Giving during the holiday season is crucial for many nonprofits, with estimates that one-third of all charitable giving happens in the last three months of the year. This year is no different as nonprofits look to overcome a sluggish economy and other challenges. #GivingTuesday kicked off the heart of the holiday giving season this week with Blackbaud reporting a 53 percent increase in online donations totaling more than $10 million on November 27 compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving last year.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), the leading global payments technology company, and NetHope, a consortium of 37 humanitarian organizations, today announced the Visa Innovation Grants program to help modernize humanitarian aid payments. Through this program, Visa is making available $500,000 in grants to humanitarian and development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to increase the speed, security and long-term impact of aid through the innovation and adoption of electronic payments.