Giving Tuesday is a worldwide generosity movement revolutionizing the giving prospect by reinventing ways for people to engage with charity causes. Generally, people and organizations are incorporating the concept behind Giving back Tuesday into their Peer-to-Peer (P2P) fundraising programs to harness the power of community. P2P fundraising, in this case, refers to the social fundraising technique where an individual’s or organization’s existing supporters raise funds on their behalf. This way, nonprofits can raise more funds as more donors rally in their support.
What Is Giving Tuesday All About?
Giving Tuesday operates around the ethos that every act of generosity counts and that everyone has something to give. Therefore, the generosity movement brings people from across the world to participate in their mission of building a more just and generous world by giving. This includes money, time, goods, voices, and any support that celebrates generosity.
GivingTuesday is an independent nonprofit movement located at the Belfer Centre for Innovation and Social Impact at 92Y Street, New York City.
Businesses, individuals, and charities can participate in this movement by connecting with their local GivingTuesday movement for a highlight of some of the ways that they can promote generosity in their countries.
History of the Movement
Established in 2012, Giving Tuesday started as a partnership between 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. In 2019, GivingTuesday became an independent nonprofit organization, promoting charitable acts across the globe. The movement was launched as a concept of a day that encourages people and organizations to do good by giving and celebrating generosity.
When Does It Happen?
Give back Tuesday takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving every year. The campaign is held on the same day across the world, at least for the participating countries. Here is a breakdown of GivingTuesday dates since 2016.
- GivingTuesday2016- 29th November 2016.
- GivingTuesday2017- 28th November 2017.
- GivingTuesday2018- 27th November 2018.
- GivingTuesday2019- 3rd December 2019.
- GivingTuesday2020- 1st December 2020.
- GivingTuesday2021- 30th November 2021.
Who Can Participate?
The answer is, Everyone! Giving Tuesday consists of a coalition of partnerships, including corporations, small businesses, religious organizations, schools, nonprofits, and individuals. This means that individual donors, small nonprofit organizations, and charity foundations can participate in Giving back Tuesday.
Givers
In the recent past, GivingTuesday has challenged communities and individuals to build a better world through giving and other acts of generosity. Today, givers have shown their support towards this global movement through either of the following ways;
- Donating time or talent.
- Spreading the word about Giving Back Tuesday.
- Donating money.
Charity Foundations
On Giveback Tuesday, charity foundations make a push for donations globally in different ways. These include hosting fundraising events, spreading the word to rally communities to do good by giving, or creating special content to reach out to donors.
Small Nonprofit Organisations
Nonprofits can also sign up (although not compulsory) with Giving Tuesday to be part of the movement. Such organizations should decide the activities they wish to promote and how much they would like to be involved in the movement. Notably, donations to an organization are only made through the donation processing platform of their choice.
Starting a Giving Tuesday Campaign
Today, people around the world are coming together to celebrate generosity and show kindness through acts of charity. Giving Tuesday is the perfect platform for organizations and individuals to rally support from communities, raise awareness on a cause, and boost their end-of-year donations. Here are some tips for starting a GivingTuesday campaign.
Plan Ahead
The good thing with GivingTuesday is that it takes place towards the end of the year, after Thanksgiving. This means that organizations and individuals have months leading up to the event, giving them more time to plan and prepare. Their resources and time should be spent on growing supporters.
Set Your Goals
Setting goals helps organizations to focus their time, resources, and campaign messages around those goals. While some organizations aim at gaining more returning visitors, others are interested in raising larger donations and having more donors at the end of Giving Tuesday. When setting these goals, consider tracking your progress to make the campaign more exciting.
Raise Awareness
At this point, it is fundamental for organizations to create content that will compel donors and individual givers to donate towards a cause. Donors can sometimes be selective, and a nonprofit’s story is key in convincing them to give. Consider sending an email or newsletter to your donors and encourage them to give towards your cause during Giving Tuesday.
Partner Up
Interestingly, partnerships are the primary reason why Giving Tuesday has become such a successful movement. The fundraising event appeals to everyone, including nonprofits, governments, businesses, corporations, and individuals. So, why not partner with these parties? Organizations can partner with interested parties in such ways as matching grants, matching sponsorships, marketing support, and other resource-based partnerships.
Social Media Is Key!
Giving Tuesday generates a lot of traffic on social media through the #givingtuesday hashtag that runs throughout the day. Create the ‘Donate’ button on your social media pages, and get in on the action with the #givingtuesday to attract donors.
Here is how organizations can leverage their Giving Tuesday campaigns via social media.
Of all the donors inspired to celebrate generosity via social media, over 11% prefer Twitter over other channels. Over time, Twitter has proven to be a perfect spot for conversational campaigns and personalized real-time responses for savvy nonprofits. Generally, Twitter is a more popular democratized platform where individuals and organizations can have a global conversation about the Giving Tuesday movement.
Instagram is the second-most preferred social media platform for GivingTuesday donations by donors, with a 25% popularity. 2018 statistics revealed that Instagram had outperformed Twitter as far as Giving Tuesday donations are concerned. Ideally, stories-based content tends to appeal to donors more, and there is no better platform for stories than Instagram. Nonprofits can leverage their campaigns by taking advantage of the growth experienced in Instagram. Almost every organization has a growing Instagram presence, making it easy for people to support their causes.
In 2018, there were over 14.2 billion social media impressions on the event, with over $380 million raised online (in the US alone). The most donations in 2018 were processed through Facebook, raising over $125 million for charity. Over the years, over 50% of donors have used Facebook Fundraising Tools, with over 82% of these projecting to use these channels again. Promote your campaign on Facebook, and enjoy more and larger donations.
Giving Tuesday Thank You
At the end of Giving Tuesday, remember to email your supporters and donors thanking them for contributing to your cause. People appreciate ‘Thank You’ notes, and sending them one without asking for money will come in handy. Also, give your donors an impression of how their donations will support your cause.
Prepare for Next Year
Once the event is over, you might have gained more donors contributing to your causes. This is the time to nurture your relationships with the new donors and establish long-term networks with your supports. While preparing for the next Giving Tuesday, it will not cost your nonprofit to look into some elements of your previous year’s strategies. This way, you will be more prepared to make the upcoming event much better.
Giving Tuesday Activities and Ideas
Whether it is giving a helping hand to those in need, helping those we care about, making someone smile, or supporting those around us, every act of generosity counts. Here are some ideas that individuals and organizations can apply to celebrate generosity and give out the following:
- Time
- Support
- Food
- Money
- Talent
- Kindness
Closing Thoughts
Giving Tuesday is a great initiative to bring the global community together in doing good. While the annual event brings more donors to support charity causes, statistics reveal that only 63% give on that day. This is why nonprofits should adopt the right strategies to leverage their campaigns. Planning and preparing for the D-day is pivotal to the success of a #GivingTuesday campaign. Again, the organization’s story must be convincing enough to win new donors. Are you ready for Giving Tuesday? At Donate-Button, we provide a commission-free way to receive money for charities and fundraisers. Connect with us today.
