Is Giving Tuesday Worth the Effort?

While we’d never tell you to ignore Giving Tuesday, here at Serenity NCG, we think there are better ways to invest your time in your fundraising efforts.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a day to encourage people to make a difference and impact their communities during the holiday season. It takes place on the Tuesday following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year it lands on December 4. 

Over the past 12 years, Giving Tuesday has become a massive day of giving, with over $3.1 billion raised for nonprofits in the United States last year. 

Wow, that’s great, right?

It does sound great. However, with 1.8 million nonprofit organizations in the US, that’s an average of about $1700 raised per organization. With everyone trying to get a piece of that success, fundraisers on Giving Tuesday have a lot of competition.

So what should we do?

Acknowledge Giving Tuesday. Mention it in your newsletter or make a social media post. Encourage donations to your organization. Engage volunteers to give their time to your organization to make a meaningful impact on that day.

As for fundraising, this is still a crucial time of year. More giving happens over the last 8 weeks of the year than the other 44 weeks. A good fundraising strategy will include the whole year, with extra attention paid to the final 8 weeks. (Contact Serenity NCG if you want to talk through some ideas!) Don’t limit yourself to a day everyone else is also focused on!

What if we want to do a day of giving?

If you think a day of giving would benefit your organization and resonate with your donors, go for it! We encourage you to think about your organization’s history and mission and choose a day that is meaningful to you and your community. Seek out matching gifts, set up fundraisers, do good as a community, and have fun with it! 

We can’t wait to see the creative things you come up with.