As holiday traditions go, Giving Tuesday is a relative newcomer, but it has shown its staying power. It was launched in 2012 as a project of New York City’s 92nd Street Y but now is operating globally as an independent nonprofit (online at www.givingtuesday.org) that pursues “radical generosity.”

In that first year, the economy was recovering slowly from the Great Recession and there was a lot of need for such generosity. Now, a dozen years later, the situation is about the same, and Giving Tuesday should be met with a fulsome response from those who can help.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser responds to these needs annually with its Good Neighbor Fund drive, just launched for this holiday season. The effort is a collaboration also involving its partners, Helping Hands Hawaii and First Hawaiian Bank. The campaign has set a $125,000 fundraising goal, an increase over last year’s total of $113,000.

In addition to covering critical expenses, the fund underwrites services supporting health, well-being and stability for families trying with difficulty to manage their lives. Donations can be made online (helpinghandshawaii.org/good-neighbor-fund).

The motivations powering charity initiatives across the country this year are plain to see. The global COVID-19 pandemic left much of the world in a tailspin. And even though the U.S. recovered better than most places around the world, the disruption and the efforts to sustain its economy drove up the rate of inflation.

People, in Hawaii as in every other state, began to find rents rising to cover costs. Statistics showed salaries, on average, rising as well, but most found basics such as food, fuel and other necessities taking a bigger bite out of the household budget.

Compounding all this locally were the continued strains on Maui families still dealing with the impact, financial and emotional, of the devastating August 2023 wildfires.

And nationally, the rhetoric surrounding the change in White House and congressional leadership has prompted some anxiety about further curbs on federal aid.

It is too early to know precisely how this will play out, but many are expecting that tax and spending reforms likely will affect social-service programs.

This leaves such programs with deficits in funds — and in helping hands. Gifts in kind are always welcome, but for those who have money to spare, financial contributions can enable nonprofits to stretch dollars farther.

For example, the Hawaii Foodbank received a matching-fund opportunity from its partners at Amazon: On Giving Tuesday, each donation can be doubled.

There are other innovative twists on donations. Light the World, an annual Christmas initiative sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has installed Giving Machines worldwide (see givingmachine808.org to find Hawaii locations). These vending machines allow donors to select from a range of charity purposes to support by inserting the amount listed to fulfill that purpose — everything from the cost of meals to the price of a pair of shoes or even livestock that can help a village. It’s a clever way to capture the imagination … and increase financial support.

However, people who find their own disposable income fairly tight can still help — with the gift of time. Volunteers can be in short supply, especially at this time of year. Helping Hands, for one, has volunteer opportunities 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays and Dec. 7, 14 and 21.

Whether it’s delivered through cash or volunteerism, the hope for Hawaii’s struggling families is that Giving Tuesday helps to make “radical generosity” a practice, and on more than simply one day each year.