Think of this Tuesday as the Black Friday for Oregon nonprofits.

hat, at least, is the idea behind #OregoniansGive, a social-media fueled campaign on December 1 to encourage charities, businesses, and individuals to donate to local organizations. Using their website, users can login and give to one of the 589 (and counting) Oregon non-profits who have signed up so far .

Here in Multnomah County, those include relatively well-known names like FreeGeek and Make-a-Wish, many smaller organizations in need, and many of Portland Monthly's 2015 Light a Fire winners like Friends of Trees, De Paul Treatment Centers, and The Right Brain Initiative. 

“[This campaign] lets us take a day to celebrate generosity," says Agnes Zach, #OregoniansGive organizer and executive director of the Willamette Valley Development Officers in a press release. "We have the chance to focus on the amazing work taking place in nonprofits and charities across the state–from Pendleton to Grants Pass, Portland to Klamath Falls--and give back.”

The campaign is part of a global outreach called #Giving Tuesday, started in New York City in 2012 to channel some of the consumer spending of Black Friday and Cyber Monday into more productive and socially conscious ends. According to a press release, #GivingTuesday has raised 10s of millions of dollars for tens of thousands of organizations nationwide. 

As of this posting, #OregoniansGive has raised nearly $14,000 ahead of the Tuesday start date, with a total funding goal of $3.9 million. (Not coincidentally, that works out to about $1 for every Oregonian.) 

To make a donation on December 1, or find out more, visit oregoniansgive.org. And to read all about the incredible work our 2015 Light a Fire winners are doing, click here.