Online shopping on Black Friday hit a record high this year, with consumers spending nearly $12 billion in one day. This 4.1% increase from last year is surprising given widespread concerns about the affordability of groceries, housing, and healthcare costs. Americans’ willingness to spend may bode well for GivingTuesday. In 2024, GivingTuesday reported $3.6 billion raised and 36.1 million participants, giving time or money. It also reported a 7% increase in the number of people making financial gifts, bucking the national decline in individual, lower-level donors.
The charitable sector raised nearly $600 billion last year, so the claim that we still need more donors, and those at the $50, $25, and even $5 levels, might sound strange. Yet, these donors are the backbone of philanthropy. Small, widespread gifts signal confidence in a nonprofit organization’s mission and that a cause, such as an animal shelter, has broad public support. They help nonprofit groups protect their 501(c)(3) status as public charities by passing the “Public Support Test,” which requires at least one-third of an organization’s donors to come from the general public. A large enough pool of recurring donations offers relative stability, so a nonprofit organization need not be reliant on a small number of large donors or on federal funding.
These gifts can have a direct impact on services. According to GiveWell, it can cost as little as $7 to protect a child from malaria. Food- and health-related organizations are often good choices for donors who want to see the immediate impact of their gift. Measurable outcomes, such as medicine provided or meals served, are more easily translated into dollar amounts than long-term advocacy work. However, society needs both types of organizations to meet immediate needs and to solve complex problems.
Big donors, such as Bill Gates or MacKenzie Scott, receive so much attention that it is easy to overlook the power of smaller gifts and to think huge piles of money are the only way to make a difference. This is mistaken, and it seems un-American to leave problem-solving to the top 1%. Take, for instance, Benjamin Franklin, who not only started the first American lending library in 1731 and the first volunteer fire brigade in 1736, but also pioneered the concept of a matching gift campaign and tax incentives for charitable gifts. A fan of small gifts, he wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanack that “liberality is not giving much, but giving wisely.” These accomplishments were not the result of his own wealth but of marshaling the resources within his own community.
THE COURAGEOUS HONESTY OF CHARITABLE GIVING
GivingTuesday started in New York City in 2012 with a similar aim: to encourage communities to do good. Now a global movement, GivingTuesday promotes the idea that broad participation, not just billionaire philanthropy, fuels lasting change. It also recognizes that giving feels good, something now termed the “warm glow” of giving. Studies have shown that our brains release dopamine and oxytocin when we voluntarily give to and help others and that giving can have lasting effects, including strengthening social bonds. GivingTuesday invites participants not only to give what they can, but also to do so with other people across the globe. If it feels good to give, consider making your gift a recurring donation on a monthly or annual basis.
“Philanthropy” is really just a fancy word for loving your neighbor. GivingTuesday shows that this act can be simple and cost little for the donor but mean everything to the recipient. This year, let GivingTuesday be your reminder that generosity is not about how much you give, but that you give at all. When tens of millions of people contribute modest amounts, they collectively sustain the programs and communities that enrich, and may even save, our lives. As the holiday season continues, consider where you want your hard-earned dollars to go. Retail therapy can provide easy comfort, but it might end in buyer’s remorse. In contrast, the “warm glow” of giving tends to last not only for you but also for those who benefit from your generosity.
Rebecca Richards is the director of the Fund for Academic Renewal, the philanthropic advisory service of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
