In a show of achdut that is refreshing to witness during this dark period of our lives, many of the leading rabbis in the Orthodox community have voiced their public support for DailyGiving.org, a unique online effort to easily allow individuals to give $1 to tzedakah every day.
The organization, which was founded by Dr. Jonathan Donath in 2019, has been endorsed by Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff, Rabbi Shmuel Greenberg, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein, Rabbi Fischel Schachter, Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, Rabbi Gavriel “Rav Gav” Friedman, Rabbi Eitiel Goldwicht, Rabbi Yehoshua Zitron, Rabbi Daniel Staum and dozens of other prominent rabbis. The results have been nothing short of astounding.
“The biggest reason we have been able to grow from zero to more than 1,600 members, and why we have already raised more than $900,000 for 42 charities, is the support we have received from many well-known rabbis, who have been willing to encourage their followers with public pronouncements to sign up for DailyGiving.org and to give $1 of tzedakah each day together as a community,” said Donath.
Rabbi Eitiel Goldwicht, the founder of Aish Israel, said, “When Bnei Yisrael gave money to build the Mishkan, every individual gave the exact same amount—no matter how rich or poor they were. That’s the charity that Hashem loves the most. Today we have a similar opportunity. DailyGiving.org asks everyone to give the same amount, just $1 a day, to support various charitable organizations.”
Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein, founder and director of Ohr Naavah, said, “Since nobody is going to shul today, there is no one who is going around with a pushka collecting tzedakah every day. With DailyGiving.org, even if you’re not in shul, you can still give $1 a day to tzedakah.”
Rabbi Daniel Staum, popular author and lecturer, said, “I get envelopes in the mail every day from needy charities. Many of them are worthwhile organizations, but the reality is that I cannot give tzedakah to all of them. Now there’s a beautiful way that you can give a dollar a day to tzedakah, every single day, by signing up for DailyGiving.org. And each day your dollar goes to a different charity.”
Rabbi Fischel Schachter, author and rebbe at Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York, said, “We need to do things b’tzibbur, but unfortunately, because of social distancing requirements, we are now prevented from this. However, if you sign up for DailyGiving.org, you can give $1 a day to tzedakah, and the money adds up because many others are doing the same thing. The more people who sign up, the more powerful the program becomes. At a time that we are looking for more ways to get together, DailyGiving.org allows up to give tzedakah b’tzibbur.”
Rabbi Gavriel Friedman, noted speaker and rebbe at Aish Hatorah in Yerushalayim, said, “There are a lot of people who give tzedakah. There are some who give every day. But how many people can say that they give tzedakah every day, and that it gets distributed to 42 different worthy organizations? DailyGiving.org allows you to do just that. It is the most transparent charitable platform you will ever see. Every dollar that is contributed goes directly to a different organization, from bikur cholim to feeding the poor to teaching Torah. When you sign up for DailyGiving.org, you join together with others—and every day another organization benefits from the dollar that you and each of the other members have contributed.”
Rabbi Paysach Krohn, author of the best-selling Maggid series of books published by ArtScroll, said, “You will be amazed at what DailyGiving.org is doing. Sign up to give $1 of tzedakah each and every day. Many of our charitable organizations are unfortunately struggling today to raise funds, but DailyGiving.org is contributing more than $1,600 a day, every day, to a different organization. It’s one of the greatest organizations in K’lal Yisrael.”
Donath said, “Imagine the impact that your single dollar of tzedakah each day can make when it is combined with so many others. And imagine waking up every morning and knowing that no matter what else you might do that day, you have already performed the mitzvah of tzedakah. Lately, many people are signing up in honor of those who need a refuah sheleima and others are signing up to memorialize a loved one. It’s really unbelievable what’s happening.”
Here’s how the program works:
Donors sign up to give as little as $1 a day, and decide whether they want their recurring contribution to be charged once a month or once a year. (The transaction fee would be too high to charge daily.) DailyGiving.org acts as a shaliach and distributes the money each day. Every day donors receive an email, telling them which of the 42 participating charities received the DailyGiving.org donation that day, and how much was donated. As the number of donors grows, the amount of each daily donation grows—even though each person’s donation amount remains the same.
Donath said that DailyGiving.org, which is a recognized 501(c)3, takes zero money, and does not spend any of the charitable money it collects on administrative costs. “We are run strictly by volunteers, so every dollar that is donated goes straight to the recipient organizations.”
To sign up for DailyGiving.org, please visit www.DailyGiving.org. It takes only 30 seconds, and you will absolutely love being a part of this rapidly-growing organization.
By Michael Feldstein
