The Origins of Giving Tuesday and the Importance of Contributing

‘Tis the holiday season; it’s the end of the year and everyone is full of holiday cheer. The United States celebrates back-to-back holidays from Halloween and Thanksgiving to Christmas and New Year's. If that wasn’t enough celebration, there’s now a slew of additional consumer days for the modern human: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are about finding the best deals and scoring presents to give to your loved ones. Small Business Saturday is a chance to support smaller mom-and-pop stores, encouraging consumers to support local instead of buying from big chains and corporations. And, in the spirit of giving, there is now Giving Tuesday.

Over here, at Naturally Smart Travel, we’re all about supporting local. And, traveling with a light ecofootprint, and fostering connections. We aim to build community, empower women, educate children, and take care of the planet while offering sustainable travel opportuninties. On our ecotravel journey, we’re fortunate to work with so many amazing nonprofit organizations in Central America. 

In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we’ve created this blog to share the importance of giving. Below, you’ll discover some incredible nonprofits! In case you’re giving on Tuesday, or any day, these organizations would benefit from a monetary gift, a follow, a share, and your support! 

Keep reading to learn about these amazing organizations. We hope you’re inspired to support one of these incredible organizations!

The Origins of Giving Tuesday

The #GivingTuesday movement began in 2012; it was founded by the collaboration of New York’s 92nd Y and its Belfer Center for Innovative & Social Impact. Giving Tuesday orbits around the idea of radical generosity: “the concept that the suffering of others should be as intolerable to us as our own suffering.” 

This ideology encourages us to make the world a better place through giving, learning, and helping. Whether that means being kind to a stranger, offering a helping hand, or supporting a neighbor in a time of need. We all have so much to give!  

Giving Tuesday shines a light on nonprofits and offers a day for global attention in order to spread awareness, solicit donations, and gain new supporters and followers. There are many ways you can give on Tuesday! And, if you can’t contribute monetarily, you can always give a like, a follow, a share, or sign up for a newsletter. 

In preparation for Giving Tuesday, we want to highlight different aspects of need in Guatemala, and although you can always donate anytime throughout the year some of the benefits of donating on Giving Tuesday are the many campaigns that will double or triple your impact with donation matches, as well as reaching your donation threshold tax break.

Photo Credit: @konojel

The Importance of Contributing

There are so many different areas of need and so many organizations to choose from, it certainly can be overwhelming to choose one. Pionero Philanthropy, an organization with a mission to build transparency and provide visibility in the nonprofit sector, states that there are over 15,000 nonprofits in Guatemala. Check out their website as they’ve created organized and categorized lists of these nonprofits. You can support them by purchasing their map, it’s a great way to learn about and discover organizations to work and partner with.

So, you want to give but don’t want to sort through 15,000 NGOs. We understand. It’s hard to know where to start. Guatemala has an incredible cohort of people doing great and important work. But, for almost a decade, Naturally Smart Travel has been living on the ground and working closely with these organizations.  

Here’s our curated list of Guatemalan NGOs. There are so many more but we choose a handful inspired by the 7 of the key areas of need from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We hope this list inspires you to give, share, follow, and support!

1. Women’s Empowerment

• Konojel  - 

Lake Atitlan

This nonprofit is working with the community of San Marcos la Laguna towards collective well-being and sustainable social development. There are several different programs that are run by Konojel, like a technology education center at The Computer Lab,.  

The Healthy Babies Program supports mothers and babies fight against malnutrition. This program aids the San Marcos community where 1 out of 3 children under 5 live with chronic malnutrition.

The Young Leaders Program works towards educating Indigenous youth. There’s no high school in San Marcos so only 1 in 4 students finish their high school education. Donations help students finish school, provide scholarships, and fund workshops for further education.

In 2017, Konojel started a sustainable restaurant, and it’s run by the local women. All the restauran't’s proceeds go toward community development and the First 1000 Days Program. This global program supports pregnant women up until their child's 2nd birthday, helping them with self-care, empowerment, and health.

All donations made to Konojel are tax-deductible and 100% of your donation goes toward community efforts and makes a difference in the lives of a child, teenager, or family. 

Learn more and donate here.

Photo Credit: @creamos_guatemala

• Creamos - 

Guatemala City

A sister organization to Safe Passage, Creamos is on a mission to get mothers out of Guatemala’s garbage dumps. Creamos focuses its work on two of Guatemala’s red zones, Departments 3 and 7, which are surround by the largest dump in Central America. It’s nearly 60 acres and is inhabited largely by Indigenous families. 

There’s an economic ecosystem in this landfill and many who live here work as trash pickers and truck drivers. It’s hazardous and unsanitary work but it’s the main income for over 100,000 people who earn somewhere between $3-$7 a day. Inhabitants in these red zones face workforce discrimination and only about 6% secure employment. 

Creamos is supporting the women in these areas, helping them to secure other means of employment, get education, and combat gender-based violence. The nonprofit was founded in 2008, the women began selling paper jewelry which provided an alternative income and enabled them to leave the dangers of working the dump. Today, their offerings have expanded to fanny packs, home goods, baskets, and custom products. Check out their custom brand mi eelo, it’s 100% woman-run and offers a selection of handmade products.    

Creamos also has a Workforce Development Program to teach vocational skills, trainings, courses, and professional development skills. It helps women prepare for the workforce. There is a focus on hospitality and service industry work with barista and commercial kitchen trainings. But, there are other programs including Computer Programming, Digital Marketing, and Construction.

On top of all this, Creamos also offers emotional support to create a safe space for women and their families. This program encourages them to develop healthy relationships, build confidence, and overcome stressful situations through therapy, exercise and parenting classes. While also having access to education with flexible learning programs and free childcare services.  

Learn more and donate here.

2. Education

Photo Credit: Amigos de Santa Cruz

• Amigos de Santa Cruz

  Lake Atitlán

  For over 25 years, this organization has been working hard to improve the lives of Indigenous people in Santa Cruz and the 7 neighboring rural communities through economic empowerment and education. The focused approach equates to investing long-term, positively impacting future generations, and implementing sustainable changes.

  The vocational studies at CECAP provide training and skills so that people can build confidence, generate income, and create a better future for themselves. This approach empowers the members of the communities in hopes of opening new opportunities and inspiring lasting change. 

  The education program works with local schools to improve the quality of education, sponsors a library program, and provides nutritious snacks and school supplies. For high school students, they offer scholarship opportunities for further education. 

  The Youth Corps program helps students prepare for the job market with on-the-job experience, specialized training, and community service opportunities. There’s also a Sex Education Program to empower students to make educated and informed decisions about their bodies.   

  Learn more and donate here.

Photo Credit: @_safepassage_

• Safe Passage

  Guatemala City

  In 1997, Hanely Denning traveled to Guatemala to study Spanish and began volunteering around Antigua. After two years in the country, she was planning to return to the United States when a friend asked her to join her on a trip to the slums surrounding the dump. She changed her plans, sold everything, and opened Safe Passage in December 1999.

  Denning realized that these kids need an education to break the cycle of poverty. This school was founded to remove child workers from the Guatemala City garbage dump and provide them with educational opportunities.

  Working alongside a priest, she found an abandoned church, and created a school to provide support, tutoring, a healthy snack, care, and attention. She went door to door, offering to teach these families. She started with about 46 children. 

  Today, Safe Passage has a preschool, a primary school, a high school, and a college prep and helps over 500 children. This program gives the children in the red zones an opportunity to create a better future. 

  For every dollar donated, 77 cents goes directly to their programs and positively impacts a child. You can learn more and donate here.

3. Food Security & Malnutrition

Photo Credit: @seedsforafuture

• Seeds for a Future

  Country-wide

For over 15 years, Seeds For A Future has been working to reduce malnutrition through increasing food security and nutrition education in rural Guatemala. This long-term program aims to create generational change through food security, health education, micro-business opportunities, and empowering women.   

The program takes a dual approach when it meets with families in rural Guatemala to create lasting and sustainable changes. First, there is a home visit and nutritional assessment in order to identify the specific household needs, provide nutrition education, teach permaculture principles, and the Wash Program. 

Secondly, the families are taught to plant seeds specific for food and nutrition. They are able to plant and grow a garden that will provide them with healthy homegrown food. The program’s holistic approach also includes 1 year of mentorship.

So far, Seeds For A Future has planted over 5000 gardens and over 41,600 people have benefited from their programs.   

For Giving Tuesday this organization has a #DoubleYourImpact campaign! Find out more and donate here.

Photo Credit: @olafiltro 

4. Access to Potable Water and Improved Water Quality

• Olafiltro

  International, based in Guatemala

  This woman-owned company designs water filters, bringing potable water to rural communities in the Caribbean and Latin America. 

  These affordable water filter solutions are high-tech and low-maintenance. The easy design and low cost make these filters an incredible solution. Olafiltro is improving access to clean drinking water in developing communities.  

  The great technology is easy to use and clean and brings water directly to homes. There are a lot water filtration solutions out there but this one checks a lot of the boxes.

  It comes with clear instructions on how to use and take care of it. At $20 a filter, it’s priced lower than the competition, by at least half. This community-based product is on the ground and working in and for the community. 

  Check out this nonprofit here.

Photo Credit: @water4lifeguatemala

• Water For Life:

  Lake Atitlán

This nonprofit is on a mission to bring clean drinking water to Guatemalan communities while taking care of the ecosystem and cleaning up contaminated waterways. Water For Life works on several different aspects including women’s empowerment, greywater management, education, and data collection.  

This nonprofit is working towards making clean drinking water accessible and easily maintained. As of August 2024, they’ve distributed over 5,400 water filters and connected over 27,000 people with safe and clean drinking water. 

For every $50 donation a family is given a Ripple Kit: a home water filtration device, a natural sanitation product, and a water education demonstration. Alongside the Ripple Kit, Water For Life plants a native tree around Lake Atitlán.   

Learn more and donate here.

5. Reforestation

Photo credit: WellKind 

• WellKind

  Lake Atitlán

  Working in the Western Highlands and Lake Atitlán, WellKind is doing great work with reforestation and conservation efforts. Blending evidence-based scientific strategies with Indigenous knowledge, their methodology and techniques preserve native species.

  They implement ecological restoration to ensure that the community has long-term access to the area’s natural resources to create a sustainable future.

  The team consists of local changemakers working to help the people and ecosystems of the area with sustainable and holistic solutions. This community-led organization is trying to create access to clean water, as well as maintain healthy soil and forests.     
  

  Check out their good work and donate here.

Photo Credit: @trlearth

• TUI'K RUCH'LEW

  Lake Atitlán

  TUI'K RUCH'LEW (TRL) is a grassroots nonprofit focused on sustainable solutions for the Mayan and local communities in the Lake Atitlán area. In order to help the health, well-being, and environment of this areas population. Their mission is to empower the community and provide access to clean air, clean water, and a healthy forest. 

  TRL’s reforestation efforts comply with the EU-certified carbon offset program. The nonprofits helps families in these rural communities purchase and install energy-efficient cookstoves. These wood-fired stoves help to offset carbon emissions, offering an alternative to the open fire.

  60% of the population in this area is still cooking with open fires which damages the forests, creates smoke-related health problems, and causes fires. Thanks to TRL, over 2,300 families are using these energy-efficient stoves, reducing CO2 emissions. And, over 385,000 trees have been saved from being cut down for firewood.      

   Check out their great work and donate here.

6. Improved soil quality

Photo Credit: Green Mama Compost

• Green Mama Compost

  Antigua

This composting company is transforming the Antigua community by offering sustainable solutions to waste management and creating healthy soil. Because, composting is a way to reduce one’s environmental impact. 

Green Mama Compost offers an organic waste collection service and aims to have a positive impact on climate change while cultivating altruism.

So far, they’ve helped to divert over 193,000 pounds of organic waste. Their work has created 27,000 pounds of compost which is equivalent to planting 7,600 trees.   

See what they’re all about and donate here.

7. Reduced poverty

Photo Credit: WCCN

• WCCN

  Latin America 

  Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN) provides microfinancing support to entrepreneurs in Latin America. Together with partners, WCCN is improving the livelihoods of women and Indigenous populations in Guatemala. 

  WCCN supports entrepreneurs in rural communities who can generate income and build the economy around them. They provide funding for all kinds of businesses from coffee farm and women’s coops to tiendas that need restocking and women’s weaving supplies. WCCN’s work is very helpful and 66% of their funds go to women while 61% of the recipients live rural entrepreneurs.

  There’s also a focus on capacity building and local lending with capital to support the specific needs of these local entrepreneurs. So, if a farmer needs money between crop cycles, WCCN can help.

  In the last 40 years, WCCN has lent over $170M. 

  For Giving Tuesday, WCCN has a #DoubleYourImpact campaign.
  

  Read up on this amazing organization and donate here.

Thanks for Reading About the Origins of Giving Tuesday and the Importance of Contributing

We hope this article has inspired you to give! And, that you’ve discovered some amazing organizations that are doing great work in Guatemala.

There are so many incredible organizations out there doing good in the world. Since its inception 10 years ago, Giving Tuesday has become a global movement of generosity. This day draws broader attention to organizations and nonprofits around the world who are having positive impacts. 

At Naturally Smart Travel we are fortunate to work with some of the fantastic nonprofits here in Latin America. No matter which one resonates with you, we hope you’re motivated to support these foundations and contribute to a great cause.

Keep in mind that some of these nonprofits offer a double or triple impact when you donate on #GivingTuesday. 

Be sure to give them a follow, a like, a share, and a donation!

Let us know which ones speak to you.

Further Resources:

Giving Tuesday, official website, https://www.givingtuesday.org/about/.