Lyft News

This Giving Tuesday, I’m matching every rider’s donation

David Risher - Dec 1, 2025

This article originally appeared on Fortune.com

We often hear about how tech can isolate us or pull us apart. But I also believe the opposite: Technology, when used responsibly, can help us connect. This is why I joined Lyft as CEO, and it’s the part of the job that feels most personal to me. At Lyft, we’re not just in the business of getting people around. We’re here to strengthen the connections that hold us together. 

My belief in the power of connection has shaped much of my personal life and professional career. Over a decade ago, I helped start Worldreader, a nonprofit dedicated to helping parents and children read together. In all, over 20 million people have now read on our platform. Then, in 2020, my wife and I launched #HalfMyDAF, a personal challenge to holders of Donor-Advised Funds (a type of charitable savings account): Rather than let the (tax-deductible) money in your DAF sit, spend at least half of your funds now, and we’ll match dollar for dollar. The urgency and connections forged between donors and nonprofits worked. Over the past five years, #HalfMyDAF has moved over $70 million of funding to nonprofits. 

Through that work, I learned something powerful: When you make it easy for people to come together and be part of something bigger, they show up. I’ve seen this with Lyft’s customers too. So many of them want to support the people and organizations making a difference in their communities. They don’t need convincing. They just need a simple way to do it that fits into their everyday lives. And when we use technology to make action easier, the impact can be remarkable.

So this Giving Tuesday — December 2 — we’re doing something special: Lyft will match riders’ Round Up & Donate contributions. And I’m putting my money where my mouth is by matching every donation personally. That means if you round up your ride tomorrow, your donation gets tripled.* It’s a simple way to turn everyday rides into real support for the organizations doing incredible work in our communities.

Here’s how it works. Round Up & Donate takes the change from each Lyft ride to the nearest dollar and sends that to an organization you choose. Since we launched this feature in 2017, riders in the Lyft community have made more than 100 million donations, sending $42.5 million to organizations across the US and Canada. And the impact is real. Job-training programs, disaster relief, meals to families, civil rights work, expanded educational opportunities — all were funded by spare change from rides. 

Even better, the Lyft community keeps growing. This year alone, 23,000 riders turned on Round Up & Donate for the first time, an 8% increase over last year — proof that making generosity effortless continues to resonate with riders. 

So, if you haven’t tried it yet, I’d love for you to join me. Today, ahead of Giving Tuesday, open the Lyft app, tap your profile, choose “Donate,” pick a vetted partner, and toggle it on. It takes about 10 seconds — but can make a huge difference.

Then, tomorrow, when you use Lyft to head to work, meet friends, or run an errand, know that your contribution will be tripled. And for every ride going forward, you’ll be part of something bigger: a community showing that consistent acts of generosity and connection can create real, lasting change.

*Donation matched after external fees. Terms apply.