More than 1,000 UK charities and busineses have now partnered with #GivingTuesday, marking a huge increase on the 285 organisations on board at this time last year.
The annual giving day, which is led in the UK by Charities Aid Foundation but originated in the US, takes place on 1 December, following both Black Friday and Cyber Monday – two of the UK’s biggest shopping days. It takes place in 12 countries across the world.
#GivingTuesday was held for the first time in the UK last year, and a total of 800 organisations had become partners by the time it took place.
Charities taking part this year include the Stroke Association, GoodGym, Dementia UK, Volunteer Now, WaterAid, NSPCC, Stonewall, RSPCA and Homes for Veterans.
Kim Roberts, CAF’s #GivingTuesday campaign manager, said: “We are astounded at the response to #GivingTuesday this year and delighted that we have hit 1,000 partners already.
“After two of the most frenetic shopping days of the year, #GivingTuesday is a day when charity can really kick off Christmas.
“People now have an extra reason to be charitable and shout about it. It is a chance for charities to celebrate the great work they do and for people to give back to the causes they care about.”
On #GivingTuesday last year JustGiving saw a 46 per cent increase in donations compared to the previous year, while Visa found that that an average of £2,500 was donated every minute on #GivingTuesday by UK Visa cardholders. This was 10 per cent higher than figures on the same day in 2013.
Last year charities got involved in several different ways. Delete Blood Cancer carried out a Swabathon for #GivingTuesday, spending the day visiting offices taking cheek swabs and registered over 300 potential stem cell donors.
Meanwhile, Marie Curie decided not to focus on fundraising and instead turned the day over to saying thank you, with everyone from senior leaders and nurses, office support and IT teams getting involved in sending hand written letters to thank donors. The video that they shared on Facebook was viewed more than 20,000 times.
