DURHAM, N.C. – GivingTuesday is billed as a global generosity movement, held every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The goal is to encourage people to do good by supporting nonprofits in their community.

This year’s GivingTuesday comes as charities across North Carolina saw a nearly $5 million increase in money raised for programming in 2022 to 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the annual report from the Secretary of the State.

What You Need To Know

  • GivingTuesday, a global generosity movement, is held every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving

  • A Durham based nonprofit says GivingTuesday accounts for roughly 20% of its annual individual donations

  • It’s always important to vet the legitimacy of organizations before you donate to them

For the last 13 years, Farmer Foodshare in Durham has helped get fresh healthy food into the hands of people who need it, while also supporting North Carolina farmers.

“We buy food from farmers and then we give half of it away and we sell half of it. The half that we sell helps support those farmers and helps support our food access work,” Kelly Crane, the executive director of Farmer Foodshare, said. “This year alone, we've returned almost $1 million back to farmers, back into their pockets, in their small businesses all over the state of North Carolina. And we've fed nearly 800,000 pounds of local food to families experiencing food insecurity here in the Triangle region.”

Crane says their mission hits close to home.

“I was a farmer at one point, and I know how hard it is to make a living as a small farmer. I also am somebody who has experienced food insecurity in my life,” Crane said.

As with any nonprofit, their work is made possible through donations.

“During the pandemic we saw a huge increase in giving, and now that has kind of leveled out,” Hillary Bruce, the development director for Farmer Foodshare, said.

Bruce says $25 is a normal amount people donate to them.

“A dollar and a half equals a meal for someone experiencing food insecurity, so that $25 can really go a long way,” Bruce said.

Bruce says it takes year-round support for nonprofits like this to help the community, and that support is especially impactful on GivingTuesday.

“GivingTuesday is our largest single day of receiving donations to our organization. So, it makes an incredible impact on our ability to do this work throughout the year,” Bruce said.

Bruce says that besides financial donations, there are other ways people can help support nonprofits.

“Visiting our websites to sign up for volunteer shifts, to learn more about our mission and also sharing that with your friends and family is so important and makes such a huge difference on us being able to reach a larger audience and share about the work that we're doing,” Bruce said.

If you’re interested in donating money or time to a nonprofit this GivingTuesday, it’s important to vet the organization’s legitimacy. If you want to search for a local nonprofit, visit the Charity Navigator website to verify the organization.