Giving Tuesday — 3 December

What is Giving Tuesday?

Every year, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, people take the time to kickoff the holiday season by giving back to their community. Whether it be donating money to a charitable cause or volunteering, Giving Tuesday is a day set to benefit the community. 

History of Giving Tuesday

The idea of Giving Tuesday was first announced in September 2012, two months prior to the first Giving Tuesday occurring on November 27. The announcement was made by Giving Tuesday founding partner and technology website, Mashable. The purpose of the day is to inspire people and companies to take action, just like Black Friday and Cyber Monday created a framework for retailers to sell merchandise. Other Giving Tuesday founders and partners include Skype, Cisco, Microsoft, Sony, Aldo, Case Foundation, Heifer International, Phoenix House, and Starwood Hotels. Shortly before and after November 27, 2012, Giving Tuesday was covered by Washington Post, the White House official blog, ABC News, and Huffington Post.  Forbes also used the occasion to publish a guide on effective giving.

In 2013, Mashable partnered with Google+ to hold a “hangout-a-thon” for Giving Tuesday. The holiday received coverage in many philanthropy information websites, including the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Charity Navigator. The Chronicle of Philanthropy article highlighted a donation by Good Ventures to GiveDirectly, Google’s hangout-a-thon, and matching grants announced by the Case Foundation. Charitable giving on Giving Tuesday in 2013 was approximately twice the value in 2012, with over 7,000 participating nonprofits.

For the 2018 holiday occurrence, Facebook and PayPal announced they’d match up to $7 million in donations to United States nonprofits on a first come first serve basis. The match limit was hit after only an hour, with an announcement saying the match was achieved within seconds. A total of $125 million was raised via Facebook on Giving Tuesday, the highest for a single day on the platform.