Four years ago, at a time when Thanksgiving had become synonymous with food and shopping, the #GivingTuesday campaign was created. #GivingTuesday was a way to celebrate and support giving back and philanthropy during the holiday season. This year, California Forward is joining the movement, encouraging Californians to be catalysts for change.
The #GivingTuesday campaign was created by 92nd Street Y in New York City in 2011. The idea has grown through the power of social media and collaboration. It has become a movement that encourages and celebrates volunteering and generosity and has inspired people around the world to bring about change in their community.
Since California Forward started, it has been a catalyst for change through its projects:
- Partnership for Economic Prosperity: For the past four years, California Forward has presented – along with its partners at the California Stewardship Network – the California Economic Summit, which has been driven to do economic development differently, by improving the state’s triple bottom line. That means supporting growth in the economy, improvement in environmental quality and increased opportunity for all. This year, the Summit network of champions developed goals to train more workers, build more homes and save more water.
- Partnership for Community Excellence: California Forward has worked with government agencies closest to the people to use new authority, resources and discretion to improve performance in public safety and related services, and more recently in K-12 schools. CA Fwd is partnering with the California School Boards Association and numerous counties to strengthen local governance.
- Partnership for Public Accountability: Democracy requires citizen involvement and CA Fwd has persistently worked to improve the elections and the initiative processes. We have been strong advocates for increasing transparency to enable public accountability and to restore public trust.
On December 1, California Forward is asking that Californians step up and become a part of #GivingTuesday. Civic participation and engagement are keys to change needed to encourage good governance. Visit cafwd.org/GivingTuesday to get involved today.
