Giving Tuesday: 5 Petaluma Nonprofits That Could Use Your Help

PETALUMA, CA — There’s no single way to show generosity on Giving Tuesday, which falls on Tuesday, Dec. 2, this year, but several nonprofits in Petaluma are counting on end-of-the-year donations and support.

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday all focus on consumerism, while the idea behind GivingTuesday is to galvanize fundraising, rally volunteers and add momentum to their causes.

Since 2012, nonprofits, community and grassroots groups, and mutual aid networks worldwide have used the #GivingTuesday hashtag to encourage fundraising, rally volunteers and add momentum to their causes, according to the nonprofit of the same name behind the movement.

Local nonprofits remain heavily dependent on donor support. Charitable contributions increased 2.9 percent from June 2024 to June 2025, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Report analysis.

Notably, although total dollars raised have increased, year-to-date performance among supersize donors has been softer than in 2024, making small contributions more important than ever.

In the United States, Giving Tuesday is led by hundreds of communities, networks and coalitions.

Here are five nonprofits in Petaluma that depend on community support (donations should be made directly to each of the nonprofits below):

Lily's Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary is a haven for abandoned, homeless or displaced large breed senior dogs. The Petaluma organization has made a mission out of providing a safe and loving home for dogs 50+ pounds, 7+ years old, who have been displaced from their homes or abandoned until they are adopted. Those that are not adopted remain at the sanctuary until they pass on. The Petaluma organization provides housing, food, medical care, and adoption services and has received loving reviews from clients of big dogs in need.

The Petaluma River Park Foundation owns and oversees the development a 24-acre stretch of riverfront land in the heart of downtown that stood unused for decades. The city reclaimed the property as a community resource, rezoning the McNear Peninsula as parkland, and creating a small city park at its entrance. In 2018, a handful of local residents mobilized the campaign to combine art, community, and restoration of a shared open space. The River Park is intended to serve as a model of tidal marsh and riparian habitat restoration, and to set an example of riverbank stabilization that is climate-smart and sea-level rise resilient. Funding comes from county and state grants, local businesses, private foundations, and individual donors. To get involved in the transformation, visit the park, volunteer, attend an event, and make a donation.

North Bay Animal Services strives to provide comprehensive animal services to the North Bay community that result in fewer homeless animals, greater pet retention, and happier families. The organization runs a no-kill animal shelter in Petaluma and manages dog licenses for several Sonoma County cities. Currently, the nonprofit needs blankets, toys and food for dogs; litter, toys and food for cats; toys and hay for rabbits; cleaning items; and Costco items. More specific wish-list information and ways to donate monetarily are listed at Northbayanimalservices.org/ways-to-give.

Petaluma Arts Center started the "Create Our Future" campaign, with the goal of raising $300,000 by the end of 2025. The initiative supports the organization's mission to expand its reach through leadership and partnerships, engage more underserved youth and elders, create additional platforms for artists, increase open hours, and attract more visitors to Petaluma who appreciate the community’s creative diversity. According to the website, the arts center is halfway there.

Petaluma People Services Center —PPSC— is much more than a collection of 73 human services programs based on best practice research with measurable outcomes. It's a community of caregivers existing within the larger community who strives to serve one child, one adult, and one senior at a time. During the most recent year, PPSC served over 12,000 people in five core areas: Aging Well Together (home-delivered meals, adult day care, case management, nutrition site-senior cafe, transportation, and balance programs); Homeless Prevention (fair housing for the City of Petaluma); Employment & Training; Counseling (individual, couples and family, drug and alcohol prevention, gang prevention); Youth Programs (youth employment and Mentor Me); Petaluma Bounty (Healthy Food For All); and the SAFE Team (crisis intervention). For those wishing to help, there are several volunteer opportunities listed at Petalumapeople.org/volunteer. Monetary donations can be made one time or on a monthly basis through the nonprofit's website.

The Giving Tuesday movement encourages “radical generosity,” the concept that the suffering of others should be as intolerable to us as our own suffering, according to the movement’s website.

Giving Tuesday was created in New York City in 2012 with a simple goal: to encourage people to do good. Over the past nine years, the idea has grown into the global movement it is today.

Last year, Giving Tuesday participants raised a record-breaking $3.6 billion from 36.1 million participants, bringing the total raised on the day since 2012 to $18.5 billion.