Social change organization Stand Together is calling on Americans to “Donate the Difference” of their holiday savings toward organizations that are working to help break the cycle of poverty in their communities. Through its Make It Count campaign, Stand Together will match all donations toward any of the 100+ organizations in its national network, doubling dollars and expanding impact.
Stand Together will match all donations through standtogetheragainstpoverty.org now through Giving Tuesday (Nov. 27). The campaign spotlights and benefits more than 50 funding opportunities for social entrepreneurs across the country that Stand Together has recognized for demonstrating their ability to solve the nation’s toughest problems and help people improve their lives.
“Through the Make It Count initiative, people have the opportunity to learn about and donate to some of the most effective and creative community-based organizations across the country,” said Evan Feinberg, executive director, Stand Together. “We’re on a mission to break the cycle of poverty by supporting and building a network of the most innovative and effective nonprofits committed to building strong and safe communities. We hope people will consider supporting these organizations that are doing real, meaningful work so that we can match and double the difference.”
In the network is Cafe Momentum, a Dallas-based, restaurant and culinary training facility transforming the lives of young people who have spent time in juvenile facilities. Chad Houser, founder and CEO of Café Momentum, leads an operation to provide the kids a positive environment, paid internship that involves intensive culinary, job and life-skill training, as well as continued mentorship and support.
“Everything we do in this restaurant is designed to build momentum so that when these kids leave they are on a trajectory to meet their full potential. We believe in them and we want to empower them to define themselves and their future,” Houser said. “This is our way of trying to fix the problems with the criminal justice system. While about half of the kids released from juvenile facilities in Texas end up back there within a year, 85 percent of our kids never go back.”
Americans are expected to spend more than $7 billion this Black Friday. On Cyber Monday, Stand Together will call on online shoppers to also donate a portion of their purchase savings. In 2017, online transactions in the U.S. reached a record $6.59 billion on Cyber Monday. That same year, on Giving Tuesday, initiatives raised more than $274 million from more than 2.5 million contributions.
