Do you participate in #GivingTuesday? My little town has a lot of indie-owned stores, so Small Business Saturday is a big deal, and we also have a LOT of non-profits, so today my social media feeds are full of Giving Tuesday stories.
I enjoy giving a modest amount to several of the groups that do great work all year round. As a non-profit administrator, I know that small gifts add up!
Yep. I actually donated to my daughter’s old high school this year. They are trying to better fund their academic teams. Usually the money raised goes towards sports so I was excited to see something different this year.
I set something up through my business for employees to donate to our local food bank. It’s a great local charity, farmers donate produce too. It doesn’t require jumping through hoops to be able to get food. If you run short on a paycheck or something unexpected happens, if you have the need for groceries to feed your family they will provide for you. They also will help counsel and help with other needs as well. There was a time when my husband lost his job and I was 9 months pregnant that we could have used a helping hand but wouldn’t have qualified through official channels.
Yes…the non profit that I"m involved with is benefitting…looks like so far donations will pay for food and pee pads for a few months! And we’re hoping to get some match from Facebook/PayPal…
I donated to my high school this morning. There is a raffle for those who donated by a certain time. I won one of their logo insulated water bottle!! I am happy!!!
Don’t take this the wrong way…I run a non-profit program that is based within an academic department - so we rely on grants/donations to exist.
I have grown to “not like” Giving Tuesday. All forms of communication today - and actually since the weekend are inundated with asks for support. Often several times a day. In all ways - email, FB, Instagram, Twitter. Some are a little more gentle. Some are not.
It just feels over the top to me. 
I understand times of giving. I understand year end giving. This just feels like a contest as to you gets your $10, $100 or whatever dollars.
My program recently did an small donor “ask” to celebrate our 20th anniversary. I didn’t feel we could put out an ask again today - and I didn’t really want to be in the midst of the competition. So instead, today on Giving Tuesday I sent out email notes of thanks to those who donated to our recent drive - so “Giving Thanks” on “Giving Thursday”. On our social media I did the same - put out “Giving Thanks” to our volunteers, donors and program supporters. No asking, just thanking.
That said, I did pick a couple of local places to give a donation to. But really, I think the concept has become a bit savage!
I use today to review what I’m giving monthly contributions to and decide if I want to make any changes. This year, I added a local lupus foundation and upped my monthly contribution to a local org I used to work for that works on sex-positive, queer-inclusive sex ed.
Yep. I went over my friend’s house to do some planning for our Iceland trip and her H invited me to the refugee organization he volunteers for fund raiser tonight. I asked if I could give him a check right then instead. Of course he accepted.
I also donated to my private high school and to Jewish World Service today.
I donate to many orgs and causes throughout the year - some one off, some recurring. I don’t give today just because it is #givingtuesday but if all the hype makes people give that wouldn’t otherwise donate, that’s a good thing.
I briefly thought about it, but then decided we give throughout the year. I’ll be a supporter of our organizations at other times, let others offer their $$ today. (Plus today I was busy from 4:30am to now, so it was a good excuse to myself to have one less thing to try to remember.) I’m not against the day. For those who get inspired by it, great! There are oodles of organizations and causes that can use the money.
I gave to an organization where I am a board member–it’s a cancer support center that provides integrative service s to people who are going through cancer treatment, e.g., support groups, oncology massage, acupunture, nutrition counseling, medition, etc. Plus, the services are offered in a beautiful garden/retreat-like setting.
I’ve been raising money for this group for 15 years. It was the matching opportunity that got me to make a modest donation today–I’ll make my annual gift at the end of next month. I posted on Facebook and a few of my friends also donated. Most non-profits have to fundraise all the time in order to keep their doors open. I don’t mind the ongoing fundraising–no one is forcing anyone to give. It’s pretty easy to ignore.
@basket – “No asking, just thanking.” A dose of gratitude goes a very long way; particularly, unexpected thanks.
I actually think there is merit in Giving Tuesday – in a culture where everything seems to require a label, it’s a good reminder/incentive for some (no judgment). I somewhat wish it were Giving Wednesday (before Thanksgiving) not after Black Friday, Cyber Monday though 
Parkinson’s Foundation had a generous person triple matching donations yesterday.
“I somewhat wish it were Giving Wednesday (before Thanksgiving) not after Black Friday, Cyber Monday though”
It would be nice to tie it into the Thanksgiving season but I fear it would get lost in the pre-holiday chaos of traveling, cooking, etc.
Last year I got excited about Giving Tuesday because Facebook & Gates Foundation were matching $xmillion in donations, and since I no longer have an employer to match I was excited about the possibility of leveraging donations to some of my favorite causes. I recognized that $6 million (or whatever it was) across the massive facebook platform would disappear very quickly, so I planned carefully and started making my donations at exactly 8:00 am (their official starting time), and I finished in less than 1 minute. I was also seduced by Facebook waiving their usual fees on Giving Tuesday. I generally avoid Facebook fundraisers, as well as GoFundMe because of fees. I prefer to send money directly to the recipient. Well, the results of my efforts to participate through Facebook on Giving Tuesday were less than satisfactory. Facebook could not tell me if my gifts were matched. Meanwhile, my money does not go directly to the charity, it goes to Facebook’s own charitable gift fund. When they pass the money on to the charity (could take as long as 6 months) the charity doesn’t even know the money came from me, so I don’t know when or if Facebook passes the money along to the charity. So I continue to donate to my preferred charities. I just don’t do it on Tuesday, and I avoid online fundraisers. And yes, I have gotten tons of emails asking for Giving Tuesday online gifts.
@doschicos – yes! Interesting that I have a few that give all the time and some that need the reminder of Giving Tuesday.
@NJres – “I prefer to send money directly to the recipient.” Yes! And there is something oddly satisfying about writing a check, stamping an envelope and mailing donations.
I used charitynavigator.org recently to vet a potential organization and was dismayed how little of the donation was actually used to purpose.
@NJres Are you saying that the organization to which I made a donation through Facebook will not receive the donation? That is very disappointing because I asked friends to make a donation too (just posted on Facebook—no emails). I know that the match was first come/first serve and I donated early. However, I figured the organization would at least get the money that I donated, even without the match. The organization is small (budget of $600,000) so every penny counts.
Organizations do receive donations made through Facebook. Depending on how they have payments set up, though, they do not necessarily receive details about who donated (if you don’t go through the process to get electronic funds transferred from Facebook, you will get a check from Network For Good, but donations will be anonymous).
Organizations who have a FB page can set up a donation button on their page, near the top. With one click this will bring donors directly to your own donation page on your website, or otherwise.
@Bromfield2 I am not saying your donation on Facebook does not eventually get to your designated recipient. However, it does not go there directly, as @eireann stated it goes through “Network For Good”. I don’t know how long Network For Good hangs on to the money, and since the charitable organization that you designate gets a check from Network for Good and not from you it can be hard to determine if your donation takes 1 week or 3 months to get passed on to the charity.
Non profits can register with Facebook and get their donations much faster that way. Names are attached unless the donor goes out of his way to remain anonymous.
I do prefer direct donations but I also don’t want to miss out on any impulsive gifts and if I can make it easier by using a button on Facebook I will!