Give To Jamaica Week is an online charity campaign designed to enable potential donors to find Jamaican charities and public schools that match their interest and then donate to them directly. The campaign is an initiative of the Give To Jamaica Foundation, Inc.
The official Give To Jamaica Week starts at 10:00 AM EST on October 18 and ends at 10:00 AM EST on October 25, 2025. From Oct 3 to 15, The early pledge period will occur allowing prospect donors to discover charities or schools to support and record a pledge.
Give To Jamaica Week is an initiative of the Give To Jamaica Foundation, Inc ("GTJF"); a US-based non-profit. GTJF functions as the sponsors/promoters for Give To Jamaica Week.
GTJF is a self-funded non-profit that takes no funds, in any form or for any reason, from donations made through Give To Jamaica Week 2025.
GTJF has established an Organizing Committee to planning, promote, and run Give To Jamaica Week. These individuals are all unpaid volunteers.
The GTJW 2025 Organizing Committee members are Dr. Tina Carroll-Scott, Barron Channer, Theresa Heron, Marlon Hill, Esq., Melissa McGowan-Wright, Keisha Phipps, Karen Vassell, and Julie Seaga-Cortizas.
We created Give To Jamaica Week to increase the amount of donations made to Jamaican public schools and charities. Our approach is meant to (i) increase exposure of the Diaspora to the impactful charities and schools that shape Jamaican society, (ii) create direct relations to diaspora donors for charities and schools, and (iii) stage an attractive campaign that motivates donors to support Jamaica through Give To Jamaica Week.
Note that tax deductibility depends on your individual tax circumstances. Please consult a professional for tax advice.
Donations for Give To Jamaica Week will be processed by a fiscal sponsor that is a certified 501C3 organizations. So, all donations will be recognized as a charitable contribution. For US taxpayers, your charitable contributions may be tax deductible based on your tax scenario. For taxpayers from non-US jurisdictions, such as UK and Canada, Give to Jamaica Week 2025 donations will not qualify as a charitable contribution but we are working on something for 2026.
We expect donations to be delivered to designated charities and schools before mid-December 2025. This assumes that the organizations continue to be responsive during the wrap-up and deliver phase of Give To Jamaica Week.
A pledge is a commitment to donate without immediate payment processing. The GTJW pledge period will run from now until October 15. The GTJ Week team collects all pledge for separate follow-up on payments.
A donation is a commitment to donate with immediate payment processing. Note that donations will be processed by outside fiscal sponsor. Major credit cards and online pay systems will be accepted.
Note that GTJ Foundation will not directly process your donation. Your card/bank statement will show contribution to the Fiscal Sponsor and tax receipts will be process by the same; not GTJ Foundation or GTJ Week.
Several of Jamaica's leading grant-giving foundations are Nominating Partners for Give To Jamaica Week 2025. This includes Digicel Foundation, Sandals Foundation, The American Friends of Jamaica, Council of Voluntary Social Services, and Kingston Creative Limited.
Additionally, Give To Jamaica Week has notable Media Partners such as Caribbean Today, Jamaicans.com, RIDDIMS Marketing, Jamaque Paradis Magazine, and Jason Walker Buzz Channel and Reggae Runnings.
Yes! Give To Jamaica Week is a new tradition. Each year, during Jamaica's National Heroes Week, we will activate to celebrate and support those modern heroes that seek to improve lives and communities across Jamaica. Mark your calendars, register to be notified, and book mark givetojamaica.com
Yes, you can donate if you live outside of the United States. US Dollar is the only currency that is accepted for donation.
Please note that Give To Jamaica Week likely will not qualify for charitable contribution consideration outside of the United States. However, your funds will be cherished and directly delivered to Jamaica with the same care and impact.
The minimum donation is US$20.00. There is no maximum donation amount. Every bit counts … Every mickle mek muckle
Yes, you can discover and select multiple charities before "checking out" with a pledge or donation. Please take your time to explore and discover multiple organizations to love and support.
No. We, at GTJF, take not portion of any funds donated. This a voluntary and charitable effort for us as a show of support for Jamaica and its people. We do not even collect expense reimbursements.
Yes, there are some unavoidable fees. There are three (3) processing fees - credit card processing fee (~4%), fiscal sponsor fee (~5%) and currency exchange rate – that are likely.
The credit card processing fee is charged by the company that runs the payment processing. GivetoJamaica.com will give each donor the chance to cover this fee so their charities get more of the donated funds.
The fiscal sponsor fee is charged by the 501-C3 that will collect and deliver payment in ways that are approved by the IRS. This will ensure that donations are considered charitable by US government. They do some work and charge a fee.
Currency Conversion Fee: To deliver funds to chosen charities in Jamaica will include involvement of a receiving bank and conversion to Jamaican Dollars. The banks charge a fee for this. Effort are being made to negotiate a favorably low fee since these are charitable donations.
First, the GTJ Foundation team will not receive or seek to get your credit card information. Your contact information and donor history will be maintained with strong confidentiality. GTJ Foundation will never sell or share your information. We plan to contact you, from time to time, about our future activities. You will be able to opt-out of future communications from GTJ Foundation or about GTJ Week.
Give To Jamaica Week includes both local charities and public schools from across Jamaica. All public schools in Jamaica were eligible and invited to participate. GTJW 2025 has almost 230, roughly a quarter, of Jamaica's public schools participating. Schools were validated as recognized public schools listed in the Directory of Schools by the Jamaican Ministry of Education.
The participating local charities were selected through a process that started with nomination by an official Nominating Partner before being invited to participate. Our Nominating Partners are leading charitable organizations and include Digicel Foundation, Sandals Foundation, The American Friends of Jamaica, Council on Voluntary Social Services and Kingston Creative. All nominated charities were invited to complete the Give To Jamaica Week 2025 registration by a prescribed deadline after which they were each reviewed to confirm their eligibility to participate. Local charities were required to demonstrate that they are a recognized charity in Jamaica or coordinating with one for their charitable project.
All 260+ participating charities can be found Here. Please explore and find something to support.
The schools are Jamaican public schools; except for one – we made a minor exception out of empathy. Most are primary (elementary) schools and schools from rural areas with less business and wealthy donors to support.
The charities are all known local charities in Jamaica. They were nominated for participation by at least one of the leading Jamaica foundations that are our Nominating Partners.
Each charity will have its own page on www.givetojamaica.com. You can start Here and search discover a charities or schools that interest you. The visit their details page to learn more about them. We provide you with information to do further research if you care to.
Yes, if your employer offers charity match then Give To Jamaica Week will qualify. Please contact us at charity@givetojamaica.com if you would like to explore this
During the early pledge period (October 1 – 15, 2025), you will be given the option to make a pledge. You will then have the option to finalize payment during the pledge period or official GTJ Week (Oct. 18 – 25).
During the official Give To Jamaica Week (October 18-25), your donations will be processed in real time once you elect to submit.
If you make a pledge and do not complete payment processing, then our donor relations team will make effort to contact you for final payment processing. If we are unable to make contact, then the organization you pledged to will not receive the sum you pledged but did not pay for.
You can contact us at info@givetojamaica.com with any questions, comments, or requests.
