{"id":4556,"date":"2018-11-20T16:03:58","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T16:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2023-02-15T10:08:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T10:08:35","slug":"is-giving-tuesday-impactful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lemonade.com\/blog\/is-giving-tuesday-impactful\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Giving Tuesday Impactful?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A relatively new \u2018holiday,\u2019 #GivingTuesday was founded in order to redirect our shopping craze around the winter holidays. Aka, remind us to give to those less fortunate while we simultaneously spend more on gifts for friends and family, and ourselves (though it\u2019s questionable how much we really need\u2026).<\/span><\/p>\n

Since its 2012 inception, Giving Tuesday has helped charities amp up their fundraising efforts. Originally coined by the folks over at the 92nd St Y, it harnesses \u201c<\/span>the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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And each year, the impact of Giving Tuesday has grown. One of the founders of the movement, Asha Curran, notes that the giving on this day started with $10 million donated online in 2012, and 2,500 nonprofits signing on to the idea. Since then, the number of dollars donated on this day in the United States increased by double-digit percentages every year. More than $300 million was donated in 2017 in just the 24 hours of the day itself. (Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review)<\/em><\/p>\n

How science explains our charitable giving<\/h3>\n

Why have online donations increased? Consider the behavioral economics perspective – according to several studies related to charitable giving, we want to do what other people do (no surprise there). But it goes deeper: According to research<\/a> at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University, people want to do what other people <\/span>think<\/span><\/i> is the good thing to do – the \u2018injunctive norm,\u2019 in behavioral economics speak. <\/span><\/p>\n

Take <\/span>this study<\/span>, where researchers sent out two emails from an organ donation NGO encouraging people to donate their organs- not a very easy task. At the time of their experiment, 45% of Americans were organ donors, so getting that number up would be a challenge. But they had this stat in hand: 95% of Americans supported organ donation.<\/span><\/p>\n

One email was a standard template asking people to register with the organ donation NGO. The other had an extra sentence in the header: <\/span>95% of Americans support organ donation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The results, although small in number, were substantial: Only 1.3% registered as an organ donor with the standard email, while almost 4X did (4.9%) with the email with the injunctive norm. <\/span>The social norms message led to a substantial increase, almost quadrupling registrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Giving on this day is contagious, partly due to the usage of injunctive norms on this day. Curran notes, \u201cof people who give on GT, roughly 75 percent are existing donors and 25 percent are new ones, demonstrating that the day offers potential to engage both an existing constituency and flocks of new, interested givers. GT doesn\u2019t take money away from other days of the year, either: Similar to disaster relief campaigns, GT creates a giving spike but with no corresponding dip in giving the rest of the year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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So while <\/span>Giving Tuesday has made strides using, among other tools, the injunctive norm to their advantage, there\u2019s the rest of the year to worry about as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here are 9 ways to boost up your charitable giving year-round, together with some of the Lemonade Giveback<\/a> partners.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Give blood with the American Red Cross<\/b><\/h3>\n

Giving blood is one of the most high impact and (arguably) low effort things you can do on Giving Tuesday. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Volunteer donors are the only source of blood and platelets for those in need of transfusions. One donation can potentially save up to <\/span>three lives,<\/b>” says\u00a0John Rothmeier, a Red Cross rep (a Lemonade Giveback partner).<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty incredible to think that it takes less than an hour to save three lives. And luckily, the Red Cross has a super easy system for giving blood in your area. To make an appointment, head over to Red Cross\u2019s website, type in your zip code, and choose from all nearby blood donation centers. <\/span><\/p>\n

For bonus points, ask a friend to come with you. It\u2019ll kill 2 birds with one stone – you\u2019ll get some moral support, and double your impact from saving three lives to saving six. <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Donate a birthday to LGBTQ+ Youth<\/b>
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At The Ali Forney Center, the largest community center for LGBTQ homeless youth, many members aren\u2019t in contact with their families. Because of that, they often don\u2019t have the means to celebrate their birthdays.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why they created Project Birthday.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>\u201cProject birthday offers young people who have been rejected by their families and made destitute and homeless an opportunity to celebrate their lives, a sentiment many of them have been denied. Through this fund, we are able to offer young people an opportunity to celebrate their special day,” says Alex Rogue, Director of Development.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>If you\u2019d like to give an LGBTQ+ youth the gift of a birthday, you can either donate a birthday, or create a personal Project Birthday campaign<\/a> and invite your family and friends to contribute.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Cut back your carbon footprint<\/b><\/h3>\n

Though we may not realize, the small things we do every day can help stop climate change<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the plus side: It takes just a little tweaking to drastically cut back our carbon footprint. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reps from our partner, the SF nonprofit Save The Bay, told us two simple things you can do each day to help save our planet:<\/span><\/p>\n