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When Giving Feels Heavy

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I remember when Giving Tuesday first became a thing. It was framed as this joyful moment: “Give back while you shop for Christmas!” as if generosity magically fit between checkout screens and holiday sales.


But for me? Giving Tuesday often arrived at the precise moment I was just trying to survive the holiday season.


  • Trying to buy gifts for my kids.

  • Pitching in for Secret Santa at work.

  • Replacing the broken string of lights and the gift wrap that tears if you look at it too hard.

  • Recovering from the cost of Thanksgiving dinner.


Meanwhile, I’m using Black Friday deals to finally buy the things I needed all year but couldn’t afford… and then I’m expected to give on top of that?


And the shame creeps in.


Who has the capacity to give when you’re barely staying afloat?

For years, the answer for me was: not me. And then the shame doubled, now I wasn’t “generous enough,” either.


Beloved, if you have ever felt that, I want you to know I hear you. I am you.


Giving Tuesday is a celebration of generosity, but it is not a test of your worth. It does not define your compassion. It does not mean you have failed if you cannot give in the most expensive season of the year.


And yet, what I realized is that I had convinced myself that my contributions didn’t matter unless they were big.


“If I can’t make a real difference,” I thought, “why give at all?”


But here’s the truth:

$5 changes lives.


We have 277 subscribers. If every single person gave just $5, we would raise $1,385, instantly.


And if everyone gave $5 monthly?

We could support 66 artists next year.

Not hypothetically. Not symbolically.


Sixty-six real people…

  • whose lights stay on

  • whose rent gets paid

  • who don’t have to choose between groceries and supplies

  • who get to keep creating in a crisis


All because of 16 cents a day.


That’s why this year, we want to make giving feel accessible, not like another holiday burden.


Two joyful, low-stress ways to give:

1) Give + Receive

Purchase from our limited edition Call to Love merchandise line. Your gifts support the Thrive Fund, and you get something beautiful to share or keep.


2) Join the $5 Circle

A monthly or annual gift of $5. What feels small becomes life-changing when we do it together.


There is no such thing as “not enough.”

There is only showing up in whatever way you can.


And because I believe in building solutions for our community long-term, I’m dreaming of a Giving Juneteenth movement, a celebration of Black-led giving that aligns with our heritage, not our hardship. A movement where Giving Tuesday is not the only time we are called to support Black futures.


But today, right here, right now…


If you’ve ever wanted to give but felt like it wouldn’t matter — this is your invitation.Your $5 matters. You matter.


Let’s change 66 lives together.

Starting with one small act.



 
 
 

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