What is GivingTuesday?
GivingTuesday is a global movement for giving and volunteering that takes place each year after Black Friday. It was started in the United States in 2012 and Canada the following year.
This year, GivingTuesday is December 1, 2020, marking the beginning of the giving season – a shift from buying to giving – with an altruistic holiday.
What can I do to participate in GivingTuesday?
Everyone can participate in GivingTuesday, and participating means joining a global movement by giving your voice, time, goods, or money and being generous.
It's easy for nonprofits and businesses to launch a campaign for GivingTuesday by encouraging people to give on this special day.
Here are 5 tips to get the most out of your GivingTuesday campaign:
1. Be Proactive
GivingTuesday is five weeks away, and there's still plenty of time to build anticipation and excitement. Put together a work back schedule and be specific with plans 30 days out, 2 weeks out, one week out and 24 hours before the day. You can download a Campaign Planner Workbook here.
2. Register to be an official GivingTuesday partner
Anyone can participate in GivingTuesday, but to be an official partner, you must be a registered charity or nonprofit, and you must have a GivingTuesday initiative. Are you a school, business or community group? No problem! You just need to commit to participating in a project that will directly benefit a registered charity or nonprofit. If you're registering in the US, visit this website. If you're in Canada, this is where you register.
3. Collect donations from all GivingTuesday promotions
Let's say you send out two GivingTuesday emails, one a month before the day and the other two weeks before the day. These emails will contain information about GivingTuesday, but you should also give your email readers the chance to donate right away. Make it easy for them to contribute to your cause at any time and add a donate now button to all email promotions.
4. Get creative with Social Media
GivingTuesday.Org put together a handy Social Media Toolkit that has sample social media posts and ideas broken down by channel (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.) They even included tips for video and live streaming! Remember always to use the #GivingTuesday hashtag so that your messages pop up in social media results.
Giving back isn't cancelled. Ahead of #GivingTuesday (December 1), we're sharing ways you can express generosity right from your own home. (Insert ideas for how folks can get involved in your mission or help move the needle on your cause, right from their own home)
- Example from the Social Media Toolkit
5. Offer a Matching Gift Program
Finding a matching partner for GivingTuesday is a win-win for businesses and charities. It's an excellent opportunity for businesses to promote corporate social responsibility, and for charities, donations are matched, and donors are likely to give higher amounts. It's proven that donors will give more when they know that their donation will go further. Here is an example of how United Way Centraide created a matching program for GivingTuesday:
