Would you like to get your city and your civic government involved in GivingTuesday? North American cities are making GivingTuesday proclamations and encouraging their citizens to get involved. It's a great way to make GivingTuesday work for communities and it's surprisingly easy.

What is a Mayoral Proclamation?

Proclamations are typically issued by a Mayor to recognize the importance of a community event, significant achievements by community members, or to signal a City’s role in significant national events. Proclamations may be read at a City Council meeting, or at a community event being recognized, depending entirely on the schedule of the Mayor. Proclamations are often posted on the City’s website. Original signed proclamations will be provided to the requesting party (sometimes must be received in person at City offices). Why request a Mayoral Proclamation in your City?

• Opportunity to meet/greet/photo with your Mayor and/or other City representation
• Become a GivingTuesday Ambassador for your City and help establish GivingTuesday as a national day of giving
• Help your City celebrate philanthropy, volunteerism and community service
• Get your City government more involved in local causes

What will GivingTuesday offer your City?

• The chance for citizens to give back to their community
• Connect citizens to local causes
• Build and strengthen partnerships across sectors
• Tell your City’s giving stories to new audiences and bring attention to philanthropic commitments during the holiday season
• The strength of a national “umbrella” and unified message that upholds and supports many individual brands. GivingTuesday harnesses the power of a collective voice to make a difference.
• The benefits of the giving community coming together under a common theme and set of messages. Just as the retail world benefitted from coordinating national shopping days across many brands and platforms, GivingTuesday does the same thing.

What have other cities done?

Last year over 40 Canadian cities embarked on organized movements. Mayors from coast to coast proclaimed “GivingTuesday” as a day to give generously to the community. These community movements created a platform for a deeper level of engagement between charities, businesses and local residents. One such group, GuelphGives, rallied with the mantra ONE CITY – ONE DAY – ONE MILLION. Organizers celebrated GivingTuesday with various events around the city, all in pursuit of a $1 million dollar giving goal. GuelphGives leaders announced on December 3, 2014 that total donations had reached over $1.2 million. This toolkit is based in part on the learnings and successes of the GuelphGives initiative.

Cities across North America are making GivingTuesday proclamations and encouraging their citizens to get involved. It’s a great way to make GivingTuesday work for communities and it’s surprisingly easy .

Want to learn more about getting your city involved? Download The Mayors Toolkit Now: 

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