Gimmick

A few years ago, after the Fundraising Institute Australia NSW End of Year Celebration, I had a debate with another supplier about whether #GivingTuesday was anything more than a gimmick. I told the supplier she may think #GivingTuesday is a gimmick. But, it is a gimmick which works.

#GivingTuesday, founded in 2012, is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Sound like a gimmick you want to be involved in? Read on.

Background of Global Event

Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the US) and the widely recognised shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. This year’s #GivingTuesday is on 27 November 2018 – just 47 days away,

How to Get Involved

One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community and in your non-profit organisation. #GivingTuesday has created a directory to help the general public find organisations, charities, events and more in their own community. As I have written in prior years, it may be 16 October, but it is not too late for your non-profit organisation to be part of #GivingTuesday.

The first thing you need to do is to register to participate and join the movement.

Thereafter, download the #GivingTuesday toolkit and put it to use.

Make GivingTuesday part of your year-end appeal by capitalising on the momentum and the publicity created by the massive giving day. Consider a volunteer drive you might conduct. Your CRM supplier may even be joining the bandwagon in Australia to help fuel the energy generated from this single focused day of donations of time and money. Salesforce.org and Blackbaud are engaged globally.

Giving days are successful at universities and across charitable organisations worldwide. These are campaigns which attract a lot of attention in the media and across social media platforms. People want to join movements and become engaged. In addition to the publicity, giving days generate a lot of funding in a short timeframe.

Giving days take a lot of work to organise. Why not join a campaign already created and tested worldwide?

A Gimmick

OK, I admit it. #GivingTuesday may be a little gimmicky. However, it focuses attention on the need to give back to our communities in a season filled with celebrations and a little bit of self-indulgence. Any gimmick which has raised more than $300 million and has over 150 countries on board is one I am happy to align with my company and myself. Let’s not criticise the good generated by #GivingTuesday and, instead, give the campaign a try in Australia. You will not regret jumping on the bandwagon and your organisation will likely benefit substantially.