US nonprofits raised $2.5 billion on Giving Tuesday in 2020
- Written by Abhishek Bhati, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Bowling Green State University
CC BY-SA[1]
Some 35 million Americans gave a total of US$2.5 billon on Giving Tuesday[2] to causes of all kinds, including $808 million in donations made online.
Donations increased overall by 25% from the total raised during this event in 2019 – the first year when the campaign began to calculate donations made offline, such as by sending a check or giving cash, in addition to online contributions.
This good news came as a relief to some of the nonprofit leaders who had voiced concerns that donors who had given more than usual[3] throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic distress might avoid this yearly show of support for charities. For example, an earlier event, #GivingTuesdayNow[4], raised more than $503 million in May for pandemic relief.
Giving Tuesday happens on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which fell on Dec. 1 in 2020.
Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012[5] by the 92nd Street Y in New York City and the United Nations Foundation. It has grown into a global generosity movement spanning not just the United States[6] but more than 70 other countries[7].
A dozen nations, including Chile, Ghana and Ireland, had their first Giving Tuesday campaigns[8] in 2020.
Theoretically, it costs nothing to raise donations online using social media. However, that’s not necessarily true in practice. Research I conducted with a colleague[9] suggests that groups with a larger social media presence tend to get more donations in online giving days.
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References
- ^ CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org)
- ^ US$2.5 billon on Giving Tuesday (philanthropynewsdigest.org)
- ^ donors who had given more than usual (www.fidelitycharitable.org)
- ^ #GivingTuesdayNow (philanthropynewsdigest.org)
- ^ launched in 2012 (www.vox.com)
- ^ United States (www.givingtuesday.org)
- ^ 70 other countries (www.givingtuesday.org)
- ^ first Giving Tuesday campaigns (hq.givingtuesday.org)
- ^ Research I conducted with a colleague (theconversation.com)
- ^ You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter (theconversation.com)
Authors: Abhishek Bhati, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Bowling Green State University
Read more https://theconversation.com/us-nonprofits-raised-2-5-billion-on-giving-tuesday-in-2020-151902
