#GivingTuesday marks opening day of giving season

Black Friday, Cyber Monday…Giving Tuesday?

That’s right.  After two days devoted to shopping — in the stores and online — why NOT have a day dedicated to kicking off the giving season?  That’s exactly what #GivingTuesday is to the thousands of nonprofits, companies and individual people who took part in the new movement in 2012.

And…drumroll please…#GivingTuesday is BACK for another year — Tuesday, December 3, 2013.  To be honest, it never really went away, just took a little rest after the holiday giving season ended.  During that time, the amazing team of advisors who came up with the idea stepped back to take stock.

The results of year one were pretty incredible, according to Henry Timms, the deputy executive director of the 92nd Street Y, the guy who — if you had to pick one person — was smack in the middle of kickstarting this movement.  The 92nd Street Y served as both catalyst and incubator for the effort, working closely with the UN Foundation, with insights from a really smart team of advisors that included Mathew Bishop of The Economist, Rob Reich of Stanford University, Adam Hirsch of Edelman, Sharon Hirsch (formerly of Mashable).

More than 2,500 organizations participated in #GivingTuesday in some way, putting their own nonprofit, corporate or individual interpretations on the day.  The idea, in general, is to spread the message of giving to a wider audience, to change the conversation about giving and make it an even more universal thing.  Looking at Blackbaud data alone, we processed over $10 million in online donations on November 27th, 2012, which was a 53% increase when compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving the previous year.  Other data sources showed increases as well.

Because #GivingTuesday is a movement, it’s open to anyone who wants to be involved.  All you need to do is decide how you want to mark the day – with a few gift, a volunteer effort, whatever.  It’s up to you.  You can learn more here and by signing up to be a partner.

We are really pleased to be doing our part on the advisory team AND by championing the movement itself.  Get involved!  Join us in being a part of #GivingTuesday this year!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Hutchisson

Rachel Hutchisson is the vice president of corporate citizenship and philanthropy at Blackbaud, headquartered in Charleston, SC.  She is responsible for the company’s global corporate citizenship efforts, a role that allows her to leverage her 20+ years of experience of working with nonprofit partners.  She is a member of the board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International, the Giving Institute (producers of Giving USA), and the Coastal Community Foundation.  She is also a Past President of the AFP SC Lowcountry chapter. Rachel is a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and received a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.  A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she is a Renaissance Weekend participant and was the recipient of the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Influential Women in Business Rising Star Award.  Rachel is an avid soccer fan and spends far too much time driving to remote parts of the state to watch her children play.  Connect with Rachel on Twitter at @RachelHutchssn or on LinkedIn.