| How do I participate in Giving Tuesday (and should I)? | If want to be part of the conversation, raise money, find volunteers, or build your network then this day is worth considering. |
Brace yourself. Every year, some time before Giving Tuesday in November, someone at every nonprofit brings up the annual event. “Does Giving Tuesday work for us?” they’ll ask. Folks will look at each other. If you’ve done it in the past, you’ll have opinions. If you’ve never participated, someone might say, “I don’t know. Should we try it?”
This article helps to make that conversation easier. We’ll look at the ways Giving Tuesday can help nonprofits (especially small nonprofits) and some of the potential drawbacks.
If you’re considering participating for the first time, remember that simple is best. Participation doesn’t have to take more than 15 minutes of your time. In fact, small nonprofits shouldn’t invest more in Giving Tuesday ideas than they can generate in revenue or impact.
If you aren’t familiar with Giving Tuesday, it’s an annual day when nonprofits around the world acknowledge the importance of donors and volunteers.
Giving Tuesday was a reaction to the consumerist focus of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, encouraging people to donate to charitable causes in lieu of (or to atone for) shopping sprees. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the two busiest shopping days of the year, and Giving Tuesday became a way to encourage similar interest in donating and volunteering.
Giving Tuesday now bills itself as the “the world’s largest generosity movement.” Since 2012, it’s grown to encourage giving every Tuesday and increased focus on sharing fundraising knowledge amongst nonprofits.
The first benefit of participating in Giving Tuesday is being part of a conversation that’s happening in your community.
Like Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday largely focuses on online communities, with social media hashtags and email campaigns spreading charitable spirit. Even if you don’t see it as a fundraising opportunity, so many people talk about it within the nonprofit community that you’ll see buzz.
You’ll see it, and you’ll wonder if you should be part of it. For most organizations, there’s no reason to ignore it:
Many nonprofit organizations don’t ask for donations often enough, especially on social media. It’s common to focus on the news and issues at the centre of your cause, which is obviously the most important part of your work.
Giving Tuesday is a reminder that it’s okay to ask people to support your cause financially. The message doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to take a lot of effort. Just do it, give people a chance to contribute, and see what happens.
If you rely on volunteers, you can use Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to ask people to give their time. Giving isn’t a cash-only thing. Tell people how to join in, highlight the great work volunteers do, and build your volunteer base for the future.
Whether you take time to recognize your peers or forge some new friendships with Giving Tuesday allies, you may find new contacts and partners through the Giving Tuesday network.
In recent years, fundraisers have focused more on regional Giving Tuesday networks (the Canadian network is particularly strong), and affinity groups (like organizations in the ocean sector highlighting global goals).
Giving Tuesday isn’t a magic wand, and its ties to American consumer culture mean that it won’t be compelling to everyone. For some organizations, Giving Tuesday risky. You may want to consider the following pitfalls:
If you have another event or appeal targeting the same audience right around Giving Tuesday, you don’t want to confuse people. Instead of sending out a special appeal for Giving Tuesday, try one of these approaches:
Some causes and communities just don’t fit well with Giving Tuesday’s brand. The event’s roots are tied to shopping and the main impact measures are the amount of money raised (a whopping $2.7-billion recently).
There may be geographic, financial, linguistic, cultural, or technological reasons why Giving Tuesday isn’t a good fit for you, and that’s fine.
Only invest in Giving Tuesday to the extent that you can get something out of it for your cause, with the caveat that Giving takes multiple forms. If the cost of participating is higher than any benefit you might gain, then skip it.
You might participate in Giving Tuesday and nothing happens. Honestly, that’s a risk with every campaign or activity.
To minimize this risk, make sure you have a compelling call to action. Try to avoid some of the worst Giving Tuesday tropes:
Don’t tell people to give time or money because it’s Giving Tuesday. That’s insider information and it’s not interesting outside of the nonprofit nerd space. Focus on the momentum you’re experiencing in your work, and on the cause your supporters care about.
As with any campaign, show people why you do your work and give them a way to connect. Who are they helping? What are they changing? Giving isn’t about you or your organization: it’s about the world you inhabit. Paint a picture.
Giving Tuesday is every November, giving time for your small nonprofit to generate ideas. If you haven’t had ‘The Talk’ amongst your staff yet, you can be the person who says “I have one more question” in the next meeting or Slack chat.
Let them know if you think Giving Tuesday is a good fit (or why it isn’t) and put it on your communications agenda.
If you decide to participate, go to the Giving Tuesday website to register your organization and download one of the toolkits to grab the relevant logos, hashtags, or messaging ideas. The partner network and toolkits are great resources if you want to create a communications campaign; and they can help avoid Giving Tuesday taking more than 15 minutes of your time.
And if you choose not to participate, that’s fine too – just talking about the event, and how supporters give, helps clarify (or remember) who you are talking to, what you are asking them to do, and why it matters so very much.
Q: How do I … participate in Giving Tuesday?
A: Consider if and how your organization can best launch a Giving Tuesday campaign, and take advantage of the Giving Tuesday networks. If you’re a small nonprofit, Giving Tuesday ideas may be a good fit for cause.
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