations, the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, were created this day in 2012.

The campaign now raises more than

OUR SAY

$380million a year, with each organization making their pitch in more than 150 countries. The money goes directly to the nonprofits, not through the organizers of Giving Tuesday.

This year, there are more than 100 nonprofits in Anne Arundel taking part, with dozens in the Annapolis area alone.

Donors still have to do the work, and figure out what they want to do with their contributions, andmake sure the organizations are going to do it. Tools such as Charity Navigator, GuideStar, Charity Watch, the IRS non-profit database, or the Maryland Attorney General’s charity database all make it easy to lookup an organization’s 501c3 status.

If you haven’t gotten pitches from nonprofits you already know, they’re working hard to find you.

Some of the creative pitches we’ve gotten include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where donations are being matched by the Merrill Family Foundation started by the late publisher of The Capital, Phil Merrill.

The Oyster Recovery Partnership is hosting an oyster “shuckathon” on Zoom to raise funds for its efforts to restore the bay’s oyster population.

United Way of Central Maryland is asking people to support its fund that rapidly rehouses families who have been evicted and prevents homelessness.

Likewise, the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County is raising money for its Help Our Neighbors Fund, which provides money directly to nonprofits that help individuals and families in need.

The Naval Academy Foundation aims for $75,000 by the Army-Navy Game on Dec. 12 to replenish the Midshipman Activities Fund, which has helped make the pandemic a bit easier for midshipmen stuck on the yard.

At the Banneker Douglass Museum, Executive Director Chanel Compton will join Nikki Brooks, the museum’s Black Vote Mural Project artist and educator, to preview “Morning Discourse,” a performance art production, filmed at the Breonna Taylor mural in Annapolis.

Not everyone can be as generous as the Magnolias. But Giving Tuesday is about democratizing philanthropy.

Today, you can give something to the charity that matters most to you or to the one you’ve only just heard about through an email pitch.

Be careful and be generous.