Third Annual #GivingTuesday Raises $45.7 Million for Charity (Re-Posted from Philanthropy News Digest)

Well done, everyone!  Let’s keep it going all through the year.

December 5, 2014

This year’s #GivingTuesday activities raised a total of $45.7 million for charities, according to initial estimates tallied by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy with support from the Case Foundation.

Based on contributions to nonprofits tracked by five donation processing platforms — Blackbaud, DonorPerfect, GlobalGiving,Network for Good, and Razoo — online donations made on December 2 totaled $34.9 million, while offline donations processed as of noon on December 3 amounted to an additional $10.8 million. Results for the day-long event are expected to increase substantially as offline donations are processed. Initial data indicate that the total amount raised during this year’s event was up at least 63 percent over the estimated $28.09 million raised, primarily online, during last year’s event. In addition, the number of donations processed this year is estimated to have increased at least 53 percent, while the average gift amount was estimated to be up 6 percent.

Launched in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y in New York City and the United Nations Foundation, #GivingTuesday has evolved into a global movement that counts fifteen thousand participating nonprofits and twenty thousand partner organizations. Driven largely by social media and online giving campaigns, this year’s event saw the sharing of nearly seven hundred thousand tweets with the #GivingTuesday hashtag, an increase of 159 percent from 2013.

“Just as Cyber Monday and Black Friday are key indicators of consumer sentiment and economic health, this data on #GivingTuesday can serve as an indicator of the health of our giving economy,” said Case Foundation co-founder and CEO Jean Case.

“It’s encouraging that early results already indicate that Americans donated $45 million on #GivingTuesday this year, highlighting their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others,” said Una Osili, director of research for the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “As tremendous as that amount is, though, #GivingTuesday is not just about the money that is raised, it is also about people and nonprofits engaging with each other to improve the world. In just three short years, the number of people making contributions and the number and types of nonprofits of all sizes receiving those gifts has increased dramatically.”

“Significant Growth in Online Giving Seen on #GivingTuesday 2014, Initial Data From Major Donation Processing Platforms Show.” Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy Press Release 12/03/2014.Sheila Herrling. “#GivingTuesday Moves From Campaign to Tradition.” Case Foundation Blog Post12/03/2014.

#GivingTuesday2014; TODAY, Let’s Start Something Awesome!

Hey!  Happy #GivingTuesday!  Black Friday and #CyberMonday sales are over; actually, the TV commercials and ads on my Facebook and other social media sites keep reminding me that these sales are STILL ON.

Okay, fine, but we can ignore those.  We have arrived at our destination: #GivingTuesday!  Yay, let’s celebrate!…

No, not exactly.  The point behind this whole #GivingTuesday movement is not to land at some specific, fixed point in time (sorry if that sounds more like some “timey-wimey” line of dialogue from Doctor Who).  We should consider today a celebration of the start of doing more:

• Spending more time volunteering
• Giving more, if that is financial feasible for us
• Doing more to spread the word about those causes most important to us
• Loving more
• Being more

Don’t let today be an end of things.  Let it be the beginning.  Use every tool at your disposal – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, e-mail, LinkedIn, Waze (yep, share directions to your church or nearest shelter), whatever may be the next new “thing” that is to come – to keep the story going.

What story?  Whatever moves you.  Whatever you want to share.

Keep on doing good. 

READY?

SET?

GO!

#GivingTuesday2014 ~ The #Unselfie … Church*.

Today is Cyber Monday!  But I am still thinking, and running on and on and on, about #GivingTuesday.

I know; it isn’t always cool to talk about church.  If you do, you open yourself up to all sorts of silliness:

• You may be assumed to be an Ultra-Conservative, gun-toting patriot who lives by the gospel of Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck, if you are a Christian.  Or worse,
• If you are Catholic, you are a staunch Right-To-Lifer who has no tolerance for, or forgiveness of, those who are not you.  Or worse still,
• If you are Muslim…well, Sean and Glenn (and their buddy Rush) will point out the FACT that you are indeed a terrorist.  Worst of all,
• Jews descended directly from those who orchestrated the execution of the rabble-rousing Jesus benJoseph, that pain -in-the-ass troublemaker from Nazareth.  Why else would good Christians call ’em Christ Killers?

We who are deeply involved in our Faith Communities know better.  These are places where those who are hurting can find support, succor and, in many cases, GREAT FOOD.  Many find a family.

So don’t forget to support wherever it is that you worship.  Perhaps, plant your “seat” in one of its seats.

Church; I’ll show you mine if you show me yours…

[*Or Synagogue, or Temple, or Mosque, or store front…]

#GivingTuesday2014 ~ The #Unselfie … Another Cause That I Support.

#GivingTuesday2014 ~ The #Unselfie … What Causes Do You Support?

If you have been following the #GivingTuesday phenomenon for the past six days, you likely have seen a number of #Unselfies with individuals sharing those causes and organizations that are most important to them.  I am no different.  During the days to come I will share some #Unselfies with the names of those organizations that I cherish.

Hopefully those intense eyes (which really belong to yours truly; I did not download some creepy eyes .jpg) don’t distract from the intended message of today’s #unselfie…

#GivingTuesday2014 ~ The Unselfie…

The Unselfie is a fun aspect of the Giving Tuesday movement.  It takes the self-centered, self-aggrandizing “Selfie” and turns it on its ear.  Rather than showing off yourself, you can turn the attention of your followers on Instagram, Flickr, SnapChat, etc. out to the world at large and those whose needs are greater than yours.

Make it a point during the next 11 days to post a few unselfies sharing those charities or causes that are most important to you.  Who knows?  You may be the engine of positive change in your corner of the world!

I will be updating the featured photo for this blog every day, sharing the causes and charities that I love.

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday2014…Think Global, Act Local

We may not have much, if any, discretionary money to contribute to our favorite charitable causes but we do have one thing even more precious: Time.

As the countdown to #GivingTuesday, December 2nd, continues I encourage you to think about possible ways to give of your time and energy:

• Help your local food bank deliver Thanksgiving dinners to families in need
• Help serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local homeless shelter or feeding program
• Locate the nearest chapter of #ToysForTots and help to distribute Christmas gifts to local, deserving children
• Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer the whole year, not just during the Holidays

Whatever you choose to do, keep at it.  Make volunteering a regular part of your life.

Most importantly, don’t try to solve the world’s problems; the burdensome nature of that approach soon causes burnout.  If everyone were to do even a little bit to help their neighbor, the World’s Ills would soon seem less overwhelming.  Perhaps then they could be eliminated?

#ThinkGlobalActLocal

#GivingTuesday Is Almost Here ~ December 2nd

Two weeks from today – December 2, 2014 – #GivingTuesday will be back. This annual day helps to elevate the principal of philanthropy and charitable works to a prominent level.

The goal of this yearly event is to get folks thinking all the time about giving back to:

• their favorite charity
• their church
• their school
• perform volunteer service
• think beyond their own immediate needs and circles

Take some time during the next two weeks to visit the #GivingTuesday website to learn how you can help promote this important day.  Then get out and do some giving of your own!

BIG’s Blog: A Changing World for Fundraising – Re-Posted with Permission

August 22, 2013

At last year’s National Catholic Development Conference, Susan Raymond, Ph.D., from Changing Our World, Inc., gave a fascinating and incredibly timely keynote address on the changing demographic makeup of the United States and its impact on fundraising in the years to come. It certainly was a wake-up call to many of those in attendance that I talked to.

Recently, The Chronicle of Philanthropy ran an article, Raising Money in a Changing World, highlighting many of the same themes in America’s demographic transition. In the article, they highlighted Emmett Carson, the president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, saying that nonprofits should already be laying the groundwork in learning about the wishes and hopes of new donors. “Charities that don’t recognize demographic trends are going to shrink and ultimately go out of business,” says Carson. “The populations in the past that have supported them so spectacularly will not have the base of support going forward. This is adapt, change or die.”

Pretty strong words, but Susan Raymond said exactly the same thing in detail a year ago.

Here are just a few of the highlights from The Chronicle of Philanthropy article.

White Americans will no longer be the majority. By 2045, people of color will outnumber whites in the U.S.

Women are gaining economic power. 40% of women with children under 18 are the prime breadwinners in their households. And of these, 37% are married and earn more than their husbands. Nearly half of students now enrolled in law and medical schools are women.

Today’s young adults will push philanthropy to change. Those born beginning in the early 1980s are more demanding, seeking concrete results from their gifts (investments). Charities that tap into their desire for hands-on engagement will win.

Baby Boomers are reaching their prime giving years. Boomers are moving into the age when people start getting organized about their philanthropy and Baby Boomers being 76 million strong will begin to impact philanthropy by the end of this decade.

Secularism is on the rise.  This is a tough one for faith-based organizations now that one in five Americans now claims no religious affiliation. Over the last few decades, religious giving has decreased as a share of all giving. And even donors who are driven by faith are showing more flexibility about where their money goes.

It is way more than just being online, but if you are not online…

Join us!

-Mike

http://bigthoughts4u.blogspot.com/2013/08/bigs-blog-changing-world-for-fundraising.html