With the delicious food and family gatherings of Thanksgiving comes the largest consumer weekend of the year. Black Friday sales seem to start right after turkey dinner and continue until the end of Cyber Monday, Black Friday’s online equivalent. After you kick off your holiday shopping by taking advantage of the multitude of serious sales and discounts, Giving Tuesday — commonly referred to by its hashtag #GivingTuesday — offers you a chance to show some philanthropic love to nonprofits and charities worldwide.
History of #GivingTuesday
November 27th, 2018 will mark #GivingTuesday’s seventh annual celebration. The 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation partnered to create the holiday in 2012, responding to the heavy consumerism of the days following Thanksgiving and hoping to encourage people worldwide to give back to charities and organizations they love. Facebook and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are two of the largest proponents of #GivingTuesday, having become heavily involved in running fundraisers and matching donations in the past several years.
Importance of Social Media
#GivingTuesday, as evident with its hashtagged name, is mainly an online event. The use of hashtags and social media is extremely helpful in spreading the word about organizations and their specific holiday campaigns. Facebook has the option of adding a donate button on personal posts championing registered nonprofits as well as on nonprofits’ official Facebook pages, making giving even a few dollars easier than ever. Studies show that more than 47,000 nonprofit organizations received donations through Facebook last year on #GivingTuesday.
Through sponsored posts or by using the #GivingTuesday hashtag, organizations can make it easy for people to find their campaigns on other social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram as well. During this holiday season, social media sites are not only essential in encouraging donations, but are crucial platforms for amplifying a nonprofit’s message and mission.
Our Not-for-Profit Clients
Whether an organization is participating in #GivingTuesday or not, supporting nonprofits and charities year-round is a wonderful idea. Jacobson Jarvis is honored to work with so many invaluable nonprofits, from our clients in education to those in health care, and everything in between. Please check out some of these not-for-profit organizations and consider showing your support this #GivingTuesday and beyond.
