#Giving Tuesday - From Good to Great!

#GivingTuesday is the ‘antidote’ to overspending, but shouldn't we be diluting the poison?

'Lovely Bird!'

Last Thursday was my first Thanksgiving in the States. I followed advice from US friends and colleagues and spent the day eating, drinking and watching football – it’s a holiday I will be happy to adopt long term!

However, considering it’s a time of year for reflection and gratitude, it’s ironic that this is totally overshadowed by the retail advertising onslaught surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The message to consumers is not 'be thankful for what you've got,' but 'go on a spending frenzy and fill your lives with a whole lot more stuff.'

I’m not the first person to notice this. In 2012, New York’s 92nd Street YMHA, a non-profit cultural and community center, launched #GivingTuesday, a campaign to create a day of giving at the beginning of the holiday season. #GivingTuesday is a platform and a moment in time for community organizations and non-profits to raise awareness and funds for their programs and projects.

One of thousands of emails that
overtook my inbox yesterday

"The 2012 debut of #GivingTuesday saw 2,500 partners signed on and a 53% hike in charitable donations over the same day the year prior." It’s not just individuals involved; companies are also making and matching donations, and facilitating and incentivizing employee volunteering.

On the one hand, I really like the concept of #GivingTuesday; it helps non-profits maximize revenue generation in the build-up to Christmas and, as Aaron Sherinian, Vice President for Communications and Public Relations at the United Nations Foundation puts it, break through the retail noise and "offer an opening day for people to talk more loudly about what they're doing." Philanthropy is such an important part of US culture that it seems right for it to be celebrated during the holiday period. As Co-founder Henry Timms, Deputy Executive Director of New York’s 92nd Street YMHA, explains "We have two days that are good for the economy. Here's a new day good for the soul."

However, there’s a part of me that can’t help but feel like the concept of #GivingTuesday simply perpetuates the 'offset mentality' – in other words, spend now and atone for it (in a slightly removed way) later. It’s even marketed as "the antidote to overspending this holiday season".

I would also question whether #GivingTuesday really engages existing donors or reaches anyone who does not already make donations. Going to the Facebook page, you are confronted with endless petitions for support from a multitude of non-profit partners. Just like the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, it’s hard to work out what is worthy of your money and what isn't, so if you don’t already have an organization or cause in mind then where do you start? Is #GivingTuesday missing the opportunity to engage existing donors in a meaningful way to build long-term, sustainable relationships, as well as reaching out to those who wouldn't normally think to support a non-profit?

To take it a step further - what if #GivingTuesday was not something separate? What if, retailers donated a small percentage of every purchase made on Black Friday or Cyber Monday to support a strategic non-profit partner and make a big impact on a challenging social issue, or better yet but even more wishful, pledged to invest in making their businesses better for consumers, employees, suppliers, and the wider world. That would be something worth celebrating!