Giving Tuesday 2020: How To Help Charities In NYC

NEW YORK CITY — Now in its ninth year, the online donation event Giving Tuesday falls this week during a time of acute need for many in New York City.

The charitable event began in 2012 as an idea dreamed up by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, intended to contrast with the crazed, post-holiday shopping of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Vox reported.

Fueled by the hashtag #GivingTuesday, the event raised more than $500 million last year, up from $10 million in its first year.

Organizations asking for support this year include Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger relief organization, whose 200 member food banks include City Harvest in Midtown and the Food Bank For New York City in the Bronx. The organization has estimated that the number of food insecure New Yorkers will grow by the thousands this year due to job loss and other economic crises associated with the coronavirus.

This year, Facebook is pledging to match the first $7 million in charitable donations made through its platform, including a full match for the first $2 million and a 10 percent match for the remaining $5 million. Go to the #GivingTuesday website or visit the website of a charitable organization in your neighborhood to see if they are participating this year.