Giving Smart: Giving Tuesday ? Trending to Tradition in RVA
Giving Tuesday ? Trending to Tradition in RVA
What a kickoff to the holiday season! Giving Tuesday, an online giving movement now in its 3rd year, continues to grow at an inspiring rate. Preliminary national results show that $45.7 million were raised on December 2nd, which is a 63% increase from 2013. The movement that started as a response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday has solidified its position as an annual tradition that is gaining more momentum and partners each year.
?Just as Cyber Monday and Black Friday are key indicators of consumer sentiment and economic health, this data on #GivingTuesday can serve as an indicator of the health of our giving economy,? said Jean Case, co-founder and CEO of the Case Foundation. ?We?re excited about what we saw yesterday, as millions of people came together to support more than 15,000 nonprofits across the globe, demonstrating the true spirit of the holidays and proving that, collectively, small gifts can have big results.?
Giving Tuesday is a great example of the power of the internet, the immediacy and influence of online communication and the rise of online giving as part of nonprofit fundraising strategy. The annual day of giving is primarily driven by social media and the vast majority of the funds donated were given through crowdsourcing channels and nonprofit websites.
It would have been hard to escape news about Giving Tuesday on December 2nd as it was all over social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others. There were nearly 700,000 tweets about #GivingTuesday seen by as many as 250 million accounts, an increase of 159% over last year. As you can see in the picture below, Richmond?s participation in Giving Tuesday did not go unnoticed.
Thanks to your generosity, GiveRichmond experienced its single largest day of giving on the site (outside of The Amazing Raise) since its launch in 2010.
Over $27,000 was donated in support of 61 local nonprofits. This increase in activity, which exceeds giving in the entire month of December last year, was spurred in part by The Community Foundation?s offer to cover transaction fees for all donations made through the site that day. The regional impact of Giving Tuesday is much bigger, however, with several organizations running campaigns through their own websites and others whose efforts focused on volunteerism.
We were elated to see our community embrace this day of giving. While we are no strangers to the generosity of our region, we are continually amazed by the support for organizations improving the quality of life here.
Giving Tuesday’s Over – Now What?
Give Giving Cards to family, friends, colleagues, board members and clients to keep the spirit of local giving alive through the holiday season and beyond!
A Giving Card provides an opportunity for inspiration. The recipient will designate a charity of their choice and your gift will go on to support the work of the charity and the people they serve. Your gift has made a difference three-fold.
GiveRichmond/GiveSouthsideVA is a program of The Community Foundation Serving Richmond & Central Virginia (TCF). As strategic partners with ConnectVA, TCF and GiveRichmond/GiveSouthsdeVA encourage smart giving by identifying trends and success stories in local philanthropy through their Giving Smart blog series. If you have ideas about topics you would like to have covered, please comment below!
