GivingTuesday more than a single day
Organizations use campaigns to augment and enhance their other fundraising initiatives
Many charities have found unique and powerful ways to turn a oneday philanthropic opportunity into an essential piece of the overarching fundraising strategy, according to Lys Hugessen, vice-president of partnerships for CanadaHelps (CanadaHelps.org) and lead for GivingTuesday Canada. “It was always intended from the inception of GivingTuesday that this would be a way to inspire people to think about and celebrate ways to give beyond a single day.”
Most charities and companies use GivingTuesday to kick off their holiday season fundraising campaigns. “Many bigger companies use the day to make an announcement about big donations they’re planning or a major employee initiative. But, to take it past a single day, organizations have looked for creative opportunities to extend giving, like a program we started called #GivingEveryTuesday, celebrating different causes, charities and events on Tuesdays, which is now done globally,” Hugessen said.
According to Hugessen, research shows Canadians want to be involved with causes of their choice, and engage on a deeper level than just one transaction. A study done in 2019 found 52 per cent of people want to donate on GivingTuesday because they want to be part of a bigger movement that is doing good for others. “Most GivingTuesday initiatives are created to engage donors not just for that day but for the next month or year. It’s absolutely our intention to inspire people to give in multiple ways well past GivingTuesday.”
One program that is using GivingTuesday to augment donations is Gifts of Light, a service for patients of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) that is 100 per cent fuelled by donations. Gifts of Light identifies and fills wellness gaps in the system and supports areas that do not receive Ministry of Health funding, with the goal of benefiting the daily lives of patients and the front-line staff who support them.
“When Gifts of Light started 10 years ago, it was a volunteer-driven holiday giving program to support patients during a very lonely and vulnerable time of year,” explains Quinn Kirby, manager of the Gifts of Light program. “It’s grown into a year-round innovative service with three main areas: first, to provide basic necessities and care packages for patients in need; second, to operate year-round events to offer patients a chance to socialize and take a break from the clinical world; the third area is about partnering with specialty professional facilitators to bring one-of-a-kind programming to patients.”
All GivingTuesday events are spearheaded by the CAMH Foundation. “This year, we’re launching camh.ca/givinghub on GivingTuesday. This new giving hub features impactful and unique ways for donors to support life-saving research and patient programs across CAMH. Donors visit the website and browse the list of items and experiences to fund the areas of the hospital that really mean something to them,” says Kirby. So, for example, visitors to the site can select to donate a cooking class, and even choose to make the donation in someone else’s name. There’s also a prompt for those donors making year-end monetary contributions to consider adding an item from the Gifts of Light catalogue (giftsoflight.ca) to their cart.
Gifts of Light supports more than 15,000 patients annually, and they deliver 4,500 patient gifts over the holiday season. Many of the items in these gifts — and in care packages throughout the year — will come from the giving hub donations, so GivingTuesday donations will have a far-reaching effect. “We’re challenging donors to beat last year’s GivingTuesday total of $100,000,” says Kirby.
Smaller charities also use GivingTuesday as a launch pad for holiday fundraising. For Giant Steps Toronto,
a therapy centre for children with autism in the Markham area, GivingTuesday is a kickoff to the holidays. It also presents a great opportunity for Giant Steps to reach out to its community of donors on the heels of the charity’s main annual fundraising event.
“Without any government funding or support, we rely heavily on our donors to help fund the speech, occupational and behaviour therapy programs that impact our kids’ growth and development,” explains Joanne Scott-Jackson, director of fundraising and communications for Giant Steps. “For many charities, the months prior to year-end can make or break their fundraising campaigns. GivingTuesday provides a unique opportunity for Giant Steps to connect with our friends and donors, remind them of the work we do for kids with autism, facilitate giving at the start of the holiday season and deliver a tax receipt prior to year-end.”