I love the Holidays. It’s my favorite time of year but I find it’s easy for me to get over-involved in all the holiday activities, attending holiday parties, decorating our homes, and finding the perfect gifts for friends and family. Uggg so much to do, so much fun to have! It seems the Holidays come and go in the blink of an eye yet, I love them because the holidays bring about many splendid opportunities to share good times with our loved ones and create many fond memories that will spend a lifetime remembering. Good times, right?

Now here is a holiday piece of trivia fact for you: Did you know, a third of charities’ online donations this year will be made in December. Perhaps more remarkable: 22 percent of online gifts are made in the last two days of the year.

That’s a key finding of a seven-year study by Network for Good of online-giving behavior released just last week. The study also found that the prime time for online giving occurs on December 31 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the donor’s time zone. So what are you waiting for? It’s time for you to get started raising money for your local charities. Below are some ideas…                                                                                             

Pledge Donations for Retweets 

This is a great way to make money for charity while simultaneously promoting your business. By pledging to donate a set amount for every person who retweets a message, you could get that message to go viral. People will happily retweet something that doesn't actually cost them anything, while still getting the satisfaction that they are helping a deserving cause. 

Partner with Nonprofit Organizations 

Teaming up with a charity and donating a portion of each sale to that charity is a great way to give back during the holidays. Tree Classics has a particularly good approach with the philanthropic campaign they have adopted this festive season. When making a purchase with Tree Classics, you can personally choose which charity will benefit from their donation. Getting customers involved like this encourages giving and also raises awareness for the charities. Find out more about the current Tree Classics campaign here. 

Share Charity Pages on Facebook: 

The holidays are a particularly difficult time for those without loved ones around them or a place to call home. Use social media to shine a light on these issues by sharing pages from your local homeless shelters or hospices on Facebook. Go one step further by sharing a personal story about a person in need who has been helped by a homeless shelter, and encourage your friends and followers to donate or give up their time to help over the holidays. 

Nominate Friends to Donate 

The ice bucket challenge showed how social media can have an enormous impact on charities. Nominating a friend on Twitter or Facebook to donate money is a fun way to get others involved in charity. Add a festive twist by nominating people to give a gift to a deserving cause this Christmas. 

Lead by Example 

Social media is the perfect platform to promote charitable giving by showing what you or your company has done for charity. The holidays are a great time to look back over the past year and reflect on any time you have donated, or activities you took part in. Post photos of any sponsored activities on Instagram or Twitter and encourage your followers to join in the giving spirit this festive season.