National Nonprofit Day is a holiday that’s observed on August 17th annually and is used to draw attention to the nonprofit organizations that are doing good work in the community. There are all different types of nonprofit organizations helping children read, drawing attention to the problem of global warming, or feeding the hungry, so it’s about time all of us use this day to highlight the contributions of these organizations and others that are putting in good work.

The History of National Nonprofit Day

This holiday was first created by Sherita J. Herring in 2017 to bring attention to all of the organizations putting in good work as nonprofits. Why did she choose August 17th to celebrate this holiday? She chose this date because that’s when the Tariff Act of 1894 was signed into law.

Although this act is widely known for imposing the first federal income taxes on corporations, it also established tax exemption for nonprofit organizations. Over the past 126+ years, the tax exemption has remained in place for nonprofit organizations, although there have been a few changes over the years.

Fun Facts About Nonprofits

While most people are familiar with the concept of nonprofits, not many people know much else about these organizations. To combat that problem, we’ve decided to list some interesting facts about nonprofit organizations and the people who volunteer for them that we feel everyone should know.

• Just over one-fourth of the U.S. population does volunteer work at some point during the year.
• December is the month when people donate the most to nonprofit organizations.
• According to most research groups, donations to nonprofits have increased over the last 10 years.
• Almost 10% of all donations to nonprofits come through mobile device donations.

How to Celebrate National Nonprofit Day

The best way to celebrate National Nonprofit Day is by raising the public profile of a nonprofit that you feel is doing good work. You can do this by telling friends and family, or by using the hashtag #NationalNonprofitDay on your social media accounts.

Another way to celebrate this holiday is by placing a donor wall up on a website or blog that you own. This can be a great way to raise money for those nonprofit organizations that are doing great work and could use a little bit of a cash infusion to get that work done.

Of course, donating money isn’t the only way this holiday can be observed. A person can also donate their time to volunteer for an organization that they deem worthy. This can be as simple as giving blood at a Red Cross or volunteering at a food drive for a local food bank.

This is also a good day for people to give thanks to their local volunteers. These people give their time and energy faithfully to execute the goals of the organizations they’re working for, so they deserve the occasional thanks from anybody willing to give it to them.