After The Gorging And Consuming

If you’re all, “WTF is an #UNselfie?” … well, educate yourself. #GivingTuesday pic.twitter.com/2EFWFHd7Vo

— Upworthy (@Upworthy) December 3, 2013

Giving Tuesday is on its way to becoming America’s newest holiday tradition:

Already more than 3,400 nonprofits and companies have agreed to push the idea of donating to charity on December 3, and organizers predict the effort will easily attract more than 5,000 participants, double the number of organizations involved last year in promoting charitable donations just after the high-profile shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Many nonprofits that participated in Giving Tuesday last year say they raised much more that day than they typically do on a day in early December. For instance, nonprofits that raise money through Network for Good, which processes online gifts, reported a 155-percent increase in donations on Giving Tuesday compared with the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in 2011. 

Eileen Heisman of the National Philanthropic Trust says the holiday is a win-win for businesses and charities:

The leaders of these organizations immediately got the concept that the philanthropic community stood to benefit by converging on a day like this, in the same way that retailers (even though they compete aggressively) all take part in and benefit from Black Friday. With every project, they are spreading the word through their networks, and the connection to #GivingTuesday becomes more valuable. At the same time, they appreciated that their participation did not require them to spend on messaging over and above what they had been planning. Because the timing and tagline of #GivingTuesday can easily be incorporated into existing campaigns, even thinly-stretched charities can use it to refresh their message and increase awareness.

Laura Flanders concedes that “whenever haves help have-nots, that’s worthy of praise,” but adds “when massive global corporations want praise too, I get a little queasy”:

Take Verizon. For Giving Tuesday, the Verizon Foundation says it will contribute to three large nonprofits as directed by the votes of Verizon workers. The company calls it giving back and “giving voice” to employees. Call me cynical, but I bet most Verizon workers would have preferred more voice and fewer givebacks in their contracts. Over the last decade Verizon’s forced concessions on everything from wages to pensions to job security and the right to organize. Giving Tuesday’s nice, but Verizon workers give back every day.

Meanwhile, Kelly Kleiman offers a practical suggestion: “Next year will the powers that be who created this quasi-holiday please consider scheduling it before, and not after, Black Friday, Small-Business Saturday, Football-Wagering Sunday and Cyber Monday?”

Before Thanksgiving, everyone’s in the mood to think about things they should be thankful for: the perfect mood from which to give generously. Before Thanksgiving, most people are at home in their regular lives and regular schedules, not packing or unpacking or sitting in airport lounges fretting. Before Thanksgiving, people have eaten normally instead of excessively and therefore will find it easier to believe that other people don’t have enough. There’s nothing like a full stomach to eradicate thoughts of others’ hunger.