Perhaps you have heard the term “Giving Tuesday” but are unsure of how to participate in the movement on a corporate level, but rest assured the global day of generosity can be an excellent opportunity to not only give back to your community but also do good in your organization by engaging and connecting your employees to a common cause.
In today’s article, we’ll give you all the information you need to understand the spirit of Giving Tuesday and get your employees engaged with your company's values and mission.
Giving Tuesday was started to “build a world where generosity is part of everyday life”. Established in 2012 by Henry Timms, executive director of a NY-based community organization, it began as the antithesis of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and, now, marks the beginning of the holiday giving season.
In Timms’ words: "We had this idea. You know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Could you add a day that reversed the trend, that, after all this consumerism, …people would give back [and] engage with the world?" Henry Timms
Timms’ hope was that people, the world over, could make it part of their own holiday tradition. In his vision, people would sit with their kids at the table and talk about: “What are the charities we care about? What are the causes our family stands for? Why is philanthropy important to us?”
But Giving Tuesday does not have to stop at home. Your organization can also have a positive impact on the world.
Giving Tuesday is also a great way to start implementing your corporate social responsibility program and help you attract and retain professional talent to your organization.
In fact, Companies that show in actions they care about making the world a better place through CSR elements have shown a positive ROI in employee engagement and retention – especially if you’re interested in young talent.
Giving Tuesday is November 29, 2022.
Just like with any other movement, it’s important to get a sense of the scale Giving Tuesday has before committing your time, resources, and team members to participate.
To make it easier for you, we’ve compiled some of the most important metrics from NeonOne.com and the official GivingTuesday.org statistics.
We’ve found that in 2021, Giving Tuesday reported record-breaking giving by millions of people worldwide:
These numbers reflect the impact a holiday like this one can have in so many lives across the globe. You and your team can be part of it and join the Giving Tuesday initiative to help thousands of people everywhere.
Giving Tuesday is about giving back to communities that need help and being part of the positive change we all want to see in the world.
Just like individuals, companies can rally their teams behind this vision of generosity to host events that benefit the community, run charitable giving campaigns, and volunteer in nonprofits and independent organizations, to name a few.
Many companies have joined the movement by launching giving and volunteering programs, helping connect employees to millions of vetted nonprofits and volunteer opportunities; allowing employees to learn about and select charities that serve the causes they care about.
Of course, this can become very time-consuming for your company, so using a platform like Bright Funds can help you automate almost every aspect of the campaign.
Bright Funds CSR software has over 1.5 million nonprofits listed and makes it easy for employees to choose which ones they want to donate to or volunteer for.
If you already offer employee giving and volunteering programs, Giving Tuesday is a great time to amplify them. Consider adding an employer matching program to make your employees’ donations go further, and a dollars-for-doers program or maybe VTO (volunteer time off) can encourage employees to participate more freely.
Efforts like these can help your company build a culture of doing good that connects employees with your mission and each other.
Building an engaging Giving Tuesday campaign starts with a plan. Determine what resources you will need to support your employees in their giving efficiently. They may desire the freedom to donate individually or perhaps prefer the company to donate as an organization. Or they may wish to volunteer their time.
Getting an answer to these initial questions is crucial to develop a campaign that aligns with your employees’ values and interests.
Next, evaluate what tools you will need for the campaign. A giving and volunteering platform, like WizeHive, can help your organization manage your campaign through:
Finally, put your plan in action with your tech partner. Get involved, do the work, engage your employees and, together, you can make a difference and create change within your community.
While Giving Tuesday is one opportunity to connect your employees to your overall CSR goals, engaging them doesn’t stop here. Use this day to launch your year-long employee giving and volunteering programs, and commit to building a culture of engaged employees doing good in their communities.
A few simple ideas to keep the ball rolling you can implement are:
WizeHive can help you build your plan and launch a fully-enabled campaign in less than a week. Download our free Giving Tuesday toolkit here and find out how our giving and volunteering platform can help you do more good this giving season.
