Giving Tuesday 2023 is over—now it’s time to learn from the data. What moved the needle?
In the United States alone, everyday donors and corporations gave over $3.1 billion donated in the U.S. on November 28, 2023. Around 34 million adults participated in some way, whether by sharing their time, money, or talent, according to the nonprofit Giving Tuesday, which helps other nonprofits make the most of philanthropy's biggest day of the year.
In the ever-evolving landscape of corporate social responsibility, Giving Tuesday has become a pivotal day for enterprises to showcase their commitment to philanthropy. This year, several leading organizations went above and beyond, leveraging innovative strategies to not only maximize their impact but also enhance employee engagement.
Here are three things your organizations can focus on to achieve the same level of impact as companies like lululemon and Airbnb.
3 Things Helped Enterprise Companies Make an Impact on Giving Tuesday
1. Scalable social impact technology
Giving Tuesday is not just about giving; it's about creating a movement. Enterprise organizations recognized the importance of leveraging social impact technology that can scale for high volumes. Whether it's handling a surge in donations or facilitating a massive virtual volunteering effort, having technology that can accommodate high levels of engagement is crucial.
These organizations invested in platforms like Deed that seamlessly integrate with their existing systems, providing a smooth and efficient experience for both employees and the IT department.
The Deed product and engineering teams had been eagerly waiting for Giving Tuesday all year. We are proud that our scalable, integration-forward platform maintained 100% uptime on November 28, 2023. (By the way, anyone can view our public website and app status 24/7/365 at status.joindeed.com.)
The technology not only handled the transactional aspects of giving but also facilitated employee involvement in a range of activities, from virtual volunteer events to charity drives. The scalability of the technology ensured that as engagement grew, the platform could adapt and support the increased load without sacrificing performance.
2. All Giving Tuesday tech partners should prioritize your employees’ experience
Did you know that some enterprise organizations are engaging as much as 78 percent of their workforce in social impact? How do they do it?
The success of any Giving Tuesday initiative hinges on employee participation. Enterprise organizations recognized that to maximize engagement, the technology platform used must prioritize the employee experience. This involves creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface that encourages participation from employees at all levels of the organization.
User-centric design was at the forefront of the Fortune 500’s tech platform considerations. With Deed’s UX-first technology, more were able to join the Giving Tuesday movement in 2023 than ever before. This was the largest individual donation week in Deed’s history, led by the 125 percent new people who gave to causes they care about on our platform.
The Deed partner success and employee support teams were ready to handle all questions that came our way. Of all support tickets created on November 28, 2023, 94.4 percent were resolved with one touch, for a median response time of just one minute.
For companies like lululemon and Airbnb, the goal was to make it easy for employees to navigate, donate, and participate in volunteer activities. From a seamless login process to personalized dashboards that showcased an employee's contributions and impact, these organizations ensured that the tech platform was an enabler rather than a barrier. A positive and straightforward user experience not only boosts engagement but also encourages employees to become long-term advocates for the company's philanthropic efforts.
3. Remember: Giving Tuesday is all about the nonprofits’ success
While Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for companies to showcase their commitment to giving back, the most successful enterprise organizations understood the importance of keeping the spotlight on the nonprofits they were supporting. Instead of treating it as a one-off event, they maintained a sustained focus on the mission and impact of the nonprofits throughout the day.
Nonprofits are brimming with supporter stories that add up to compelling narratives around the causes they champion. Leading tech companies like Airbnb and Ripple prize these stories of the individuals and communities benefiting from the time, money, and talent of their enthusiastic employees.
Deed is proud to have sent more enthusiastic people and donation dollars to deserving nonprofits this Giving Tuesday than ever before. On November 28, 2023, 1,181 nonprofits from the World Central Kitchen to the American Red Cross found their latest champions on our platform. With zero platform downtime, record low support requests, and one-minute median resolution times, we are thrilled to have surpassed even our own expectations for nonprofit satisfaction.
One more thing: How do social impact managers maintain the Giving Tuesday momentum year-round?
The success of enterprise organizations on Giving Tuesday can be attributed to their strategic use of social impact technology, prioritizing the employee experience in tech platforms, and maintaining a steadfast focus on nonprofit service. These lessons are invaluable for organizations of any size looking to enhance their philanthropic initiatives, grow engagement, and make a meaningful impact on Giving Tuesday and beyond. By adopting similar strategies, businesses can turn their commitment to corporate social responsibility into a force for positive change in the world.
Deed is an enterprise social impact platform that makes it fun and easy for millions of employees to share their time, money, and talent with causes they care about. We started as a viral volunteering app, and today our platform gives the world’s most inspiring brands—from lululemon to Airbnb—one exceptionally-designed home for all of their purpose-driven activities.
Corporate grantmaking, employee donations/matching, diversity & inclusion, and employee resource groups (ERGs) are only the beginning. Because over the past three to five years, everyone’s expectations for Fortune 500 corporate social responsibility have radically changed. But with our trusted integration partners like Workday and PayPal, hand-in-hand customer service, and a collaborative product team, Deed’s platform moves at the speed of work.
Do you think that community service and social impact should be essential parts of your workplace culture? Join the movement of inspiring companies who agree with you.
