Giving Tuesday

Thanksgiving was last week, a day where we all sit down and eat with our families or friends and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Thanksgiving is a day where we commemorate the help that Indigenous People or Native Americans gave to the pilgrims so that they would survive the season.

Every year, the day after Thanksgiving (the holiday falls on the fourth Thursday of November), is a day that has been dubbed Black Friday, a name given in recent decades that refers to the heavy foot traffic that occurs in stores, since this day is the busiest day of the entire shopping year. Although Thanksgiving is a day where we commemorate the indigenous people it has also become synonymous with shopping. Now, as much fun as shopping the major sales that occur on Black Friday is (fun may not be the correct word), the nonprofit world has its own Black Friday-esque holiday, one that works in quite the reverse of the consumerist nature of Black Friday, called Giving Tuesday. 

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday, which falls on December 3rd this year, always falls out on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It is considered to be the biggest day of the year for charitable giving, and though the self-declared holiday has only been around since 2012, it’s made a huge impact. The idea for Giving Tuesday was announced in October of 2012, and the first actual annual Giving Tuesday was launched on November 27th of that same year. Giving Tuesday was founded by a partnership between the 92nd St Y and the United Nations. It has spun out into a global movement over the next seven years and has changed the way that people perceive the act of giving to others. 

The three founding partners on this initiative were Skype, Mashable (a technology company), and Cisco, with other companies announcing their own initiatives after the fact. Those companies included Microsoft, Sony, ALDO, Case Foundation, Phoenix House, Heifer International, and Starwood Hotels. That was only the beginning because Giving Tuesday has grown exponentially since its inception, within one year, the amount donated to nonprofits doubled, with even more organizations and partners taking part. 

Watch Your Numbers

Here are some statistics about Giving Tuesday, that display the magnitude of this movement, and it’s growth in the near-decade of its existence.

• In 2012, Giving Tuesday raised a total of $10.1 million, which then doubled to $28 million in 2013.
• In the following years, the numbers continued to rise, with 2014 showing 45.7 million total raised and 2015 116.7 million, 2016 $166-177 million, 2017,  $274 million.
• 2018 seemed even more impactful with a total of $380 million dollars raised! 

Some interesting facts from Giving Tuesday’s over the years: 

• For 2017’s Giving Tuesday, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $2 million in matching funds.  
• Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced that they would be donating 99% of their wealth on Giving Tuesday 2015. 
• For Giving Tuesday 2018, Facebook and Paypal jointly announced that they would be matching up to 7 million dollars in funds.

Even 2019 promises to be even more grandiose than previous years, with scores of corporate partnerships like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Fidelity Charitable, The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, UJA Federation New York, and many others. Giving Tuesday’s 2019 predictions look to exceed 502 million dollars raised, a 26% increase from 2018.  

Thousands of organizations participate in Giving Tuesday, and nonprofits, schools, and small businesses go to the Giving Tuesday’s Website to receive their toolkit, get registered for Giving Tuesday, and reference additional resources, as well as connecting with Giving Tuesday in their country. 

Anyone interested in participating in Giving Tuesday in any way can go over to Giving Tuesday’s website, in which they list the multiple ways that individuals or groups can participate. There are a great deal of ways to contribute other than just by donating funds, including giving canned goods, donating time to help others, using social media to promote an important cause that helps communities, and more.  

How will you participate in #GivingTuesday? Comment below.