For this year’s Giving Tuesday, our focus is on helping those affected by cutbacks in funding at home and abroad. This includes non-profits that are taking on more due to the closure of USAID, disaster recovery, the defunding of highly respected journalism at PBS and NPR and the U.S. National Parks. We’ve chosen these in addition to the causes that we support all year long — menstrual equity, the prevention of human trafficking and diversity and inclusion in travel.

To find more causes to support on Giving Tuesday 2025, 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.

Causes to Support on Giving Tuesday 2025

1. World Central Kitchen: Food relief for communities impacted by humanitarian, climate, and community crises

In 2010, Chef José Andrés, ready to use his culinary knowledge and talent to help, headed to Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Since then, hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis, and volcano eruptions have taken the WCK team across the world, from helping Ukrainian families to providing nourishing meals for refugees arriving at the US border after fleeing violence and extreme poverty.

In 2025, World Central Kitchen (WCK) responded to the Canadian wildfires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, provided aid during the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and scaled up relief efforts in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa, serving millions of meals across these and other areas.

2. Humanitarian non-profit organizations affected by the closing of USAID

Since the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was formed in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, it has funded a wide range of programs, from giving school lunches to children in Haiti to distributing HIV medication across sub-Saharan Africa. Over six decades, the U.S. earned a first place standing and helped shape the world through consistent, critical development assistance and humanitarian emergency relief for the cost of less than 1% of the federal budget.

According to a new study published in the medical journal, the Lancet, USAID programs have saved over 90 million lives over the past two decades.  The researchers also estimate that if the current cuts continue through 2030, 14 million people who might have otherwise lived could die. Sadly, the Trump administration’s abrupt and steep cuts to foreign aid have halted most of USAID’s programs.

There are a number of non-profit organizations stepping up their efforts to restore services to children, families and those in need. Some of these include:

• Oxfam: Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice,. It offers lifesaving support in times of crisis and advocates for economic justice, gender equality, and climate action. Learn more about the impact of USAID cuts and donate here.   
• UNICEF: UNICEF estimates nearly 14 million children could have their access to nutrition support disrupted, leaving them vulnerable to becoming severely malnourished. Because of these cuts, children will die from entirely preventable causes – not only malnutrition, but also lack of clean water, safe sanitation and essential health services. In Ethiopia, USAID funding supported 90 per cent of the ready-to-use therapeutic food packaging delivered to children, said Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO of UNICEF Canada. Learn more and donate here.
• Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides emergency medical humanitarian care to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. DWB/MSF provides assistance based on need, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion or political affiliation. Learn more and donate here.

3. Cutbacks to the U.S. National Park Service

Since January 20, 2025, the National Park Service (NPS) has lost a significant portion of its workforce due to downsizing by the Trump administration—as high as 24 per cent, according to internal staffing data reviewed by RE:PUBLIC and Outside. These cuts affect 433 sites and 85m acres – including 63 national parks and an array of battlefields, monuments and cultural sites – that make up the national park system in the US.  During the October government shutdown, parks were ordered to stay partially open while nearly 9,300 employees were furloughed and the Interior Department prepared plans to fire hundreds of them.

You can help sustain U.S. National Parks by donating to the National Park Foundation here https://www.nationalparks.org/ or support any individual parks with their own non-profit partner, known as a “cooperating association,” that accepts donations.

JourneyWoman partner Conservation Volunteers International Program is also a non-profit that provides volunteer work at national parks and accepts donations here.

4. Defunding of Planned Parenthood affecting women’s reproductive rights (US)

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. This sweeping piece of legislation defunded Planned Parenthood, and significantly cut federal Medicaid funding, making it more difficult for millions of Americans to access affordable health care.

More than half of Planned Parenthood patients rely on Medicaid for essential care. Without Planned Parenthood, cancers go undetected, STIs go untreated, birth control isn’t available, and patients must travel farther and wait longer for care. Nearly 200 Planned Parenthood centers across 24 states are at risk of closures and 90 per cent of those closures would occur in states where abortion is still legal. If that came to pass, Planned Parenthood said more than 1 million patients could lose access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and abortion. You can support women’s rights to protect and expand reproductive health here.  

5. Defunding of trusted news sources, PBS and NPR, through the CPB

In May. The White House announced it was ending funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The CPB, a private corporation, disseminates some $1.1 billion to NPR, PBS, and local TV and radio stations across the country every year, with the bulk of its operating budget set aside for direct grants to local public radio stations.

NPR has accused the CPB of violating its First Amendment free speech rights when it moved to cut off its access to grant money appropriated by Congress. The cuts will disproportionately affect local NPR public radio stations, particularly in rural areas. As the NPR Network enters a new chapter without federal funding, you can donate to National Public Radio here: https://www.npr.org/donations/support

Over the course of a year, 58% of all U.S. television households—over 130 million people—watch PBS. It’s ranked as America’s No. 1 most trusted media institution for 20 years running. In Canada, Approximately 1.2 million Canadians watch a specific U.S. PBS station (Detroit PBS) weekly, and nearly 20% of Canadian households have access to this station. Donate to the PBS Foundation here: https://foundation.pbs.org/ways-to-give/gifts-to-the-pbs-endowment-fund/

6.  Cuts to The Trevor Project, which operates the 988 LGBTQ+ Suicide Hotline

The Trevor Project runs the national LGBTQ+ suicide hotline for the US. Following the Administration’s order to terminate the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ specialized services, The Trevor Project spoke out about the devastating impact that would result from this action. The Trevor Project stands to lose approximately $25 million in federal funding – which allows the organization to provide suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth through 988, and to save young lives. Since its inception, 988 has provided life-saving services to more than 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people, who often have nowhere else to turn.  Learn more here.

JourneyWoman’s ongoing non-profit partnerships

At JourneyWoman, we support The Period Purse and Ally Group on an ongoing basis through sales in our store, fundraising efforts and awareness campaigns.