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GivingTuesday is far from new. In fact, the annual event held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, designed to inspire global generosity, was first started in 2012 as a way to create positive change amidst the holiday shopping chaos. With such benevolent origins, it’s worth noting how the movement has changed over time and, importantly, what it looks like this year. CivicScience has the most up-to-date data on how consumers plan to approach GivingTuesday this season.
Generally speaking, Americans are roughly just as likely to participate in GivingTuesday this year as they were in 2023, if not slightly more likely, with the percentage of those who are ‘not at all’ likely to participate dropping from 53% to 51%.
Although the drop is small, the fact that nearly half of Americans are at least ‘somewhat’ likely to participate in the day signals ongoing strong support for charitable causes and some optimism around spending in general.
Let Us Know: Do you typically make contributions on GivingTuesday?
Mission-Driven Giving
GivingTuesday offers the opportunity to explore some of the motivating factors driving people to donate to charity overall. While there are many reasons to donate to a specific charity, CivicScience data show the biggest motivator continues to be the charity’s mission. However, ‘personal connection’ is not too far behind, as the second-most motivating force (among those who donate to charity).
The Intersection of Politics and GivingTuesday
Especially during an intense election year, it may come as no surprise that political preferences also correlate to plans for donations. While liberal-leaning Americans are the least likely to be participating in GivingTuesday overall, conservative-leaning Americans represent the highest percentage who are ‘very likely’ to participate, while moderates indicate the most overall intention to participate. Given shifting economic outlooks spurring bullish attitudes on spending, this is unsurprising.
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Who is Opening Their Wallets
Those who plan to give on GivingTuesday are most likely to be younger adults and make under $50k–a continuation of a trend we saw last year. While other income brackets and age ranges may participate in acts of charity throughout the year, GivingTuesday does not seem to be the event that inspires them to open their wallets.
Additionally, those with children or grandchildren are more likely to donate than those without, suggesting that parenthood strengthens the appeal of this annual day of giving.
Additional insights to know about this year’s GivingTuesday participants:
- Donors love libraries–Those who are ‘very likely’ to participate in GivingTuesday are more than five times as likely as non-participants to go to the library ‘a few times a week.’
- They’re active online reviewers–Those most likely to donate say they use online review services such as Yelp ‘multiple times a week.’
- They’re involved with local government–Likely donors attend local government meetings ‘frequently’ – far more often than non-donors.
- They’re ready to spend–Those who are ‘very likely’ to donate on GivingTuesday are also the most likely to be spending more on their holiday shopping this year.
With sustained enthusiasm for GivingTuesday, the outcome looks promising for the many organizations that stand to benefit from the influx of financial support. However, actual spending may differ–in either direction–on the day, as Americans demonstrate their priorities with their dollars.
