National Give Something Away Day on Thursday, July 15, 2027, counts every kind of giving, from a closet cleanout to a stranger’s coffee. Researchers have even measured why it feels good.
When Is National Give Something Away Day Observed?
Each July 15. No law sets it, so it runs on goodwill alone.
No Known Founder, but Plenty of Research
The person who began the day is unknown. Scientists, however, tested its central idea in a 2008 study in Science.
Elizabeth Dunn and Lara Aknin of the University of British Columbia ran it with Michael Norton of Harvard Business School. They asked whether spending on others makes people happier, the Harvard Gazette reports.
Earlier work, the Gazette notes, had found that money helps most when it lifts people out of poverty. A raise to the next pay grade usually changes little, and the glow from new possessions is “almost always short-lived.”
Three tests
First came a survey of 632 Americans. Personal spending on bills and treats for themselves made up about 90% of their outgoings. It had no effect on happiness. Spending on gifts and charity did.
Next, the team tracked 16 workers at a Boston company who got bonuses averaging about $5,000. Happiness was rated a month before and after. Those who gave more of it away were happier. “The dollar amount of the bonus had no impact on happiness over time,” Norton said.
“All that mattered was the percent spent on other people,” he told the Gazette. He planned more work, including how children understand giving.
Last, students on the UBC campus received envelopes holding $5 or $20. Each had to spend it that same day on themselves or on a gift or charity. The givers felt happier that evening.
“It was only how people spent it that made them happier.”
Norton’s team concluded that how you spend counts for more than how much you earn.
Caveats apply. National Geographic points out that happy people may simply give more. If so, the link could run both ways.
Why Giving Pays Off
Giving helps the person who gets the gift. Going by the Science study, it lifts the giver too, and as little as $5 can make a real difference.
Money spent on ourselves does far less. Once basic needs are met, income has an “incredibly weak effect” on happiness, National Geographic notes.
It also keeps goods out of landfills. Americans generated about 17 million tons of textile waste in 2018, the EPA reports. Only about 2.5 million tons were recycled.
About 11.3 million tons ended up in landfills that year. Back in 1960, the total was just 1.76 million tons.
Ways to Give
- Drop clean, wearable clothes at a charity or thrift store.
- Ask your local food pantry which shelf-stable foods it needs most.
- Leave books at a library sale or a little free library.
- Give an hour of your time to help a neighbor with yard work or errands.
- Buy a coworker’s coffee, or pay for the next person in line.
- Teach a skill, like fixing a bike or cooking a dish.
- Find a textile recycler for clothes too worn to wear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do people expect giving to make them happier?
Mostly not. In a group of 109 people, 63% predicted that spending on themselves would bring more joy.
How large were the bonuses?
They ranged from $3,000 to $8,000, National Geographic says.
What share of textiles gets recycled?
About 14.7%. Textiles make up roughly 5.8% of municipal solid waste.
Does thinking about money change behavior?
It can. In other experiments, people who merely thought about money were less likely to donate to charity or help acquaintances.