Last updated on December 2nd, 2024
Featured image: Giving Tuesday 2024 is an opportunity to show generosity at a time when many need help | Image by ckstockphoto via Envato.
Your generosity can make a difference
For this year’s Giving Tuesday 2024, JourneyWoman is recommending organizations that are advocating for human rights and women’s empowerment. In addition to three ongoing causes that we support all year long — menstrual equity, the prevention of human trafficking and diversity and inclusion in travel — our focus this year is on groups that help elevate and lift women’s voices around the world.
Giving Tuesday is a global movement that takes place the Tuesday after Black Friday and US Thanksgiving. It was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past 10 years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. If you can participate, please do. Last year, Giving Tuesday raised $3.1 billion across 95 countries in support of non-profit organizations and charities.
Six Causes to Support on Giving Tuesday 2024
1. Menstrual Equity: The Period Purse
The Period Purse™ is Canada’s first and only registered charity dedicated to
menstrual equity. Its mission is to create menstrual equity by ensuring sustainable access to period products for all and by ending the stigma associated with periods through education and advocacy.
Millions of Canadians struggle to afford period products. Imagine the relief a menstruator in need feels when they don’t have to choose between a safe and dignified period and other essentials, like food and rent- especially around the holiday season.
2. Human Trafficking Prevention: Ally Global Foundation
Human trafficking is a topic we often overlook in travel, but it deserves much more attention, beyond January, which is human trafficking awareness month. This Canadian charity focuses on human trafficking prevention and provides survivors with resources to enable their healing process. Ally Global assists women with finding safe housing, educational opportunities and job training in Nepal and Cambodia.
JourneyWoman has been collaborating with Allly Global since July 2022, when we co-hosted a Toronto-based Move for Freedom event to raise funds. Learn more about Human Trafficking here: What Women Need to Know About Human Trafficking or watch our January 2024 webinar with Ally Global here.
3. LGBTQ+ Rights
The Trevor Project — LGBTQ+ Suicide Hotline
The Trevor Project runs the national LGBTQ+ suicide hotline for the US. They have seen a tremendous increase in calls during and since the U.S. election. After analyzing the full day of post-election conversations across our classic crisis services, The Trevor Project saw an overall volume increase of nearly 700% on Nov 6, compared to the weeks prior. The hotline is only available right now in the US and Mexico, but they also have some of the best international resources on their site. Learn more here.
ILGA World
ILGA World – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association – is a worldwide federation of more than 1,900 organisations from over 160 countries and territories campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex human rights. IGLA World works to achieve and maintain recognition and protection of the human rights of people with diverse SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics) by the United Nations and other global institutions.
Our Women’s Advisory Council member Tracey Breeden says, “The IGLA does wonderful social justice work around the world on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community focused primarily on governments educating and fighting for legal policies and legislation that protects and provides equality and justice for the community. They are also one of the best resources for travellers. Their maps are the most up to date on how LGBTQ+ folks are impacted by laws in every country in the world.”
4. Gender Equity and Education for Girls: The Malala Fund (UK)
Malala Yousafzai is co-founder and executive chair of Malala Fund, founded with her father Ziauddin Yousafzai in 2013 to champion every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education. Malala began her campaign for education at age 11 when she anonymously blogged for the BBC about life under the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Inspired by her father’s activism, Malala soon began advocating publicly for girls’ education — attracting international media attention and awards.
This year, Malala Fund celebrates 10 years in operation, a decade marked by important progress to secure 12 years of education for all girls. Nearly than 120 million girls are out of school today. As they get older, more girls drop out of school. Girls in low-income countries drop out at particularly high rates. When girls complete secondary school, they have more opportunities to make their own life choices and reach their fullest potential. Learn more here.
“When I think about girlhood, I think of it as a time of optimism and potential — a time for girls to learn, explore and experience the simple joys of life. Yet as I look back on this year, I see growing threats to and attacks on girlhood in many parts of the world. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have made girlhood illegal, banning girls from attending school past grade six for more than 1,000 days. Girls living through war and conflict, from Palestine to Sudan to Ukraine, are unable to learn as their schools are destroyed and normal life is upended. All the while, most governments are still not spending enough on education. The stakes could not be higher.” — Malala (Source: Annual Report)
5. Diversity and Inclusion in Travel
RISE Travel Institute (US)
RISE Travel Institute is a 501(c)3, volunteer-run nonprofit that inspires responsible, impactful, sustainable, and ethical travel through educating current and future generations of travellers. RISE envisions a world where travel is a force for positive transformation for both travelers and travel destinations. Both JourneyWoman and Rise Institute were nominated for Diversity and inclusion Awards in November 2024 by Travel Unity.
wmnsWORK
wmsnWORK is a tourism business accelerator program founded by Iris Serbanescu that helps under-represented women and non-binary entrepreneurs overcome barriers to starting a business and get them acquainted with key foundational knowledge. Her 12-week program includes topics such as the entrepreneur mindset, financials, social media, marketing, talent and technology. While not a non-profit, there are ways to support scholarships for women to enter the program. JourneyWoman became a scholarship sponsor in 2024.
Cultural Heriage Economic Alliance – CHEA (US)
CHEA’s vision is to create broader access, diversity, inclusion and equitable opportunity for small BIPOC businesses to fully participate and profit in the global travel and tourism industry. CHEA is committed to addressing disparities and economic inequalities to ensure a more leveled playing field and to create equitable opportunities for underrepresented small, minority tourism-related businesses as well as students from underserved rural and urban neighborhoods/communities in destinations.
(Note: JourneyWoman’s Carolyn Ray is on the Board of Directors for CHEA).
Travel Unity (US)
Founded in 2016, Travel Unity’s mission is to make the world of travel welcoming to people of all backgrounds and identities. Through programs and activities with diverse industry groups, media and other influencers, Travel Unity is working to create a travel industry that welcomes everyone and creates environments for staff, visitors, and local communities to all feel seen, heard, and respected. Donations support Travel Unity’s Youth & Collegiate Program, allowing young people to see how travel can help them grow personally and professionally, icluding scholarships, volunteer program development and youth summit development.
(Note: JourneyWoman is a founding media member of Travel Unity.)
6. Women’s Safety: NO MORE Foundation (UK)
The NO MORE Foundation is dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault by increasing awareness, inspiring action, and fueling culture change. In our article on women’s safety, Women’s safety expert Tracey Breeden recommended that solo travellers consult NO MORE, a non-profit organization that provides a global directory of resources to report harassment in every country around the world when. wetravel. You can find it here.
The Foundation creates and provides public awareness campaigns, educational resources and community organizing tools free-of-charge for anyone wanting to stop and prevent violence. First launched in 2013, NO MORE has brought together the largest coalition of advocacy groups, service providers, governmental agencies, major corporations, universities, communities and individuals, all under a common brand and a unifying symbol in support of a world free of violence. Learn more about NO MORE here.
To find more causes to support on Giving Tuesday 2024, visit CanadaHelps, CharityWatch, or Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org), to find legitimate charities. You can find more Women’s Rights and Advocacy Groups here, or suggest yours in the comments box below. Be careful with scams and make sure you follow our cybersecurity tips to stay safe.
More on Women in Travel
Indigenous Women in Aviation: Flying the Female Skies
In Canada, Indigenous women are making their presence felt in the aviation industry, which has historically been dominated by men.
Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: A Solo Traveller’s Perspective
As a solo traveller, I’ve seen first hand that the struggle for gender equality continues, both at home and for women worldwide.
JourneyWoman, Don’t Stand on the Sidelines
Featured image: Let’s step into the future not the past | Photo by ShutterstockThis is our time as women to participate by Carolyn Ray Whether you’ve been out travelling or at home, you may have noticed some distressing shifts in how women are being treated in the...
This post really resonated with me, it’s incredible to see how generosity can make such a meaningful difference in the lives of women around the world. These causes are so inspiring, and I hope one day I can be just as impactful in making a real change.