Hot on the heels of the nation’s three biggest shopping days of the year — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday — there is yet another reason to keep that wallet open.
Charities, arts organizations, libraries and other nonprofits are hoping to top off a tough year on Nov. 30 when they mark Giving Tuesday, the 10th annual global celebration of living generously.
Last year, the day that shines a spotlight on the needs of everything from tiny local groups to national charitable organizations saw Americans ante up about $2.5 billion for various charitable enterprises in a mere 24 hours. The total represented a 5.9% increase over 2019.
But the wealth wasn’t spread uniformly. Some agencies that depend heavily on fundraising saw their total revenues plummet even as the demand for services soared.
Nonetheless, Giving Tuesday, the global organization behind the event, found that about 13% of Americans participated in the 2020 effort that saw more givers than ever open their hearts and wallets to a variety of causes. That reversed a longtime trend of the number of givers shrinking year over year.
Kelly Uranker, vice president of the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy, said the region’s nonprofits hope that trend continues this year.
“The pandemic has significantly increased the burden on nonprofits, many of which are facing significant increases in demand for basic needs, and often from people who have never sought help before. Difficulty in meeting basic needs has been made worse by uncertainty regarding child care and school and a lack of affordable housing generally. Even parks and trails are struggling, as significantly more people turn to outdoor recreation, increasing wear and tear on facilities,” Uranker said. “Nonprofits are also telling us that they’ve had to cancel fundraising events and have seen significant drops in volunteer support, especially among older volunteers who are worried about their own health. So, now more than ever, nonprofits need unrestricted donations that will help them fulfill their missions of helping the community.”
Giving Tuesday has always been a welcome day in the nonprofit community.
The big push for charitable donations falls in the fourth quarter of the year. It gives nonprofits a platform to spotlight their efforts in the biggest fundraising quarter of the year and set goals for the coming year.
Stephanie Babich Mihleder, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region, said the effort is especially important to the agency that relies on event fundraisers for about half of its budget. Many events had to go virtual. Others had to be canceled entirely.
“I think the reason it’s so important this year is the need is so great. We are serving over 100 children, but we have another 127 on the waiting list,” Mihleder said. “That’s heartbreaking. With Giving Tuesday funds, we could serve more of those children.”
If national trends for the first half of 2021 hold locally, she might get her wish.
Nationally, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that charitable giving increased 1.7% in the first half of 2021 over the same period a year earlier and that there was a 0.7% increase in the number of givers.
Bobbi Watt Geer, CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, keeps close tabs on fundraising trends in the region. She said donors stepped up to make a difference during the pandemic, but there were not as many of them.
“We are seeing high contributions from fewer donors and that’s a little concerning because we want to see more people contributing,” she said. “Anecdotally, I did hear from some of our donors that they weren’t traveling or going to work and that they want to put that money to good use in the community.”
Jamie Falo, director of the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, said she could help donors like that meet their goals.
Falo said the library, another Giving Tuesday participant, relies on fundraising for about 20% of its budget. It took a hit when the pandemic forced her to cancel several annual fundraisers, including Library Libations, bingo and its quarterly book sales.
“Online donations through Giving Tuesday enable the library to continually update technology, make improvements to the historic building, provide an array of programming for children, students and seniors, update the collection of books, DVDs, e-books and more,” Falo said. “All donations, big and small, are very much appreciated. We are proud and happy to be part of this global day of giving.”
Lauren Hill, director of development and advancement for the Westmoreland County Food Bank, said Giving Tuesday is one of the agency’s most significant fundraisers of the year.
And as the second pandemic year winds down, needs remain high among 7,000 or so families who receive food aid every month.
“We’re seeing different faces now,” Hill said. “Some are coming to us for the first time. We’re seeing folks who managed to make ends meet through the pandemic. But now, maybe their unemployment has run out or they’re having trouble securing child care or some other issue and they need help.”
Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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November 29, 2021 at 06:00PM
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