Good trends for GivingTuesday 2023

Each year presents an exciting opportunity to shift our focus from consumerism to generosity, especially in the form of GivingTuesday. This global movement, which was launched in 2012, takes place yearly on the Tuesday after the US Thanksgiving holiday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

By prioritising compassion and philanthropy, it offsets the shopaholism that characterises this consumer-focused time of year. 

As the philanthropy landscape evolves and GivingTuesday has become part of our regular vernacular, trends have begun to emerge when it comes to creative ways to give back to society. Let’s explore some giving trends that you can leverage this 2023 GivingTuesday.   

1. Sustainable and ethical giving

With the ever-increasing interest in supporting organisations that are big on sustainable and ethical practices, sustainable and ethical giving is currently in vogue. This form of philanthropy involves making responsible and conscious choices when funding charitable causes. Its focus is to guarantee that the charitable donation aligns with principles of sustainability and ethics.

To nail sustainable and ethical giving, your donations need to align with your values; this means that issues like social justice, human rights, long-term impact and community development must be central to your charitable activities. Assess potential recipients of your donations to ensure that they employ sustainable and ethical practices in their operations.     

2. Impact investing

There’s a growing awareness that financial investments can address social and environmental challenges while yielding significant financial returns for investors. This two-pronged objective forms the core of impact investing—an investment strategy that seeks to achieve both financial returns and positive, measurable impact. 

The Impact Investing Global Market Report 2023 shows that the global impact investing market grew from $420.91 billion in 2022 to $495.82 billion in 2023 at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 17.8%. In other words, impact investing is hot right now!

Organisations interested in impact investing can identify social or environmental issues they’re passionate about, assess risk tolerance and return expectations and then explore various impact investment opportunities across different sectors and asset classes. This will help make meaningful contributions to society and yield good financial returns.            

3. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives

CSR initiatives are one of the corporate giving trends that are here to stay, and organisations can align with them for GivingTuesday 2023. CSR and GivingTuesday have a lot in common as they both emphasise giving back to society. 

Undoubtedly, there’s an uptick in environmental consciousness; and this is a great way to positively impact your community and environment. 

Your organisation could embark on projects that prioritise the reduction of carbon footprints, cleaner surroundings, planting of trees or the reduction of plastic use. 

Similarly, you could set up projects that attend to other needs of your community. This could mean providing infrastructure or healthcare opportunities and education. You could also embark on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) campaigns to ensure that underserved communities are well represented.            

4. Cryptocurrency donations

Cryptocurrency donation is another charitable giving trend you can implement for GivingTuesday 2023. Many charitable organisations have begun to accept donations in digital currencies.  

While crypto prices might have been unstable this year, crypto fundraising recorded impressive growth as per the 2023 Annual Report on Crypto Philanthropy. This report by the crypto philanthropy platform The Giving Block notes that a record 1,052 nonprofits began accepting crypto donations through the platform in 2022 while crypto-giving last year passed $125 million all-time on the platform.

The crypto march doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. This trendsetting form of philanthropy will add an element of variety to your charitable initiatives this GivingTuesday.      

5. Crisis giving 

From natural disasters like the Lahaina wildfire of Hawaii and the Morocco earthquake to conflicts like the Israel-Hamas war, 2023 has seen its fair share of crises. These events have left destruction in their wake, creating an immense need for charitable donations. 

For GivingTuesday 2023, you could respond to the natural disasters, public health emergencies and humanitarian crises that result from any of these events. To achieve this, your team could lend manual support or donations in kind by providing relief materials such as food and clothing.  

You can also respond by donating cash. If you’re drawn to donate funds to such causes beyond the borders of your country, our guide to internationalising your grantmaking is a good starting point. 

GivingTuesday presents a fantastic opportunity for us to give back to our communities. Add excitement to your GivingTuesday plans with any of these trendsetting initiatives.