5 San Diego Nonprofits To Support This Holiday Season

SAN DIEGO, CA — If you're like many of your San Diego neighbors, you may spend a good part of the holiday season with your credit card in hand buying gifts for family and friends. Coming up soon is a chance to give back to the local community.

Giving Tuesday, which in 2024 falls on Dec. 3, is a day dedicated to supporting nonprofit and community groups. Since 2012, nonprofits worldwide have used the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to galvanize fundraising, rally volunteers and add momentum to their causes.

Maintaining funding is a constant challenge for many nonprofits that fill gaps and meet other needs in the San Diego area.

Here are five local nonprofits to consider getting behind on Giving Tuesday:

Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego

Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego provides a "home-away-from-home" for families with children being treated for serious, often life-threatening conditions at local hospitals.

San Diego Food Bank

The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and the North County location comprise the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County. Last year, the food bank distributed more than 50 million pounds of food, and the food bank serves, on average, 400,000 people per month in San Diego County, according to the organization.

San Diego Foundation

San Diego Foundation enables donors and nonprofit partners to tackle the most critical needs facing San Diegans. For nearly 50 years, donors, nonprofits, communities, government and civic leaders have trusted San Diego Foundation to transform lives and have partnered with the organization for lasting change that moves the region forward, according to the organization.

San Diego Humane Society

San Diego Humane Society offers programs that strengthen the human-animal bond, prevent cruelty and neglect, provide medical care, educate the community and serve as a safety net for all pet families. Serving San Diego County since 1880, San Diego Humane Society has campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego.

Surfrider Foundation San Diego County

Surfrider Foundation San Diego County is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's ocean, waves and beaches, for all people, through an activist network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains more than 500,000 supporters, activists and members, with over 200 volunteer-led chapters and student clubs in the U.S., according to the organization.