How charities took part in #GivingTuesdayNow

Giving Tuesday is an annual day of giving, which takes place after the consumer excess of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, as a response to Coronavirus, they launched #GivingTuesdayNow – a global day of unity “where we can all come together to recognise, celebrate and give thanks for the incredible outpouring of compassion we have witnessed during this crisis.” It took place on Tuesday 5 May and trended all day on Twitter.

We were happy to be among the launch partners in the UK so here’s what happened during the day.

The concept

Normally Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for charities to say thank you to their supporters, to fundraise or to ask people to volunteer their time to help their cause. For #GivingTuesdayNow the concept was simple – for anyone to say ‘thank you’ and show gratitude for our health workers and key workers and to the people in our community who have shown kindness and compassion to others.

Here’s a selection of tweets we spotted from charities during #GivingTuesdayNow

Saying Thank You

Chester Zoo

Zoe, one of the bird keepers at Chester Zoo, posted a personal video thanking everyone who had donated to them during this difficult time and reminded everyone to stay safe until they could visit the zoo once again.

The Children’s Society

The Children’s Society thanked everyone who had fundraised for them recently.

The Conservation Volunteers

The Conservation Volunteers thanked all their volunteers who are helping to take care of our green spaces, which have been even more important during Coronavirus. They also thanked key workers, charities and volunteers who are supporting their communities during this crisis.

Macmillan Cancer Support

We love this collage of Macmillan staff all clapping to say thank you to their fundraisers, their staff, dedicated health and care professionals and anyone providing cancer support during these difficult times. It’s wonderful to see their CEO Lynda Thomas taking part too!

Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity

Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity not only thanked their supporters but also shared the amazing news that their appeal had reached £1m! They shared how the money will help – from buying handheld ultrasound scanners to providing wellness programmes for staff who have been working throughout the crisis.

Nottingham CVS

Volunteers are so important to the sector. Nottingham CVS used #GivingTuesdayNow to say thank you to all the volunteers in Nottingham who have been helping vulnerable people to keep safe during the crisis.

Help for Heroes

Help for Heroes thanked all their supporters and included a quote for their head of welfare & clinical services.

CharityComms

The team at CharityComms embraced the heart concept and thanked all those who are providing essential support at this time, including volunteers, charities and their members.

British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation thanked all the key workers and front line staff, working hard during this crisis. They also thanked their cardiac nurses who have been helping people via their helpline.

The ED Society

The ED Society took the opportunity to say thank you to their trustees with this lovely tweet!

Asking for support

Although #GivingTuesdayNow was about saying Thank You, some charities took the opportunity to ask for donations. This crisis has hit charities hard so it was a good opportunity to appeal to their supporters for a donation.

Maggie’s Centres

Sting recorded his hit song ‘Message in a bottle’ to encourage people to call or text Maggie’s if they needed support during this time. They asked for a text donation of £3 to help fund their helpline.

Doctors of the World

Doctors of the World asked for a donation to support their Covid19 work so that they could continue to provide essential aid to refugees, asylum seekers and the homeless.

Beagle Freedom Project

US Nonprofit the Beagle Freedom Project asked their supporters to make a donation to help free 29 beagles who had gone through animal testing. What was really interesting was that they didn’t include a link to donate in their tweet but asked people to donate via Facebook, Instagram and Venmo. Lots of people replied saying that they had donated! Think the cute photo helped…

Rainbows Hospice

Rainbows Hospice appealed for donations by stating how much it costs to fund just 20 hours of nursing care at their hospice.

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts reminded us that restoring nature in the UK is even harder now during the pandemic. They appealed to people to support UK wildlife by making a donation.

Giving back throughout the year

Giving is not a one-time off act. You can still be helpful and kind throughout the year. Here’s a #DoGoodCalendar to for more ideas!

Did your charity take part in #GivingTuesdayNow? Tweet us at @Lightful to let us know!