The turkey has been consumed (and so have the leftovers). Black Friday came and went with only a few bumps and bruises for Americans. Cyber Monday also came and went with consumer dollars flying all over the information super highway. Are you ready for one last hurdle? Today, is #GivingTuesday, which is the day that the non-profit sector is trying to establish in the minds of Americans as the day to make online charitable contributions of time and money to your favorite charities.
Two years ago, DonorDreams blog featured this ePhilanthropy inspired holiday in its “Mondays with Marissa” series with a post titled “Five ways your non-profit can participate in #GivingTuesday“. In 2013, we spotlighted this special day in a post titled “Is your non-profit ready for the homestretch of 2013?”
This holiday is so new that I almost forgot about it this morning until I opened my email inbox.
My first #GivingTuesday solicitation came from an organization named A Safe Haven. Their email highlights a “challenge” that ends tonight to instill a sense of urgency among its donors.
The second email solicitation this morning came from Mikva Challenge. This organization is promoting a link to a video featuring one of their members. The video highlights their client participating in a program they call Project Soapbox.
Out of curiosity, I went to Google this morning and did a search on #GivingTuesday. Believe it or not, there are three paid ads featured at the top of my screen for the following agencies:
My magic crystal ball broke a long time ago, and I normally have a hard time predicting the future. However, it looks like #GivingTuesday, which is only a few years old, is starting to take root.
Of course, none of my favorite local charities appear to be participating this year. As I soaked this thought in, it got me wondering:
- Is your agency participating in #GivingTuesday this year? If so, what do your efforts look like?
- What strategies are you using to attract online donors?
- Did you participate last year? If so, what did you learn and what changes did you make between last year and this year?
- If you decided not to participate this year, why not? What went into making that decision for you?
- If you are looking at next year as your first foray into #GivingTuesday, what do you need to do in order to get your agency well positioned?
- Are you doing other things online at the end of the year that don’t correlate to #GivingTuesday?
Please scroll down and use the comment box to share your thoughts and experiences.
Here’s to your health! (And Happy #GivingTuesday)
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847
Really? None of your favorite local charities are participating? I’m crushed.
Great to see you posting a comment here, Lynne!
Yes, I clicked submit this morning and no more than 30 minutes later I saw something from United Way of Elgin in my inbox. You know what they say, “Timing is everything”.
Oh well, sorry about that. The good news is that the entire world can now see on my comment feed that UWE did participate. This is something. Right?
Happy Holidays, Lynne!