A development director and I were talking about her end-of-year fundraising.
When we got to Giving Tuesday, right in the thick of everything else, she sighed heavily. "Giving Tuesday was a big washout for us last year. And the Year before. I wish we didn't have to do it."
"Then don't do it," I said.
She was silent. "Really?" she said, at last. "Is that allowed? It seems like something we should be part of as members of the nonprofit community."
There's no should about it. Giving Tuesday may or may not be right for you.
It's a big fundraising deal for some organizations. They should keep on doing it. They should look for ways to make it even better. More emails? More social media? More noise in general?
At the same time, Giving Tuesday is a nothing-burger for other organizations. They should stop spending time on it completely.
Your decision to be part of the day should be based solely on its effectiveness as a fundraising tool for you.
If you've never done it and you don't know if it'll work, I recommend you find out. Dip your toe in the Giving Tuesday water with a small campaign. See if your donors leap up and grab the ring, or just ignore it.
If it works, it works. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster; just better than the alternative, which is either some other campaign around the same time, or saving your energy for the last week of the year, which is a big deal for nearly everyone -- regardless of their Giving Tuesday success.
You don't owe Giving Tuesday anything. Like anything else, it's a tool that might work for you, might not. Giving Tuesday will do just fine -- with you or without you.
