A movement to create an international day of giving is underway this holiday season.
Major charities and corporations have joined to start an International giving day called Giving Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year Giving Tuesday is Dec. 3.
According to the Giving Tuesday website, “#GivingTuesday is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season.”
Giving Tuesday began last year in 2012 with over 2,500 non-profit partners. Over $10 million online donations were made on Giving Tuesday last year, a 53% increase from the average amount of online donations. This year, expectations are even higher.
Giving Tuesday has sparked social media fire. The #GivingTuesday hashtag is the largest trending hashtag in the U.S. and is a trending conversation on Twitter.
The news about Giving Tuesday has reached 460 million social media users in the last month, and shares are increasing at a rapid rate. Approximately 61% of those comments were positive, 37% neutral, 1% negative. Neutral comments include statements like, “get ready for #givingtuesday.” Last year, over 50 million social media users spread the word. This year, since over 460 million social media users have tweeted or posted about #GivingTuesday, the spread of #GivingTuesday has increase 820% from the year before.
Giving Tuesday was originally dreamed up by a team at 92|Y, a New York City, Jewish-based charity. 92|Y quickly joined with powerful partners such as Ebay, the United Nations, and United Way to help expand their vision.
“#GivingTuesday allows us to create a new kind of community — across geographical borders — around the idea of ‘doing good,’” said Sol Adler, 92Y executive director.
“#GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping,” said 92|Y in a press release.
Any donations to 92|Y on this Giving Tuesday will be matched by an anonymous donator.
This year Utah’s United Way is asking for more than money on Dec. 3. The organization has called for Utah residents to give their time to causes that need support. United Way said giving time to local causes is another way to give this Giving Tuesday.
