Giving Tuesday: 5 Bedford Nonprofits That Could Use Your Help In 2025

BEDFORD, NH — There’s no single way to show generosity on Giving Tuesday, which falls on Tuesday, Dec. 2, this year, but several nonprofits in Bedford 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, underscoring the importance of small contributions.

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

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

1. Bedford Community Food Pantry: The org assists those with food insecurity.
2. Best Buddies of New Hampshire: A leadership org helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
3. Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire: A pet adoption and surrender service.
4. Steele Foundation for Hope: Provides access to essential services and products worldwide.
5. Cogswell Benevolent Trust: Offering grants to nonprofits.

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

Editor's note: This post was scripted by another Patch staffer, not New Hampshire's editor, for publication on New Hampshire sites.