Giving Tuesday: 5 Newtown Nonprofits That Could Use Your Help

NEWTOWN, CT — There’s no single way to show generosity on Giving Tuesday, which falls on Tuesday, Dec. 2, this year, but several nonprofits in Newtown 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 Newtown that depend on community support (donations should be made directly to each of the nonprofits below):

• Newtown Youth & Family Services
  • Mission: “We are dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential.”
• Newtown Parent Connection
  • Mission: “Our mission is to embrace families in crisis and to educate and empower the community in the prevention of substance use.”
• Sandy Hook Promise — 13 Church Hill Road, Newtown CT 06470; contact via website.
  • Mission: “To educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes and communities.”
• Newtown Sped PTA
  • Mission: “The Newtown Sped PTA is a non-profit special education Parent Teacher Association which aims to provide district-wide activities, advocacy, and resources to benefit special needs children (pre-K thru 12th grade) living in Newtown.” (newtownspedpta.com)
• Friends of Newtown Seniors, Inc.
  • Mission: “The mission of the Friends of Newtown Seniors Inc (FONS) is to provide advocacy and services to Newtown seniors (those 55+ who reside in Newtown).”

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.