Giving Tuesday for Small Businesses: Why Your Company Should Get Involved

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States is officially known as Giving Tuesday, a kick-off to a celebration of charitable giving throughout the world. What started in 2012 as a small act of community activism to rebut the holiday season’s abundant consumerism has turned into a global movement of generosity for individuals, small businesses, and corporations.

Giving back to your community is one of the most meaningful acts you can do as a small business.

What Is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a global social media campaign to combat the commercialization of the holidays and raise charitable giving to organizations across the world.

Each year, media attention and hashtag activism create a surge of momentum, and the stats show that consumers (Millennials, especially) make purchasing decisions based on a company’s charitable giving.

How you embrace this pseudo-holiday is entirely up to you and your staff.

We live in an age where social responsibility matters for your business branding, and it helps target potential customers who share in your cause. The movement’s website does have a way to search for nonprofits seeking assistance in your area if you’re looking for a place to start. If you want to check a charity rating, you can do so through the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

When Is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is set to take place every Tuesday after the US Thanksgiving holiday. The celebration of giving lasts twenty-four hours.

4 Fun & Effective Giving Tuesday Ideas For Small Businesses

If you don’t know the best way to incorporate Giving Tuesday into your small business, Merchant Maverick has some tips for you. Here are four fun ideas:

Choose A Nonprofit Through A Contest

Every year, my credit union holds a contest to donate $10,000 to a local nonprofit in the area. Five charitable organizations are plucked from a bevy of nominations, and customers and people on social media vote for the winner. In this particular version of the event, the nonprofit that wins the contest receives the big prize, but all nonprofits receive a small donation regardless.

You want your customers to care about the organization you’re backing, so offering the community a chance to nominate their favorite nonprofits is a fantastic way to encourage participation and buy-in. Some companies share their winners on Giving Tuesday, but if that’s too late to start marketing, you could start the contest on Giving Tuesday and extend it through the holidays.

Have Your Entire Company Donate Time/Resources

Giving Tuesday could be an afterthought to an already hectic holiday season. It shouldn’t be. There are numerous ways your employees can donate time and resources in your small business’s name. Several larger corporations give their employees time off on Giving Tuesday to work/donate their time to a nonprofit of their choice, and other businesses go together as a group to volunteer locally.

It’s up to you as to how you share the news of your giving, but it’s more meaningful to focus on the impact you and your business can make in the community. Find places that need you, find a nonprofit that merges well with your business style, and ask how you can help.

Give A Portion Of Your Sales To A Nonprofit

This is an oft-used, tried, and true method, but it still has an incredible impact on you and the nonprofit you raise money for: give money from sales or give goods/services. You can hold hourly contests with giveaways to reach certain sales goals or keep an updated real-time calculator on social media showing what you’ve earned. When consumers know a percentage of money is going to an organization they care about, they will be more likely to spend money with you.

Is there a special product you could release where 100% of the profits go to a charity of your choice? There is the TOMS Shoes model (you buy shoes, they give a pair of shoes to someone in need), or the Barnes and Noble Buy a Book campaign for local school children model. Is there a product people can buy from you for others? Pick a method that works for your company, whether you are brick-and-mortar or online, and advertise those Giving Tuesday plans.

Focus On Storytelling And Go Big On Social Media

We are drawn to stories. We want to know who people are, what makes them tick, and how we can help. There are many ways to use Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to tell your story or the story of someone who needs help from the community.

If you are collecting money for a charitable organization, think about setting certain price anchors for donations and telling your customers what impact that donation has. (For example, a $10 donation plants a tree; a $100 donation sends a kid in your community to camp.) No matter the organization you choose, it’s up to you to tell that story and get the word out. The more relational your Giving Tuesday campaign is, the more success you’ll have.

3 Ways Your Small Business Can Benefit From Participating In Giving Tuesday

It’s important to note that Giving Tuesday is about giving. Can you benefit from participating? Of course! But the who and the why of this day are far more important than the how. Shoppers are savvier than ever before and they know what they like in a business, and they can also smell inauthenticity.

If your Giving Tuesday campaign is too focused on you and not focused enough on who you’re helping, you’re doing it wrong — and it will feel forced and backfire. Getting excited about Giving Tuesday starts at the top and works down, so you set the barometer as a business owner. Still, that doesn’t mean your attention to Giving Tuesday isn’t worth it for your business.

Here are three ways you benefit from participating:

• Improve Employee/Customer Morale: We are moved by selfless generosity and love for others, and when feel-good stories are in short supply, boosting morale is no small task. Work is work, and business is business. For business owners and employees alike, taking the time out to do something important and generous will boost mood and overall company self-esteem.
• Receive Tax Deductions: Tax deductions are helpful, and we cannot ignore the fact that they are a benefit to donations. Check out your state and local requirements for tax deductions on charitable giving and follow all the rules.
• Establish Yourself In The Community: Your small business is part of a larger community and serving that larger community is a huge benefit to you, your employees, and your customers. Whether it’s getting your name out as a partner or ally, communicating your business values, or setting up a system of giving that extends all year long, Giving Tuesday is the perfect place to start your campaign.

Pay It Forward With Giving Tuesday Campaigns

Doing good for the world and your community is good for business. Shoppers care about their communities; they also care about knowing where their money is going, and they want to shop for a cause. While the Giving Tuesday media ramps up and before the hashtags start to fly, decide on the most practical way to contribute this year and build off that foundation. What has your small business done for Giving Tuesday in the past?

Do you have any ideas and success stories to share? Let us know.