Giving Tuesday, a designated day of Giving created as a response to holiday consumerism, is always between November 27th and December 3rd. Since its inception, the giving holiday has expanded rapidly through the social media use of the hashtag #GivingTuesday.
In 2020, #GivingTuesday raised a record $2.47bn in the U.S. alone. Giving Tuesday now spans 75 countries and has hundreds of community-based campaigns in participation.
Though all are encouraged and welcome to join this global movement, it’s especially important for businesses as a pillar of Corporate Social Responsibility. Many businesses rely on Giving Tuesday for a chance to reengage with their communities, and it offers an ideal way to bring awareness to their year-round CSR strategy. Giving Tuesday is absolutely essential to CSR due to its timing, capitalization on momentum, and spreading of awareness.
Timing is Essential
It may be a coincidence that the largest moments of American consumerism, Black Friday and the Holiday Shopping Season, occur at the end of the year, the time when corporations are reviewing their financial years and looking most fervently into charitable donations. But it’s certainly no coincidence that Giving Tuesday occurs around this time.
Since the 92nd Street Y in New York City created Giving Tuesday as a response to things like Black Friday, Giving Tuesday benefits from the late-year timing. Nearly a third of all charitable giving occurs in December, and Giving Tuesday looks to capitalize on that tendency.
The charitable spirit encourages people and corporations to look for nonprofit giving opportunities, while conversely, it’s a time where it’s easy for nonprofits to encourage people to give.
Momentum & Preparation
The consistent and recurring nature of Giving Tuesday allows the occasion to have clear progression throughout the years. In 2020, we saw our clients at Cybergrants increase donations by 24% over their 2019 total. We processed over $9 million in just one day, and the number of unique organizations in participation with us increased by 49%.
The social media roots of the holiday lend it to being shared, and that phenomenon builds momentum from year to year. Organizations that don’t participate see the conversation and want to be involved next year.
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The great part about the consistency of Giving Tuesday is that these organizations and their counterpart nonprofits know exactly when the next one will be. They’ve got an entire year to prepare, ask others about their experiences or best practices, and look inward at their organization to see how much they can give and where the money should go.
Awareness & Education
This opportunity for preparation is especially important for nonprofits and other organizations looking for funds to further their mission. Because Giving Tuesday is a charity catalyst in many ways, nonprofits can use this occasion to raise awareness of their cause.
These nonprofits simply wouldn’t exist without awareness and donations from the public. Not only do they use Giving Tuesday to give them better financial standing going into the new year, but they also should use this time to lay the seeds that will grow into more giving in the future.
Educating corporations and the public about a nonprofit cause will pay further dividends in the future. Corporate social responsibility, at its best, is a symbiotic relationship between corporations and nonprofits. Giving Tuesday is a chance for both parties to enter into a financial partnership alongside an informative one.
Build For the Future
With Giving Tuesday growing year after year, corporations need to understand that they have a significant role to play. Though we all want businesses to think about CSR year-round, it can be a daunting prospect to just dive in.
Giving Tuesday offers a clear, easy point of entry for corporations to begin their CSR efforts. They’ll be able to take time to prepare, they have a clear place to go to review the efforts and success of others, and they’ll be able to educate themselves on the nonprofits working in their area.
The clarity and consistency of Giving Tuesday make it absolutely essential to CSR, and we should all encourage as many people and corporations to take part as possible.
For information on creating a Corporate Social Responsibility campaign that goes beyond Giving Tuesday, please download our whitepaper on Managing a Successful Long-Term Giving Program!
