New York, Dec 3 (AP) Melinda French Gates is offering to match up to USD 1 million in gifts to two nonprofit organisations to help spur donations on GivingTuesday, which has become a major annual fundraising day for nonprofits.

For more than a decade, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, charitable organisations have asked for donations or other support from their networks.

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“It's a great time to remind people that we're better off when we give something back and we all have something to give back,” said French Gates in an interview, speaking about her enthusiasm for GivingTuesday.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was an early supporter of GivingTuesday, which started as a hashtag and a project at the 92nd Street Y in New York and has since become its own organisation.

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Last year, donors gave an estimated USD 3.1 billion on GivingTuesday, but the overall number of people who participated declined. Asha Curran, CEO of the nonprofit GivingTuesday, who calculated that estimate, said matches like French Gates' help catalyze people to give.

“We really share a commitment to the idea also that philanthropy is not just in the hands of the ultra wealthy," she said. "That it really takes everyone to contribute to a healthy society through generosity.”

Una Osili, associate dean at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, says that even if fewer households are giving, donations may be holding steady because those who donate are giving more.

French Gates, through her organisation Pivotal Ventures, plans to match up to USD 5,00,000 in donations to two organisations — Vote Mama Foundation, which supports mothers running for political office, and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, which advocates for people caring for others.

The organisations have 10 days to raise the funds and will direct donors to give through the nonprofit crowdfunding platform Every.org, which will track the donations that will be matched.

Through her giving and advocacy, French Gates has championed paid family leave, support for caregivers and making child care less expensive. She endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race but said that Harris' defeat won't stop her from continuing her work.

This public match on GivingTuesday is the latest commitment French Gates has made since stepping down from the Gates Foundation in May. (French Gates and Bill Gates, her ex-husband and the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, announced their divorce in 2021.) She pledged USD 1 billion to support women and families over two years. That included USD 250 million to support improving women's health globally and she gave 12 leaders each USD 20 million to distribute to nonprofit organisations of their choice before the end of 2026.

“The reason I've come out so strongly saying, this is what I am doing next,' is because I wanted people to know I'm not going away,” said French Gates. “My values are still here. And this work around How do we make a more equitable society?' There is so much work to be done in the United States.” (AP)

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