#GivingTuesday: 3 Ways To Give Back To The Flexible Workspace Community

• #GivingTuesday takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
• It’s a global movement that encourages people to support a good cause by donating their time or resources.
• Here are 3 ways to support good causes within the flexible workspace industry.

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that started in 2012. The idea behind GivingTuesday is to encourage people to do good — “whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help.”

The movement started in the US, but it quickly spread around the world. In fact, there are now over 60 countries taking part in the GivingTuesday movement. GivingTuesday is celebrated the Tuesday following Thanksgiving; this year it will be celebrated on Tuesday December 3rd.

Community has been at the heart of the coworking and flexible workspace industry. With GivingTuesday just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to give back.

Giving Back to the Flexible Workspace Industry

If you’re part of the flexible workspace industry, you know that it’s an industry that’s focused on building strong communities; communities where people can find personal and professional support. Simply said, it’s a people industry; people that for the most part are passionate about doing good. 

If you’re hoping to join the #GivingTuesday movement, but don’t know how to contribute, here are 3 ways you can give back to the flexible workspace industry, while doing good on a much larger scale. 

1. Support to the All Good Work Fundraising Campaign

The All Good Work Foundation helps social impact organizations “carry out their mission without having to worry about the overhead of workspace.” All Good Work partners with coworking and flexible workspaces that want to donate their free space to social impact organizations. 

“Donating to All Good Work gives social impact organizations a home and empowers them to put more of their resources to helping the communities they serve.”

This year, the All Good Work Foundation launched a fundraising campaign. The organization is hoping to raise $50,000 in order to reach its goal of providing millions of dollars worth of workspace in 2020, “which translates to millions of dollars that can be directed to help communities in need.”

The money raised will be used to expand All Good Work into new cities and provide workspace to 125 social impact organizations. 

2. Join the Sanitary Sanity Campaign

This campaign is spearheaded by the included.co network and strongly supported by Women Who Cowork. The goal of this campaign is to provide access to quality period products to members of coworking and flexible workspaces around the world. 

“The goal is to empower coworking operators to provide these products in a cost-effective way and to display them openly, thus normalizing the topic of periods and making people with periods feel included in the space.”

To reach this goal, included.co is encouraging flexible workspace operators to join their network in order to purchase these hygiene products at bulk buying rates. By providing free tampons and liners to their members, coworking space operators can not only enhance their members’ productivity, but they can create a more inclusive community. 

A quick side note: Women Who Cowork is also raising funds to grow out its offerings to better support women who are running and opening coworking spaces. If female entrepreneurship and empowerment are causes you care about, you can make a donation to their campaign here. 

3. Join a Local Coworking Alliance 

The GivingTuesday website states it pretty clearly: giving back can be as simple as helping out a neighbor, and flexible workspace and coworking spaces can do this by joining their local coworking alliance. 

These alliances are great ways to support the industry, to share insights and resources, to positively impact the larger community, and to strengthen your environment. 

If your city or neighborhood doesn’t have a coworking alliance, why not start your own?

To help get started, you can reach out to existing alliances and ask for their help. Some alliances include:

• Denver Coworks
• KC Coworking Alliance
• Atlanta Coworking Alliance
• Calgary Coworking Alliance
• Orlando Coworking Alliance
• San Diego Coworking Alliance
• The Seattle Collaborative Space Alliance