U.S. donors gave $3.6 billion on Tuesday, an increase over the past two years, according to nonprofit estimates. GivingTuesday.
Tuesday after Thanksgivingnow known as GivingTuesday, it has become a major day for non-profit fundraising organizations and otherwise engage their supporters every year since the 92nd St Y in New York was launched as a hashtag in 2012. GivingTuesday has since become an independent, non-profit organization connecting a worldwide network of leaders and organizations promoting giving in their communities.
“This just shows the generosity, the willingness of American citizens to show up, especially collectively,” said Asha Curran, executive director of the nonprofit GivingTuesday. “We’re just seeing the power of collective action, and especially collective giving over and over and over again.”
This year, about 18.5 million people donated to nonprofits, and another 9.2 million people volunteered, according to GivingTuesday estimates. Both the number of donors and the number of volunteers increased by 4% compared to the group’s estimates for 2023.
“For us, it’s not just about the number of dollars,” Curran said. “It’s about the number of people who feel like they have the right to decide how their communities move into the future.”
The nonprofit GivingTuesday estimates the amount of money and goods donated and the number of participants using data from donor management software companies, donation platforms, payment processors and donor-advised funds. Curran said they were deliberately conservative in their calculations.
Nonprofit organizations in the US raised $3.1 billion and 2022 and 2023 on GivingTuesday. It is mirrored larger giving trends where is the total amount donations fell in 2022 and mostly remained stable in 2023 after accounting for inflation.
It’s never easy to predict current trends in giving, but Una Osili, associate dean at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, said economic forces are pushing in both directions.
“At the same time, there is a lot of uncertainty, especially around prices, cost of living, supermarket tolls that people expect to continue even though inflation is moderate,” she said.
Donating or volunteering with non-profit organizations are not the only ways people participate in their communities. Many give to crowdfunding campaignspolitical causes or support people directly in their networks. But tracking charitable giving is one way researchers understand people’s civic engagement.
“This country is undoubtedly in a lot of pain and very divided right now,” Curran said. “I’m sure it wasn’t just comforting for me, but for many, many millions of people.”
