By Animal Friends’ Development team

The end of the year is always a busy time for nonprofits, as attention turns to the final stretch of fundraising before the new year. To kick this off, Giving Tuesday takes place each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This is an especially important day of giving for many nonprofits across the Pittsburgh region and beyond. Giving Tuesday started in 2012 as a global day of giving by New York’s 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, with the simple idea to inspire people to do good. Since Giving Tuesday began, more than $1.9 billion has been raised for nonprofit organizations in the United States alone.

Animal Friends participates in Giving Tuesday each year and we are so grateful for our generous donors and community supporters. During Giving Tuesday last year, over $3 million dollars was donated to Pittsburgh area nonprofits, with over 500 organizations participating. Animal Friends was extremely fortunate to be one of the top Pittsburgh nonprofits in 2021, raising nearly $100,000 in 24 hours for the pets and people of our community! Animal Friends had the third highest fundraising total among nonprofits across the entire city of Pittsburgh, with the second highest number of donors in the region, with an astounding 676 individuals showing their support for our lifesaving mission. Thanks to several charitable donors who participated in our matching gift incentive last year, we were able to match many donations dollar for dollar. Not only did this encourage folks to participate in Giving Tuesday, but it helped us meet (and exceed!) our fundraising goal to help even more animals in need.

Sarah McKean was one of the supporters who participated in last year’s Giving Tuesday, providing a generous match to help incentivize other donors. She was inspired to donate on this important day because “Giving Tuesday is the natural progression from Black Friday and Cyber Monday, from spending money on things to giving money to help others. Donating to Animal Friends on Giving Tuesday helps us to continue our lifesaving work and further our vision of a humane and compassionate future for every animal friend.” A long-time supporter and Animal Friends Board Member, Sarah enjoys giving back “because our mission and vision celebrate the bond between humans and animals, with programs ranging from Animal Friends for Veterans to Chow Wagon to Therapets, for which my dog, Ladybug, and I are a volunteer team. Generosity is also healthy for the giver because it stimulates the reward center of the brain, which in turn makes us happier and connects us to others.”

Thanks to generous donors like Sarah who participated in Giving Tuesday last year, Animal Friends had the most successful year we have seen and we hope to exceed our goal again this year with your help. Please consider making a gift to Animal Friends this Giving Tuesday on Nov. 29! Your support will help ensure critical, lifesaving funds are raised for the pets and people of our community and beyond. Visit  ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org/DonateNow to make a lifesaving contribution.