Black Friday faltered in the shops, but #GivingTuesday, its philanthropic alter ego, went from strength to strength last week. Ben Russell of the Charities Aid Foundation examines why.

Last week was #GivingTuesday, a day for giving something back after the frenzied sales of Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
 
Only in its second year here in the UK, the idea of doing one small thing for a good cause generated more than 100,000 Tweets, was the top trending item on Twitter for a day and brought together more than 1,400 charities, public sector organisations and charities.
 
All the online giving sites showed big jumps in donations on the day. Having brought the campaign to the UK last year, we were blown away by how it has taken hold. But what have we learned from the experience?
 
There’s still enormous affection for charities and the causes they support

Britain is indeed one of the most generous countries on earth. When people see good stories about charities doing good work with real people, they are genuinely affected. When our #GivingTuesday champion Andrew Davies shared his story people were moved, and jumped to support him. His story was shared nearly 4,500 times and generous readers immediately donated thousands to his fundraising appeal. On #GivingTuesday people took to Twitter and Facebook to celebrate their support for hundreds of causes large and small.
 
Charities are stronger working together

#GivingTuesday is a grassroots movement, which allows anyone to get involved. It sets out to provide an opportunity for charities and businesses to talk about their cause, not our campaign. And its ‘call to action’ is a simple one – just do one thing, anything, for a good cause – so it’s really easy for people to get behind it. Needless to say, 1,400 organisations can reach many, many more people than any of them working alone.
 
The old rules of campaigning can be broken

Traditionally organisations launch campaigns, guard their brand and messages and build support for a specific action or aim. #GivingTuesday sets up an idea and lets people run with it. They can change the brand, change the hashtag, use the day to support another campaign. As long as it is for a good cause, it’s in. Henry Timms, the founder of #GivingTuesday, is fond of saying that it’s all about “mission not brand”. He’s got a great point. At CAF we worked with Blackbaud to bring this idea to the UK, but it’s not really about us, it’s about bringing people together and providing some tools.
 
Social media can build your relationships offline

#GivingTuesday was conceived from the start as a social media campaign allowing people to share their message. Not for nothing is the name a hashtag. But the campaign is about small groups of people meeting in small rooms round the country, getting enthusiastic about what they can do together, and then spreading the word to other people. The emergence of local campaigns like Manchester Gives More is testament to the power to mobilise people on the ground as well as online.
 
Businesses (and the people who work for them) really want to do good

Many companies make giving part of business all year round. But it’s been striking to see the huge enthusiasm amongst businesses to get behind #GivingTuesday - organisations like RBS, BT, Arriva, Morrisons, Argos and many more – have seized the opportunity to build relationships with charity partners and to galvanise their employees or customers around a common cause.  
 
You don’t need to be big to get your point across

Social media allows you to make a huge amount of positive noise without spending a massive budget. The big attraction of #GivingTuesday is that is gives a space for smaller organisations with a good idea to get their share of the campaign. One that stood out this week was the Milton Keynes Community Foundation.  By getting local businesses to join in a sporting challenge, they not only raised £6000 for their ‘surviving winter fund’ but @MKComFoundation was amongst the top 10 most active Twitter handles on the day.
 
It’s not just a single day of giving

The focus for #GivingTuesday may be a day to give something back, but its impact can far reach beyond the day itself. #GivingTuesday is about sharing ideas, trying new things and people learning from each other. It can change the way organisations work together and it can change the relationships between charities and their supporters.  

Ben Russell is director of communications at the Charities Aid Foundation.