Giving Tuesday: 5 Berkeley Nonprofits That Could Use Your Help

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

• Carly Fetzer Queen of Hearts Foundation: Bayville teen Carly Fetzer was born with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and died from complications at age 18. This foundation provides food vouchers to families at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and raises funds for research studies focusing on children with congenital heart defects.
• Runaway Farm: This Bayville farm serves as an animal sanctuary, helping cows, horses, pigs and more in need. It occasionally opens to the public for events and hosts schools for a fun and educational field trip.
• Hold On I'm Coming: Central Regional teacher Mark Haug launched this charity as a way to pay forward the help he received during Superstorm Sandy. With a trailer full of supplies, he brings relief to people suffering in the wake of natural disasters.
• Emiliana's Hope: Emiliana O'Brien was just 13 when her life was cut short by cancer. After her death, her family launched a nonprofit as her pet peeve was the lack of research and funding for childhood cancer. They help local families fighting cancer while raising funds for research.
• Tackle Depression: Bill Kvalheim and his wife Ciara Kvalheim, both teachers at Central Regional, want to help students (especially student athletes) who are fighting mental health issues. They provide resources and assistance for those with mental health struggles.

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.