mangostock/Shutterstock Human compassion may be woefully absent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but it's set to bounce back the following Tuesday stronger than ever. #GivingTuesday is expected to smash old records for charitable donations as it has each of the last two years, a result of the marketing and social media muscle surrounding the event. Founded in 2012 by New York Jewish community center the 92nd Street Y, and the U.N. Foundation, #GivingTuesday dedicates the day after Cyber Monday to charitable works. Online giving on the day has risen 270 percent since 2011. More importantly, according to Asha Curran, director of the 92nd Street Y's Center for Innovation and Social Impact, #GivingTuesday has started an important conversation about caring. Dollars and Assistance "The number of dollars raised is really important," Curran said, emphasizing that the founders of the movement want to see all charitable groups succeed in their fundraising goals. "But I think that seeing people talk about giving in a whole new way and seeing them talk about it all kinds of different contexts and in all kinds of different geographic locations is equally meaningful." That conversation itself speaks to #GivingTuesday's success in answering a deeper human need. Like the famously viral ice-bucket challenge, #GivingTuesday offers people an opportunity to do good in any way they can. That impact can be impossible to measure but hints of it exist in real dollars, as donations to the charities that carry the torch of our concern for one another have shot up in the last two years. According to The NonProfit Times, donations on #GivingTuesday in 2013 amounted to $32.33 million processed on five online platforms: Blackbaud, PayPal, Razoo, Network for Good and DonorPerfect. Blackbaud, which handles contributions for large nonprofits, reported that it processed $19.2 million in online donations on the day, a 90 percent increase over the prior year. Blackbaud also reported the average donation it processed rose by 40% in 2013 to $142 from $102 in 2012. 16,000 Partners #GivingTuesday had more than 2,500 partner entities in 2012. That shot to more than 10,000 global partners in 2013 and greater than 16,000 partners in the U.S. and more globally. Quoted in The NonProfit Times, Blackbaud's director of corporate citizenship and philanthropy Rachel Hutchisson said #GivingTuesday "didn't just borrow. It didn't take people's giving on Dec. 31 and have it happen earlier. The data strongly suggests that #GivingTuesday was additive" to most groups' fundraising efforts. In addition, the event has caught fire beyond U.S. borders, where it is often more about community service and caring than about dollar donations. In the U.S., a big part of #GivingTuesday's appeal is as an antidote to the rampant consumerism of the biggest U.S. holiday shopping weekend of the year. But its popularity overseas proves it is more than that. "Global expansion has been really inspiring, especially because it shows that creating a shared day for giving has a role in places where Black Friday and Cyber Monday don't even exist," Curran said, emphasizing that the invitation to help one another strikes an important chord in people everywhere. "A lot of those global examples are not based around fundraising, but are entirely volunteer efforts," she said. More Mentions on Social Media Designed from the outset to be a decentralized movement rather than a PR campaign led by 92Y, #GivingTuesday last year outstripped Cyber Monday for mentions on social media, Curran said. "People really taking it on themselves to spread the word."
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