During the first #GivingTuesday, dozens of lovely giving stories filtered back to us at 92Y. People giving gifts large and small, some for the first time; people sharing on social media what causes they cared about — again, often for the first time.

We created #GivingTuesday as a day to follow Black Friday and Cyber Monday, days that are lucrative for the retail sector. Could we, we wondered, help to create the same kind of energy and activity for the social sector, with the same concrete financial benefit? Is there appetite for a conversation about giving following two days of consuming? The answer was yes and yes, and, inspiringly, even in places where Black Friday and Cyber Monday don’t exist.

Both organizations and individuals have an opportunity to make sure that it continues to be more than just a giving day. It’s an opportunity to take a breather from the news of the day — often saddening, or maddening — to cross political, geographic and demographic divides to give to one another. In doing that, we become philanthropists. Philanthropy is more than just the writing of a check. Giving is the manifestation of our hopes and dreams for a better world.

Read the full article by Asha Curran about Giving Tuesday on Huffington Post