#SeizetheSeason and Give Back this Holiday with PayPal

#GivingTuesday is just a day away and we are gearing up for an exciting holiday season. We’re delighted to once again partner with 92nd Street Y, founders of this global day of giving, to rally people to celebrate the day, and to give generously to causes close to their heart.   Last year, PayPal users donated more than $48 million globally on #GivingTuesday, which was an increase from a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS breaking $45.8 million raised in 2015.  With more than 218 million active users in 200 markets, we see an incredible opportunity to grow the volume of charitable giving to levels never seen before. We’re committed to giving people easy ways to support the causes they are passionate about.   This year, eleven countries will be participating in PayPal’s 2017 Holiday Giving Campaign, each with their own meaningful efforts. In the U.S., PayPal is adding 1% to all donations made to the PayPal Giving Fund through our annual holiday giving campaign, which launches on Nov. 28 and lasts through Dec. 31, 2017. From animated turkeys representing select charities in a race fueled by donations in the U.K., to continued support of earthquake relief efforts in Mexico, to our first #GivingTuesday campaigns in Italy and Poland, each campaign will inspire philanthropy. All these campaigns will help make a difference to families and communities in need.   Last year, PayPal users contributed more than $7.3B to charities around the globe, including a record $971 million during the holiday season. The volume and scale of giving through our platform provides us with a window into what we might expect to see this holiday giving season.      The outpouring of support for recent natural disasters will prove to be additive Americans have consistently looked to the holidays as a time for giving back, and that will hold true again this year even with the outpouring of support for recent natural disasters. In the aftermath of hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria, the earthquakes in Mexico and the fire that swept through Northern California, PayPal users helped raise more than $55 million to provide emergency relief to those in need. As our recent Holiday Money Habits *study shows, 93% of Americans plan to give the same or more this holiday season, and 44% of those who plan to give will do so on #GivingTuesday.   Mobile leading the charge Last year, 21% of holiday charitable donations processed by PayPal were from a mobile device. We expect the popularity of “giving on the go” to continue, and we’re making it easier than ever for people to donate right from the palm of their hand:

• With the PayPal mobile app, you can donate to thousands of charities.
• Venmo users can now support the causes they care about by donating to thousands of charities via the PayPal Giving Fund on their phone.

With many different ways to support meaningful causes, we hope you #SeizeTheSeason and donate to a cause you care about on #GivingTuesday and beyond. Let’s make this holiday season, the biggest yet for charitable giving.   *Source: this data was from a survey commissioned by PayPal and independent research company Koski Research in September 2017. The survey polled 1,000 Americans aged 18-55 on their habits of holiday shopping and gift giving.

Sean Milliken, Head, Global Social Innovation, PayPal

Sean Milliken leads the company’s efforts to harness the power of its unique assets and expertise to improve the lives of people and the communities in which they live and work.