NEW YORK—Launching on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3, the Broadcasters Foundation of America has announced the start to its annual year-end Giving Campaign.

BFA is asking for tax-deductible personal donations to its Guardian Fund and corporate contributions to its Angel Initiative. These funds are used to provide aid to broadcasters and their families who have been impacted by tragic illness, accident or catastrophe.

BFA says that it is receiving higher demand for monthly or emergency relief, as such it plans to aware more than $1.3 million in aid this year.

“Requests for assistance have escalated at an alarming rate over the past several years,” noted Jim Thompson, president of the BFA. “At this giving time of year, we ask every broadcaster to give thanks for their success and good fortune with a tax-deductible contribution that will help us continue our mission of providing aid to those in our business who need it most.”

Over the last 19 years, BFA says it has distributed more than $11 million to broadcasters in need.

For more information, visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past half century or so, you’ve most likely heard of Black Friday. More recently with the rise of Amazon.com and other online shopping destination the term “Cyber Monday” has entered the lexicon.

But the launch of Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday) is a far more recent occurrence, having started in 2012 when the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation joined together to promote a global day of giving, according to Wikipedia.

The Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers, as it has since the beginning of Giving Tuesday, will participate in this year’s day of philanthropy, Nov. 28, by targeting donations to its Next Century Fund. SMPTE’s Next Century Fund is focused on standards development and enhancements, educational programs and furthering the expertise of society members.

SMPTE is “a non-profit that depends on giving to support its work,” said Barbara Lange, executive director of the society. “The #GivingTuesday event is a great way to get involved in supporting SMPTE's ongoing work to advance critical industry standards, extend membership opportunities to new areas and develop and deliver educational programming in support of the industry,” said Lange in a press release.

To donate or to learn more visit the SMPTE website.