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Photo: Katie McCoy

2020 Giving Guide: Loving Local Nonprofits on #GivingTuesday and Beyond

We’ve got 30 ways for you to make a difference on #GivingTuesday and throughout the holiday season. When you choose to give to local organizations like these, you help build a Memphis that is safer, healthier, and more beautiful for every one of us. 

Use this list of great organizations to #GiveMemphis your love—and you may find some great ways to stretch your donor dollars—or even find a gift for that hard-to-buy-for loved one. You can also follow along at #GiveMemphis where they’ll shout about every local giving opportunity they can find.

There’s never been a more important time to support the local organizations that make Memphis the city it is—and those that work to make it the city we want it to be. (And if you need some tax tips about all the giving you’re planning to do, we’ve got those ready for you, too).

We wish you the brightest and merriest holiday season as we all find ways to care for each other and stay safe.

Memphis Destinations and Cultural Organizations

Photo: WYXR ft. Jordan Occasionally

Overton Park Conservancy: How thankful are we to have an old growth forest in the middle of Memphis? Support Overton Park Conservancy on #GivingTuesday and they’ll post a photo of Old Forest wildlife on social media in your honor! 

Music Export Memphis: Music Export Memphis invites you to invest in good times—we know live music is coming back in 2021 and you can help ensure Memphis musicians are ready! Support Memphis musicians

Fire Museum of Memphis: Fire Museum of Memphis teaches fire safety and prevention and they’re looking for 25 brand new donors on #GivingTuesday—we can all support that! You can also RSVP now to support the museum and get those Santa photos by attending their socially distanced Breakfast with Santa

Stax Music Academy: This #GivingTuesday, we’re giving to YOU. Like, share, or comment on our Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter post and you’re automatically entered to win an exclusive gift (here’s a hint!) from the Soulsville Foundation on #GivingTuesday.

WYXR: If you haven’t listened in to WYXR yet, tune in and take our word for it: support for local radio is a sound decision. WYXR 91.7 FM is the only place on the FM dial where MEMPHIS is the format, regardless of genre, gender, age, or taste. Be part of the WYXR mission to amplify all voices.

Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group: This local theatre company uses performing arts to build a bridge between cultures. On #GivingTuesday, support their Facebook fundraiser (gifts may be matched!) or give on their site.

Memphis Botanic Garden: On Giving Tuesday, plant a seed to support a local gem, the Memphis Botanic Garden. Gifts to the garden support an urban oasis for all Memphians—that means educational opportunities for all, arts advocacy, and an awareness and appreciation of the environment. 

Memphis Rox: It’s not just a gym, it’s a community. And no one is ever turned away for an inability to pay. So become a monthly donor to Memphis Rox Climbing + Community on Giving Tuesday. You’ll be supporting a great thing—and they’ll give back to YOU with #climbhighertogether gear.  

Levitt Shell: In 2021 we all hope to be celebrating the return of live music—and we can’t think of a better way to do that than with the Levitt Shell on their 85th birthday! For #GivingTuesday they’re kicking off a $10,000 community campaign—which would cover the cost of one free concert. Give the gift of music to Memphis!

Memphis Service Organizations

Hope House: We can help keep Hope House families warm this winter! Use their Amazon wish list to purchase a blanket, hat, or gloves for an individual affected by HIV and poverty on #GivingTuesday and #WorldAIDSDay.

Service Over Self: For over 30 years, SOS has made homes warmer, safer, and drier for Memphis homeowners, and they’ve continued doing that throughout the pandemic. Join their mission to put service over self and support this work by setting up a monthly gift

Room in the Inn – Memphis: RITI serves people in Memphis experiencing homelessness. For #GivingTuesday they’re inviting you to Design A Star and share a little light this winter. Mail in your star along with a gift of any size and your work will be part of a community art piece. Gather the family and get involved!

OUTMemphis: For over 30 years, OUTMemphis has served as the only full service LGBTQ+ center for Memphis and the Mid-South. This #GivingTuesday please consider donating $30 for 30 years of service to help continue their work toward a more affirming Memphis for your local LGBTQ+ community!

Photo: Memphis Athletic Ministries

MAM (Memphis Athletic Ministries): On #GivingTuesday, partner with MAM to provide a Christmas miracle for 21 local families in need. The annual MAM Christmas Store allows selected parents/guardians to shop for their children’s Christmas gifts, and you can help make it happen.

Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County: Our local Humane Society cares for animals who are injured, abused, neglected, and homeless. You can save animal lives this #GivingTuesday with your gift!

Advance Memphis: You can support Advance Memphis’s work to empower South Memphians to break cycles of unemployment and establish economic stability. Give a donation, give time by volunteering, or give prayer by joining the prayer newsletter.

Junior League of Memphis: Those Junior League women are committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving Memphis communities! Support their #GivingTuesday goal to raise $6,000 to support their Community Partnerships and Programs, and you’ll support many great local nonprofits!

Photo: Girls, Inc.

Housing the Homeless: Offering meals, showers, and warm beds to the homeless, this organization is doing essential work in our city. You can support them here and know that your gift will make a difference. 

Regional One Health Foundation: Local healthcare heroes need our help more than ever to combat COVID-19, in addition to all other health emergencies that they continue to face every day. On #GivingTuesday, join Regional One Health in giving back to their essential, frontline workers and vulnerable patients

Youth Villages: Every day, Youth Villages is at work strengthening and restoring families so children can grow up safely. We know this gives them their best chance to reach their full potential. This #GivingTuesday, give hope to families and young people who come to us for help and to find their forever family!

Girls, Inc.: You can help provide strong, smart & bold experiences for girls in Memphis to take the lead. Girls, Inc. is looking for 75 new donors on #GivingTuesday—help provide life-shaping opportunities for girls!

Sweet Cheeks Diaper Ministry: You can double your donation and provide diapers to families in need in Memphis. Every donation will be matched till they reach $2500, so get matched!

Su Casa Family Ministries: Want your gift to have double the impact for Latinx immigrant neighbors? Su Casa  provides early childhood education, critical service referrals, and English classes for adults. 

Foster Village Memphis: You can support children in foster care and their caregivers through Foster Village Memphis this #GivingTuesday! Join the Village with a monthly gift, one time gift, or a commitment to volunteer.

Women’s Advocacy Center: Help support the Center’s good work to empower women who have experienced domestic abuse as they gain economic independence, form healthy relationships, stabilize their families, and strengthen their faith. 

Streets Ministries: At Streets, they know that giving is not just about a donation—it’s about making a difference. Follow and support them to learn more about how their Pathways Mentoring Program makes a difference.

Memphis Schools and Scholarships

MOST (Memphis Opportunity Scholarship Trust): Head to Roadshow BMW on #GivingTuesday (or anytime in December), and you’ll earn $25 for MOST need-based children’s scholarships when you test-drive a BMW or MINI! You can also support MOST with an online gift to help us reach our #GivingTuesday goal of $2,500, which will provide an annual scholarship for a Memphis-area student.

Compass Community Schools: Level the technology gap brought on by the pandemic and bring state of the art learning technology to the students in Memphis who need it most. For every $1200 raised, the Compass Schools can add an OWL camera to a classroom, bringing virtual learning to life.

Believe Memphis Academy: Believe Memphis Academy has raised $39,516 out of $43,840 to provide vital supports for the spring semester for EVERY student—basic class supplies, weekly meal delivery, and virtual tech support. On #GivingTuesday you can help them raise their final $4,324 to create a lifetime of impact!

Photo: Believe Memphis Academy

PURE Youth: On #GivingTuesday, PURE Youth is looking for donors to help provide basic necessities to underprivileged youth in this unique boarding and day school program. You can make a difference

Operation Broken Silence: Shop with OBS for Christmas and support 24 teachers in a school in a refugee camp in Sudan. OBS is a local nonprofit with a vision to grow a global movement to support the people of Sudan—get involved with your Christmas list, your donations, and by following their work.

New Hope Christian Academy: New Hope is asking for donors to help reach a $7,500 goal to continue educational equity for children in Memphis. As an added bonus, your gift on #GivingTuesday will be matched by the employees of Jaguar Land Rover Bluff City!

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