Countdown to GivingTuesday starts here

The clocks have gone back, mince pies are in the shops, Winter is fast approaching. It can only mean one thing. Yes, there are just five weeks to go until #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to generosity and giving to charities. In the Giving Tuesday office, the excitement is growing. There are so many exciting plans from our wonderful partners, and our website is full of their stories and events. We’re delighted that the campaign is really gaining momentum all across the UK – and nowhere more so than in Scotland. New partners are still signing up every day, telling us how they’re getting involved and why the day can make a difference for them. We hope you will too! I am very proud to announce that our first bank to sign up is none other than the Royal Bank of Scotland. We are so thrilled to have their support and are looking forward to working with them to make #GivingTuesday a big success. We know that some charities still aren’t sure how they can best get involved. A great thing about #GivingTuesday is that there really isn’t any idea too big or too small. One of our brilliant Scottish partners, Dunfermline Advocacy, have been telling us about their plans. They’ll be out and about in Dunfermline town centre, fundraising and, just as importantly, making friends. They’re hoping to try and recruit some more advocates as well – what better way is there to give something back than offering support to vulnerable people in your community? Across the Forth in Edinburgh, the Lothian Autistic Society are running an amazing treasure hunt around the city, asking hunters to tweet and instagram their day to help raise awareness. Our only disappointment is that we can’t be there to take part. Our partner total has been shooting up in recent weeks – we’re fast approaching 400 charities, businesses and voluntary organisations who’ve said they want to be part of something bigger, part of this global day of giving. In Scotland, we’ve recently added the Scottish SPCA, Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Bethany Christian Trust to the ever-growing list. And we’re still hoping that plenty more will join us before the day itself. If you’re still not sure whether there’s something that your organisation can do to get involved, please take a look at our website. We’re sure that #GivingTuesday is going to be an absolute blast, and we hope that you can join us to help make it happen.