What’s Giving Tuesday All About?

what's-giving-tuesday

We’ve survived the rush of Black Friday – even with the hundreds of spammy emails and overwhelming feeling of guilt that we missed out if we didn’t get up at 3am for the greatest deal. We’ve even made it through the stress of crunching in credit card numbers and searching the web for deals on Cyber Monday. But now there’s more?! Don’t worry, we’re about to answer a common question: “What’s Giving Tuesday?” We’ll show you why it’s such a good day for nonprofits and communities.

According to a John Templeton Foundation study, 93% of respondents knew what Black Friday was, whereas only 18% knew about Giving Tuesday.

What’s #GivingTuesday?

Unlike the two big shopping days, #GivingTuesday is a day for charity. Rather than thinking about saving money on the best gifts possible, we think about giving money to the best cause possible. Rather than feeling the stress and chaos of the holidays, we feel the peace and joy that comes from contributing to a good cause.

What’s Giving Tuesday’s origin?

Over in the Big Apple, circa 2012, a group of individuals with the group 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation gathered to launch Giving Tuesday. It brings together nonprofits and talents from around the world in order to max out donations and bring awareness to charitable giving and nonprofits as a whole. The day focuses not only on promoting giving, but also on improving each community’s well-being.

We know this day as #GivingTuesday as it mostly relies on social media as a driver of engagement.

As a global movement, #GivingTuesday unites countries around the world by sharing our capacity to care for and empower one another. – GivingTuesday.org

Success so far

2012 = $10.1 million

2013 = $19.2 million (+90% from first year)

2014 = 26.1 million (+159% from first year)

on social media: 32.7 million Twitter impressions and 750,000+ hashtag mentions; 15.4 billion global impressions in print and social media- About Giving Tuesday

What You Can Do

The Giving Tuesday organization provides a list of events here, but you can also follow the movement on Twitter with the hashtag #GivingTuesday and donate to your favorite nonprofit. Read more about prepping for Giving Tuesday in 7 Steps, and following-up with donors.