As we enter into the busy fall season, it’s officially time for nonprofits to begin planning for GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to supporter generosity. If you’re new to the nonprofit space or just starting out in fundraising, you might not know what GivingTuesday is or what it stands for.
GivingTuesday started in 2012, led by 92nd Street Y. Now a nonprofit organization, GivingTuesday inspires millions of people to give each year and to come together to celebrate generosity and social good. This giving day is a big fundraising opportunity for all nonprofits because in totality, it generates billions of dollars. In fact, in one of the most difficult years to date, people gave $2.47 billion in 2020, a 25% increase from 2019. This is in addition to $503 million on GivingTuesdayNow, an emergency relief fund for COVID-19-related causes.
Similar to big shopping days for the retail market — Black Friday and Cyber Monday — GivingTuesday is a full-day event that occurs every Tuesday after Thanksgiving. And following GivingTuesday is Thank You Wednesday, an equally important day in which nonprofits take the time to thank their supporters for their generous contributions.
