With inflation at an all-time high, a job market in flux and an unstable economy, the upcoming holiday season might be difficult on many local families.
Non-profits are ramping up their services to assist their communities, but now more than ever, they’ll need everyone’s support.
That’s where the United Way of Chattanooga and their CHAgives comes in.
Beginning Nov. 3 and continuing until the end of the year, people can visit the CHAgives website and donate to the participating non-profits. There are 40 to pick from.
United Way of Chattanooga's Chelsea Ryden said United Way is excited to be a part of CHAgives. “Whether people are donating money or time CHAgives is a community-wide giving campaign,” she said. “It’s a rallying point for nonprofits and donors to come together and make tangible impact right here where we live and in this moment. It celebrates and amplifies generosity across Chattanooga.”
Ryden said this year United Way's role is being the facilitator of CHAgives. “We will be providing coordination, tools, and visibility for all the participating non -profits,” she said. “We will not receive any campaign funds unless someone chooses to support our programs directly. We really feel strongly about this campaign lifting the entire nonprofit sector.”
Ryden thanked Mace+Carmichael PR & Marketing for developing the campaign’s website and marketing. “People will start seeing bus signs soon and billboards and those types of things,” she said. “And we're also grateful for those 40 nonprofits that signed up to participate. We really feel like this is something that has been co-created by the community and for the community.”
The campaign launches with early giving on Nov. 3. Ryden said they have special plans to make sure the campaign is fully ramped up for Small Business Saturday Nov. 29, 2025, and this year’s Giving Tuesday set for Dec. 2, 2025.
“We want the whole community to come together on Giving Tuesday,” she said. She encourages those who volunteer or donate to share their experience on social media using the hashtag #CHAgives.
“They can share their giving story and inspire others, whether it's their workplace or school, or their faith group,” she said. “We really know generosity is contagious, and so we're excited about it. We hope that this year it's more than a fundraising campaign. We really hope it becomes a movement within the greater Chattanooga area. Every gift, act of kindness, every story, I think, will create a ripple effect in our neighborhood and our community, which we all really need right now.”
Ryden said a few of the listed non-profits are new start-ups and would benefit from people discovering their mission and spreading the word about their work on social media.
“They're looking for people to share their story like check out this really cool non-profit that I did not know about before,” she said. We really feel like it's giving a lot of opportunity to some of those newer non-profits.”
To learn more or donate visit www.chattanoogagives.org