After Year of Global Crisis, Millions Respond with Massive Swell of Generosity and Shared Humanity on GivingTuesday 2020

The GivingTuesday Data Commons reports total giving increased from $1.97 billion to $2.47 billion in the United States alone, representing a 25% increase compared to GivingTuesday 2019. Further, GivingTuesday estimates that 34.8 million people participated in GivingTuesday 2020, a 29% increase over 2019.

CommPRO Editorial Staff

In a single day, GivingTuesday donors in the United States gave $2.47 billion, an amount that is more than all but one U.S. philanthropic foundation gave in a full year during 2019.(1)

People worldwide participated in the global generosity movement on December 1 through acts of kindness, volunteering and giving.In an unprecedented year, GivingTuesday, the largest global generosity movement, reports an unprecedented showing of giving, kindness and connection by millions of people worldwide.The GivingTuesday Data Commons estimates that 34.8 million people participated in GivingTuesday 2020, a 29% increase over 2019. Further, GivingTuesday reports total giving increased from $1.97 billion to $2.47 billion in the United States alone, representing a 25% increase compared to GivingTuesday 2019. These totals are in addition to the surge of generosity represented by #GivingTuesdayNow launched by GivingTuesday earlier this year, when more than $503 million in online donations were contributed in the U.S. alone.“This groundswell of giving reaffirms that generosity is universal and powerful, and that it acts as an antidote to fear, division, and isolation,” said Asha Curran, co-founder and CEO of GivingTuesday. “Throughout this year, we have seen people driving extraordinary efforts rooted in a pursuit of equity, community, and shared humanity–driving giving and action across all races, faiths and political views. We know that when we act collectively– what we can, with what we have, from where we are–we can make massive change happen. Now, let’s resolve to carry this energy forward to reimagine a world where generosity is at the heart of all we do.”Created in 2012 as a day that encouraged people to do good, GivingTuesday is now a global generosity movement with a distributed network of entrepreneurial leaders who have launched more than 240 community campaigns across the U.S. and national movements in more than 70 countries. At the grassroots level, people and organizations participate in GivingTuesday in every single country in the world. Twelve countries participated for the first time on GivingTuesday 2020 as official national GivingTuesday movements: Chile, Ghana, Guam, Ireland, Lebanon, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Korea, and Turkey.The success of GivingTuesday 2020 follows the organization’s work throughout 2020 to mobilize communities worldwide around generosity. “Ingenuity and experimentation are core values for us, and we have always pushed ourselves, and leaders and participants in the movement, to use GivingTuesday as a platform for innovation,” said Curran. “In this unprecedented year, we felt the urgency of new thinking to meet the moment.”Since March, GivingTuesday has galvanized millions of people around the world to participate in #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5th, established the groundbreaking Starling Collective to support grassroots changemakers, hosted a Global Virtual Summit, provided generous citizens with tools to support and strengthen their communities, onboarded 50 new data platforms into the GivingTuesday Data Commons, and so much more. On #GivingTuesdayNow, the global day of giving and unity created as an emergency response to COVID-19, people responded with activity in 145 countries and a total of $503M in online donations were contributed in the U.S. alone.“What we have learned from GivingTuesday is the resilience and the spirit of organizations and people who do not give up despite the circumstances,” shared Junueth Mejia, HIPGive Program Manager for Hispanics in Philanthropy, and leader of the #LatinxGive campaign. “It has been really inspiring to us. Despite hurricanes, social distancing, technological barriers, people have been more socially connected right now than ever before. It has shown us how together we are stronger.”GivingTuesday 2020: Inspiring Stories of GenerosityYear-round, GivingTuesday taps into the power of generous humans to drive giving and action for causes and communities worldwide. The movement is a celebration of the positive impact that each and every person can have, and a ritual that can be celebrated by anyone, of any age, of any religion, on any side of any border. Around the world, people come together through cause- and culture-based coalitions and in towns, cities, and regions of all sizes to help frontline workers, reach out to those disproportionately affected by the pandemic and economic crisis, coalesce support and activism for racial injustice and systemic inequity, and mobilize civic participation. On December 1, these collective efforts around the world showed tremendous amounts of generosity, kindness, passion, and creativity.National campaigns in Costa Rica and Colombia collaborated to help people in both countries who are feeling isolated at home by organizing a week of wellness programs including webinars and classes online.GivingTuesday Czech Republic organized a “Light for Doctors” campaign to light up hospital buildings across the Czech Republic, shining a symbolic light for all health professionals and fellow citizens affected by COVID-19.#GivingTuesdayGuam organized a donation drive with the Salvation Army to fill the vans for people in need of clothes this holiday. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor participated in the donation drive and officially proclaimed GivingTuesday a holiday in Guam.The National Network to End Domestic Violence organized a network-wide #GiveForDV initiative to help #ConnectTheDots between organizations serving survivors of domestic violence, and the support and resources they deserve.GivingTuesday Military rallied its community of military members, families, veterans, and patriotic supporters to share 1 Million Acts of Intentional Kindness.Mutual Aid Hub, a network of hundreds of hyper-local mutual aid groups all over the US, activated communities around the needs of local residents.#RefugeesGive focused on organizations and individuals doing amazing work in their communities to help shift the narrative of refugees being the recipients of charity to being agents of positive change in their communities.Young changemakers connected through GivingTuesdaySpark to volunteer, give, reach out and spread kindness.GiveBlck created #GivingBlackTuesday to help advance racial equity in philanthropy by amplifying Black-founded nonprofits.GivingTuesday was born and incubated at the 92nd Street Y and its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact in New York City, and is now an independent nonprofit, having grown into a global movement, inspiring hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round.PayPal, who has participated in the GivingTuesday movement since it began in 2012, announced enhancements to its Giving platform with the launch of the Generosity Network. The new platform allows PayPal customers to create fundraising campaigns to help the people, causes and communities that they care about – be it a small business, a personal friend or family member, or a nonprofit – and connects each campaign with millions of people who can help to give what they can this holiday season and beyond. For more information, visit: https://www.paypal.com/generosity-network/For the seventh year in a row, NBC News and MSNBC returned as GivingTuesday’s signature media partner to support the global generosity movement’s biggest day by reporting stories of people and organizations working to drive collective action in their communities and across the world. TODAY kicked off GivingTuesday by highlighting No Kid Hungry, which used school buses in Georgia to distribute meals during the pandemic. On MSNBC, Steve Kornacki announced Gap will donate 500 pairs of its khaki pants to Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Workforce Readiness Program in his honor, and The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell shared the latest updates on the K.I.N.D. Fund, starting the 10th year of the program with UNICEF. Plus, NBC News and MSNBC showcased organizations important to the anchors and correspondents including City Year New York, Invisible Hands and First Book. Visit NBCNews.com/GivingTuesday for more.