Philadelphia, PA - As the founder of YouGiveGoods, Lisa Tomasi's extraordinary leadership and vision has firmly established the company as the leader of virtual in-kind good drives and contests. Lisa has been involved with nonprofits throughout her adult life.
The Importance of Giving Tuesday, from Lisa Tomasi, CEO of YouGiveGoods
Q: How important is Giving Tuesday for non-profits?
A: #GivingTuesday is a day for giving back to your community by donating time, skills, money or goods. It has a momentum of its own which benefits all non-profits, especially the small ones that may have less resources to market a donation drive to the public. #GivingTuesday also acts of the unofficial kick-off to the charitable giving season during which non-profits will receive a large portion of their annual total donations. Having this season kick off with the "bang" that is #GivingTuesday helps all non-profits.
Q: How successful is #GivingTuesday? Do you think that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have an effect on how involved people get on #GT?
A: #GivingTuesday is extremely successful. Last year, over 700,000 people donated online in over 70 countries raising $116 million nationwide. From the strong response to #GT, it is clear that people are ready to push back on the retail message of "spend, spend, spend" and channel the feeling of the season to "give, give, give." #GT is poised to see even greater growth this year which is so exciting on many levels. It is exciting for people who donate to be a part of a movement the sheer scope of #GT. It is exciting for nonprofits to have open to them a large, new donation stream for their organizations. Finally, it is most exciting because ultimately the success of #GT translates into more people (and animals!) getting the help they need to live a better life.
Q: Why do you think #GivingTuesday has become so successful in such a short time frame?
A: #GivingTuesday started as an idea at the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City only five years ago. Growth since then has been exponential. #GT really tapped in to the power of social media. The message, the timing and the purpose seem to be a perfect storm allowing it to grow in a way that could not have been orchestrated by the best team of marketers.
Q: How does #GivingTuesday compare to other major fundraising efforts?
A: #GivingTuesday is generally one of the top fundraising efforts of the year for nonprofits so it is extremely important. As an online movement, nonprofits of all sizes need to invest in their websites to be sure they are easily found by supporters and that donating online is as simple as possible. They want those who catch the #GT bug to be able quickly act on it. To maximize the potential of the day, it is helpful to offer multiple avenues for potential supporters to get involved. At YouGiveGoods we've also seen exponential growth on #GivingTuesday as we offer yet another donation stream (donating new, needed goods) for nonprofits.
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