What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is on November 27th and follows the shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
It is a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.
Some biggies have already lent their weight to help the movement get off the ground (Microsoft, Red Cross, Kiva, etc).
Why should you care?
Giving Tuesday is a movement, a cause, and conversation. Search #givingtuesday on Twitter and you will find a wealth of conversation around it. Google it and you see articles from Mashable and Forbes talking about it. This conversation is going on and will continue to amplify around your organization or business regardless of how you are involved.
All right I’m interested, now what?
First, join the cause. You can find out more information and add your name to the list of organizations or businesses by visiting givingtuesday.org. This is open to all businesses who will give to benefit a 501(c)3 or a 501(c)3 who is planning a #givingtuesday initiative. (This includes religious organizations!)
Second, incorporate it into your online communications in November and get the word out!
For a business: let your employees know about Giving Tuesday and offer to match their donations to a charity of their choice. Or offer an allotted amount to be given to one charity and ask your employees to put their favorite charities in a hat to be voted on when #givingtuesday arrives. Either way you are creating goodwill and contributing to helping those in need. Win-Win.
For a nonprofit: tie Giving Tuesday into your conversation with donors. Offer a match and provide incentives for new donors who give their first gift, or use it as a opportunity to create social media ambassadors who champion your organization on Facebook or Twitter.
Send an email letting your donors know about how they can take part in #givingtuesday by helping the charity they already support. Use social media to amplify the message and don’t forget about your website traffic. Your website will see in influx of new visitors to it over the next two months. What will they find when they land on your homepage? (That’s a conversation for another blog post.)
So what say you?
Are you planning to take part in #givingtuesday? Did you find this information helpful? If you have more questions or just want to say hello, please feel free to comment below and we can create our own converstation around #givingtuesday.
Lindsey Lind
Director of eCommunications, Oneicity
