How Do You Give Back?

This Week In Writing, we celebrate Giving Tuesday by encouraging you to give back and support your community.Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash

Today is Giving Tuesday in the United States. Preceded by a weekend of staunch consumerism (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday), Giving Tuesday promotes supporting important causes and nonprofit organizations.

Outside of The Writing Cooperative, I’ve worked for nonprofits my entire career. These are essential organizations that provide high-quality service to the community. Giving Tuesday is a way to spotlight them and encourage people to support the programs financially.

In celebration of today’s Giving Tuesday, I want to encourage you to give back and support your writing community wherever possible. You can do so three different ways:

Financially Support Organizations: There are nonprofit organizations in every community that help writers grow. If you’re not familiar with ones near you, I encourage you to take a few minutes today and do some searching. If you’re in the position to give financially to support a cause you believe in, please do so!Donate Time: If you’re not in the position to give financially, please consider volunteering your time where possible. Perhaps consider mentoring an aspiring writer or offering peer editing services through local groups. For many nonprofit organizations, a time donation is just as valuable (sometimes more so) than financial gifts.Raise Awareness: You might not be in the position to support or donate any time today financially, and that’s ok. I still encourage you to share about the organizations you care about with your networks. You might not be able to support an excellent writing organization, but you might know someone who does.

What amazing writing-focused organizations do you support? Hit reply and let me know!

Announcements1️⃣ Did you miss my exclusive panel discussion with Zulie Rane, Benjamin Sledge, and Coach Tony about writing on Medium? The hour-long discussion covers everything writers should know about the changes at Medium. You can access the exclusive video by subscribing to our monthly newsletter, Write Together Monthly.2️⃣ Last week, I shared the results from our Fall Community Survey. There’s some excellent information in there, plus answers to some of your questions. Check it out and look for additional responses in the coming weeks!3️⃣ Do you want to start the new year by building a fantastic writing habit? What about building a team of supporters to encourage and critique your work? Our next Coaching Cohort is now forming! Sign up today and secure your spot in the January group. Learn more and sign up today!

How Do You Give Back? was originally published in The Writing Cooperative on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.