By Henry Berman, Exponent Philanthropy

Today is #GivingTuesday.

In 2012, New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation led the charge to create #GivingTuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, to inspire generosity on the heels of two days dedicated to spending: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Hundreds of organizations from Sony to Skype signed on as partners, and thousands of nonprofits, schools, and cities launched #GivingTuesday campaigns to draw attention to their stories and their impact. 

To mark this day of giving, I encourage you to celebrate the many ways you can—and do—give. I particularly challenge you to think carefully about opportunities to give beyond financial gifts. Bringing nondollar assets to the table (alone or in combination with grants) is perhaps one of the most powerful ways we see our members lead.

Wrote Exponent Philanthropy Senior Program Director Andy Carroll earlier this year, “…some foundations and donors are quietly pushing the boundaries of philanthropic practice, with a type of philanthropy that hasn’t even been named yet. By combining grants with research, technical assistance, convening, connecting, advocacy, mobilization, and other kinds of direct action, philanthropists are changing, and sometimes completely transforming, their philanthropy.”

Set aside some time today to think about—and celebrate—how you can:

• Use your connections to open doors for your grantees.
• Lend your expertise in accounting, human resources, technology, marketing, or a specific issue area.
• Be a catalyst: Leverage your position to convene stakeholders.
• Step in to fill gaps not met by other sources. Don’t be afraid of taking thoughtful risks.
• Raise awareness of problems or solutions through meetings, emails, op-eds, or advocacy.

Since National Philanthropy Day on November 15, through our #OutsizedImpact Twitter campaign, it has been our privilege to showcase philanthropic initiatives in which our members are leveraging dollar and nondollar resources to achieve outsized impact. Funders from around the country are listening carefully, leveraging partnerships, taking risks, and adjusting course to take on some of society’s most pressing problems.

“They told us that never had such a small grant had such a large impact on their organization,” wrote Colleen O’Keefe of Sauer Children’s Renew Foundation about the foundation’s carefully targeted capacity building grant to train family advocates at a transitional housing program. Listen to Colleen talk about the grant’s impact

“I did not think that the board of directors would consider this program as something to be funded,” wrote Sister David Ann Niski of Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Foundation about a prostitution diversion program. “However, the board stepped to the plate, realizing the unlikelihood of the program’s being funded by another area foundation.” She believes the program’s success positions it for replication in other state and out-of-state locales.

Read other stories of outsized impact

Every Mother’s Day as I was growing up, my brothers and I would take over the kitchen and “prepare” a special breakfast for mom. And every year my father would smile and quietly point out to us: “Every day is Mother’s Day.”

As the United Nations Foundation stated: “We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back.”

Were my father here, I suspect he might well say, “Every day is a day to give.”

Today, #GivingTuesday 2014, I suggest you reflect on all the ways you can give beyond dollars, using your agility, connections, position, passion, and perseverance to make a difference today…and every day.

Henry Berman became Exponent Philanthropy’s CEO in 2011, previously serving as acting CEO, board member, and committee member. Through his experience as a foundation co-trustee and Exponent Philanthropy member since 2003, he brings a firsthand understanding of the needs of members to his role. Follow Henry on Twitter @Berman_Henry.