Four Tips To Help Businesses Harness The Power Of Giving Tuesday.
Giving Tuesday is the global day of giving, reaching millions of people across the world and celebrated in 60 countries. Created to encourage generosity, the day is always celebrated on the Tuesday following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year it is November 29th.
For sole traders to larger enterprises, being part of a global movement that drives positive change and kindness is a golden opportunity to do good, amplify brand values and champion the vital work of charities. What's more, if a business gives back through a sales fundraising campaign, this powerful day could also provide rewarding marketing opportunities and a sales boost.
Sales fundraising is when a business raises funds for charity by donating a portion of sales of a product or service e.g donating 10% every time they sell a t-shirt. It enables businesses of all sizes to give in a sustainable way that works for them because when a business raises funds through sales they are only committed to donating what they have raised in relation to what they have sold.
Anne Marie and Kate founders of Rowdy Kind
Since 2020, ethical children's skincare brand Rowdy Kind has used Giving Tuesday to raise money for mental health charity YoungMinds by donating 10% of sales. Last year, they launched their sales fundraising in mid-October and really made a splash on Giving Tuesday, maximising their impact by joining in with #GivingTuesday across their platforms. So far, Rowdy Kind has raised over £1,216.16 for charity by donating a percentage of sales of their plastic-free shampoos and skincare for kids.
Here are four tips to help businesses get involved with Giving Tuesday.
1) Build up the buzz:
Don’t wait for the big day, instead launch a sales fundraising campaign prior to Giving Tuesday. Whether your business donates 10% of sales of a product or service, it is worth starting to drive awareness of the campaign before Giving Tuesday and then really utilise the day to maximise awareness. Creating excitement and interest before the day will help to encourage and spread generosity – which is the goal of the movement whilst also driving sales of the product or service.
2) Turn Black Friday on its head:
Giving Tuesday was created in the US as an antidote to Black Friday. In 2014 it was launched in the UK to inspire giving back in the run-up to Christmas. Many businesses now use Black Friday and Cyber Monday to encourage people to spend their money more ethically by choosing to shop with small brands that are also making a meaningful difference. With a rise in consumers wanting to shop with purpose this makes business sense. Sole traders to larger brands can use this mega-selling weekend alongside the power of Giving Tuesday to raise money for charity through sales and offer customers the opportunity to buy Christmas gifts that are also doing good.
3) Say thank you to the charities important to you:
Use social media, newsletters, blogs and even live streams to talk about the things you or your team members love about a charity. Raise awareness of the good things the charity does, and its impact and inform people of the work they’re doing. Businesses who take the time to speak about the charity's work alongside their sales fundraising will demonstrate to customers genuine care.
4) Tell personal stories:
To connect with customers and build a community, businesses need to show their human side, after all, people buy from people. Thanks to smartphones, any business can create videos to tell compelling stories about why their business has chosen to support a particular cause. This will enable brands to forge emotional connections, build loyalty and respect in a way that simply showing images of products or talking about services might not.
