Giving Tuesday: 5 McLean Nonprofits That Could Use Your Help

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

• McLean Trees Foundation's mission is to preserve and restore McLean's urban forest by planting in central McLean's public areas.
• McLean Youth Athletics supports multiple sports programs, including basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, track and cross country, volleyball, wrestling, squash, fencing, football and flag football, providing the opportunity for over 5,000 girls and boys to play sports supported by more than 500 parent volunteers.
• FACETS is one of the largest social safety nets for families, children, and individuals in Fairfax County. The nonprofit offers emergency and basic needs assistance along with individualized case management to enable people to become self-sufficient and break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, and hunger.
• Food For Others provides food for families who are struggling to make ends meet, building community where everyone has access to the food assistance they need to thrive.
• Project Lifesaver, which is operated by the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office, serves the needs of children and adults with autism, Down syndrome or a cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, that may cause them to chronically wander and not find their way back home.

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.