A Soothing Tonic for the Gluttony of the Season

With Black Friday deals now regularly starting as early as 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning and running through the weekend, it has now come to this: The family togetherness and gratitude for life’s blessings that we had traditionally celebrated at Thanksgiving have been eclipsed by extreme consumerism and excess consumption.

It’s so at odds with the sharing economy, collaborative spirit and all-in-this-together mindset that have taken root since the great recession. And yet it persists. (True confession: I hate Thanksgiving because it is the start of the gluttony. My dream Turkey Day is walking dogs at a shelter, serving the homeless and then napping. But I digress.)

I could have been dismayed by blackfriday.com, but my mind was already skipping ahead to this week, to #GivingTuesday, which has really taken root and begun flourishing this year. The international day of giving, on December 2 this year, is both an antidote to the conspicuous consumption of the holiday weekend before it, and the unofficial kickoff to the giving season.

The beauty of #GivingTuesday is its power to refocus people’s energy on generosity—which countless academic researchers have shown makes us far happier than just getting yet still more stuff—and its ability to channel that energy toward smarter giving. GivingTuesday.org is a clearinghouse for good causes, but the movement’s grassroots supporters just as easily spread the word with its catchy, memorable hashtag.

Everyday citizens have embraced #GivingTuesday so much that its results now far exceed what its founders, New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, had in mind when they started it three years ago. Forbes’ Ryan Scott pointed out that from 2012 to 2013, online giving increased more than 90 percent for 3,800 nonprofits, to more than $19.2 million, according to the nonprofit technology provider Blackbaud, a partner of #GivingTuesday.

“The founding partners recognized the need for a push toward giving and generosity in this season of so much that looks like consumption gone wild,” said Aaron Sherinian, vice president of communications and public relations, the United Nations Foundation. “But we didn’t realize how great that need was—until the overwhelming tide of good that we saw coming from so many businesses, organizations, foundations and, most important, the thousands upon thousands of people who are donating and volunteering and giving back on that day. It’s a statement about the great good that comes from great giving.”

Yes, I’m a marketer, and when I do my job well, that means people buy things. I have no problem with consumption, but we need some balance. #GivingTuesday is it. The day sets the tone for the rest of the season and renews my faith in the kindness of global citizens. The movement in general, and specific initiatives like those listed here, help me through these super-consumerist days of doorbusters and megadeals.

Using Our Social Channels for Good

On Cyber Monday 2013 alone, $150 million in revenue came from social media referrals. Can social channels really do the same for charitable giving? Absolutely. Also last year, #GivingTuesday was trending for most of that Tuesday and more than 269,000-plus tweets and 7,000 #UNselfie images on Instagram and Twitter, with people (including celebrities like Katie Couric, Heidi Klum and Josh Duhamel) posing with signs noting to whom they donate.

Boosting Lives, Not Just Bottom Lines

About 141 million people shopped during the Thanksgiving holiday last year, and their average spending was $407.02. Imagine what that $407.02 could do to help a charity. Delete Blood Cancer DKMS, for example, part of the world’s largest bone-marrow-donor center, covers the $65 cost for people to get swabbed because it doesn’t want these costs preventing someone from becoming a potential lifesaver. A full 100 percent of all contributions are used to register potential donors. So with $407.02, almost seven people could join the lifesaving database.

Smartphones for Smart Giving

On Black Friday last year, 24.9 percent of all online traffic came from smartphones and another 14.2 percent from tablets. This year there are better ways to use our smartphones. CrowdRise, the leading platform for charitable crowdfunding, is partnering with hundreds of charities to build a Giving Tower (using augmented reality) to show the world’s philanthropic impact on #GivingTuesday. During the campaign, which launched Nov. 25 and ends next Tuesday, the world will be able to watch (with a free app) the Giving Tower grow and compare its height with that of iconic buildings at CrowdRise.com/GivingTower.

Retail Benevolence vs. Retail Therapy

JCPenney will celebrate #GivingTuesday by inviting children from Boys & Girls Clubs to participate in a special shopping experience that enables kids to select gifts for their families while being treated to a photo opportunity with a local celebrity. JCPenney will also be making a $50,000 donation to Boys & Girls Clubs and a $50,000 donation to the United Service Organizations, and encouraging followers to share holiday giving occasions on social media using #JustGotJingled.

Gifts That Make a Difference

At 72 percent of all giving, individual donations represent the largest portion and fastest-growing area of giving. But what about gifts that give back? On #GivingTuesday, Samahope, an organization that crowdfunds lifesaving medical treatments worldwide, will launch Hope Cards. The cards are simple, customizable holiday greetings that—for as little as $5—can be printed and mailed or shared online. That $5 directly funds items like safe-birth kits and sterile gloves for Dr. Darius Maggi, who has delivered more than 15,000 babies in Sierra Leone.

Paying It Forward

PayPal reported a 121 percent increase in global mobile payments on Black Friday 2013 over the same day in 2012. In a recent survey, 27 percent of PayPal users indicated they would not have donated to a charity if PayPal hadn’t been an option. This year PayPal found a way to use its popular service for good. Through Dec. 31, the service intends to match 1 percent of every charitable donation made to thousands of U.S. 501 (c)(3) charities listed on its site. A full 100 percent of every donation made at paypal.com/givecheer will reach its intended cause.

There are thousands of others listed at GivingTuesday.org. My wish for this holiday season is that everyone reading this finds at least one and that the CrowdRise tower—which my agency is promoting around #GivingTuesday—grows insanely, happily tall.