Charities Hope #GivingTuesday Will Spur Donations
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - 'Tis the season for shopping, crowds and presents. But non-profit and charity organizations want your gifts and donations too. Now, some say they're going about a new approach to fundraising in the wrong way.
There are dates every American consumer knows and one they probably don't.
When North Texans were asked if they'd heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday the responses were a resounding "yes!" But what about #GivingTuesday?
Giving Tuesday is an effort to inspire a day of giving to charities. It hopes to follow in Cyber Monday's footsteps and cash in on the fact that 65-percent of people have made donations online. Most agree it's a concept people grasp quickly.
"People are more giving around the holidays," shopper Gloria said. "You know how that goes. People give more freely around the holidays."
Marketing experts say Tuesday may be a little late to compete with the Black Friday frenzy. "In a way I think competing a little bit more directly may be even more helpful than actually waiting for the leftovers," UTA marketing professor Elten Briggs explained. "Now I have people making the decision actively, before they've allocated all their resources for other things."
The iGive website is an example of a charity tapping into Black Friday's big business. Users log on, download their app, and then coupons redeemed during shopping give part of the purchase to charity.
The founder of iGive expects giving to be up 30-percent this year. It's a concept Briggs says Giving Tuesday could learn from. "I think getting those efforts started before that weekend might be a bit more beneficial, though any effort is better than none."
Giving Tuesday's organizers say they're still counting on people still making donations even though they might have less to spend this year. Shopper Trish Murphy said, "We want to focus more on that. That, to our family, is more important to do than to spend money on each other when we don't really need anything."
As of Monday morning, #GivingTuesday had more than 2,100 partners listed on their website.
Also Check Out:
