I really don't want to criticize anything that encourages people to make charitable gifts. That's a good and important goal.
But I do think most nonprofits should think twice before throwing in their lot with Giving Tuesday (which, in case you live on a frozen asteroid and haven't heard, it today). It's an attempt to create a national day of giving, and it's getting a lot of traction.
That's happening because so many nonprofits have jumped on the Giving Tuesday bandwagon (more than 8,000, according to the website), along with everyone from President Obama to Bill Gates. Many are going all out to make the day a big one, doing things like ...
- Posting on social media for several days leading up to Giving Tuesday.
- Sending out emails reminding donors that Giving Tuesday is coming up.
- Making it a prominent feature on their websites for days or even weeks ahead of the event.
All of those tactics are things you'd do if your goal were to support Giving Tuesday.
But that is not your goal (unless you are at the Giving Tuesday organization). Your goal is to raise funds for your organization. Using your time and resources to support Giving Tuesday is misfeasance, unless you're better off on the bandwagon than off.
A way to tell whether you're better on or off is to ask which fundraising offer is stronger for you:
- Give to our organization because it's Giving Tuesday.
- Give to accomplish something specific through our organization.
For most professionally built fundraising programs, #2 is the clear answer. But not for all. If you are not able (or not allowed) to articulate your work in the form of donor-facing fundraising offers, Giving Tuesday might give you a boost.
Anyway, there's another Giving Tuesday that's even more likely to boost your efforts: Tuesday, December 31. The biggest day of the fundraising year. That's where you can really raise some funds.
