#GivingTuesday marks its seventh year on December 3, 2019. It is a day that is important to nonprofit organizations such as Brighter Tanzania Foundation for ways measurable and immeasurable.

#Giving Tuesday Outcomes

First, the measurable. What began in 2012 with $10 million donated to charities has grown into a goliath global movement. In 2018, donors gave $380 million to various philanthropies online in a 24-hour period. Here at BTF, we earmarked our 2018 #GivingTuesday campaign for library improvement. The $615 in donations enabled us to purchase two new bookshelves, 30 new books for the children and six new books for the teachers.

Donations for education have stolen the global show. Back in 2017, nearly 40% of contributions went to supporting educational causes. It is clear that many align with our beliefs here at BTF - education provides a solid pathway towards eradicating poverty and inequality. At Saving Grace School in Arusha, Tanzania, 340 impoverished children have received a pre-primary education that they otherwise would not have been able to access.

Now, let’s talk about the immeasurable. In a previous blog, “Early Education Influences Adult Success,” I wrote about not only the benefits of early education but its far reaches. In a well-known study called the Perry Preschool Program, researchers studied 123 at-risk, low-income preschool students in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The results demonstrated that children with an early education are more likely to grow into adults who are employed, raise their own children and own a home or car. 

The children of the study’s initial participants are now being studied, and it has been reported that they also have benefited from their parents’ education. Theparticipants’ childrenhave better social and emotional skills, are more likely to be healthy, earn more, graduate from high school and go on to college. The benefits of early intervention have been passed on to the next generation. 

In short, investing in education has a multiplier effect. The $615 that was donated to BTF in 2018 didn’t just benefit children such as Emmanuel, Caren and Abu, it is improving the chances that these children will grow into adults that escape the cycle of poverty, have healthy, stable families, and help build more resilient communities.

Here at Brighter Tanzania, we strive to maintain transparency, both financially and in our work itself.  We hope this blog helps to meet that end, by letting our donors, followers, and supporters know exactly what is happening within the organization and at Saving Grace.