Giving Tuesday (December 1 this year) gets a lot of hype in our industry.
Does it deserve it? And more important, should Giving Tuesday be part of your online fundraising program?
I don't know the correct answer for you, but I do know there are two other days that are likely more important for your online fundraising than Giving Tuesday....
December 31
In the US, this is THE online giving day. It dwarfs Giving Tuesday. If you aren't taking steps to maximize the last day of the year, you are missing the boat. If for some reason you have a choice between promoting Giving Tuesday and promoting December 31 -- pick the latter!
Local Giving Days
A few years ago, I was involved in a large-scale study of online giving. When we looked at giving by date across several years, we saw the huge late-December spike. But we saw another spike earlier in the year that was nearly as big. We had no idea what caused it until we looked deeper: Nearly all of that surge in giving was happening in Minnesota. It was Give Minnesota, the granddaddy of local giving days, as far as I know.
Local giving days are typically promoted by community foundations. They involve lots of hype and often some kind of matching funds.
GiveBIG, the giving day in Seattle, raised $16.3 million for local organizations earlier this year. Several organizations I know raised jaw-dropping amounts. (Read the recap of the day here.)
If there's a giving day in your area, jump on it! If there isn't, start talking it up. There should be one!
I'm not saying Giving Tuesday is pointless. It does seem to motivate some donors, and as an online giving campaign, it's not bad.
But December 31 and local giving days are both better bets.
