By Kate Sundstrom

The NIRSA Foundation is joining Giving Tuesday for the second year in a row, and we want you to become part of the movement! This effort harnesses the collective power of charities, businesses, families, and individuals to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season. The NIRSA Foundation is among more than 26,000 partners from around the world who came together last year from December 1–3 to celebrate the unifying power of giving.

The NIRSA Foundation strives to enhance the effectiveness of collegiate recreation by providing NIRSA members with meaningful opportunities for scholarship, research, and professional development. It is eager to continue to build a platform for champions of the Foundation to discuss why #campusrec is relevant and deserves to be valued.

The 2015 Giving Tuesday movement takes place on December 1—the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become synonymous with holiday shopping, Giving Tuesday is about moving away from spending and instead focusing on creating an online community between those who give and the nonprofits and organizations that need their contributions.

Giving Tuesday wraps into the NIRSA Foundation’s Annual Giving Campaign. Donors to the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference Giving Campaign raised over $48,000 in individual member contributions; over 350 members opted to “Pay It Forward” by making a donation directly to the NIRSA Foundation. Many were students who attended NIRSA 2015 and embraced the challenge to make a participant-level donation of $25 to kick off their lifetime of giving. It’s not too late to make a heartfelt donation to the Annual Giving Campaign to help us reach our goal of $55,000—let Giving Tuesday be a reminder to donate.

The #GivingTuesday hashtag saw a 180% increase in use last year, and the hashtag #unselfie saw a similar increase since 2013—183%—after being tweeted 39,700 times. More than 7,600 #unselfie photos were also posted on Instagram. The movement is going strong, and the NIRSA Foundation is proud to be a part of it.

Recreation is the campus community; it enhances the educational experience. “Our programs and facilities help to keep students in school, and aids in their academic success and personal wellness. Ideally, their collegiate experiences lead to lifelong wellness,” says NIRSA Foundation Board member Deb Johnson. Fellow Board member Chris Muller points out that NIRSA members “give selflessly every day, and

[participating in #GivingTuesday] is another way to ‘pay it forward’ since donations to the NIRSA Foundation help support the future of collegiate recreation.”

The NIRSA Foundation has made it easier than ever before for you to join the movement! Simply visit the NIRSA website on December 1. Your participation in the NIRSA Foundations’ #GivingTuesday movement will make a real difference to the collegiate recreation field.

Take to Twitter and Instagram on December 1 to share your support of the NIRSA Foundation and their love for #campusrec! Get ready to express why #campusrec matters to you, and consider downloading the NIRSA Foundation #GivingTuesday template for your #unselfie! Donate to a worthy cause and tweet your completed variation on the following:

“I support #campusrec because […] @NIRSAFoundation #GivingTuesday.”

 

For more information about the NIRSA Foundation’s #GivingTuesday movement, please contact NIRSA Director of Philanthropy Kate Sundstrom.