Giving Tuesday donations grow in importance for local nonprofits, leaders say

On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Casa San José Executive Director Monica Ruiz-Caraballo often spends much of the day scrolling through social media, admiring the hard work of fellow nonprofit organizations across the region.

Posts and stories from her own group, a Western Pennsylvania-area resource center that works with the local Latino community, will be among many others featured on Giving Tuesday, an annual nationwide charity drive founded in 2012.

The fundraising day comes after Cyber Monday, Black Friday and Thanksgiving, and falls on Nov. 28 this year. It’s intended to encourage people to give to nonprofits that are important to them.

In Western Pennsylvania, many Giving Tuesday donations are funneled through Pittsburgh Magazine’s Give Big Pittsburgh program, which provides a single website through which donors can contribute to organizations across the region.

Today, nonprofits of all shapes and sizes will be flooding inboxes and social feeds with stories of their community impact, in an effort to elicit support. Ruiz-Caraballo sees the day as an opportunity for the nonprofit community to benefit as a whole.

“I love to see people thriving,” she said. “They do great work — I want them to make money.”

Fundraising staple

Since its inception in 2012, and especially since the start of the covid pandemic, Giving Tuesday has become a more integral part of fundraising for local nonprofits.

“It’s really important to us,” Ruiz-Caraballo said. “A lot of the money we get from foundations and contracts that we have is really limited; it can only be used for a, b or c. Many times, it’s not enough to cover the salaries.”

Donations given to Casa San José on Giving Tuesday help to provide flexible funding, she said. As the organization’s scope has grown from serving 400 people in 2020 to 4,000 this year, funding pressure has increased. Last year’s goal for Casa San José was $50,000, and the organization ended up bringing in nearly $60,000.

As a whole, individual donations became a bigger deal during the pandemic, as assistance from foundations didn’t always keep up with organizations’ increased needs, she said.

“The beauty of Giving Tuesday is even if you have given $20 in the past and you can only give $5, it’s fine. It’s no judgment, and it’s fun,” she said. “I think it’s a great way to say, ‘This is what I have, this organization is meaningful to me.’ ”

The total number of people contributing gifts — even if they’re small donations — is an important statistic for nonprofits, said Kate Angell, director of development and communications at Friends of the Riverfront, a nonprofit that works with the Three Rivers Heritage & Water Trail systems.

“Individual giving is kind of a measure of the support of the community for your mission,” she said. “We really pay an enormous amount of attention to that. It’s also important to the foundations that support us, to see that we have that support from the community. It’s actually crucial — it’s one of the measures that they consider when choosing to give us foundation support.”

Friends of the Riverfront hopes to raise $8,000 this year, which is more than the group made on Giving Tuesday last year, she said.

“If people are hesitating, thinking, ‘Oh, I really can’t afford to give a big amount of support,’ it’s important that they understand that’s still super meaningful to us,” she said. “For a lot of people who give smaller gifts, we know that means just as much to them as somebody who might be able to afford a larger gift.”

Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Michael Rozell also highlighted the importance of individual giving. Giving Tuesday functions as a supplemental fundraiser for the orchestra. This year’s Giving Tuesday goal is $5,000.

“All fundraising is important to us, because our ticket sales don’t cover the costs of our concerts,” Rozell said.

“Individual donations are incredibly important to us. Through donations and grants and whatnot, we are constantly working to raise money. … Any bit of assistance helps, because that also shows that, when applying for grants, we are supported by the community.”

Amy Riegner, director of Murrysville Community Library, notes that Giving Tuesday is part of the library’s fundraising cycle but isn’t the end-all-be-all.

“Having one day where there’s a lot of publicity about it helps keep it on the forefront of people’s minds,” she said. “As expenses increase and with inflation this year, sometimes there’s budget shortfalls. Being able to fill them from donations from the community is always helpful.”

Raising awareness

Not everyone is aware of Giving Tuesday’s importance. Wendi Kraemer, director of Angels for Everyday Heroes of Angels Journey Home, a Belle Vernon-based nonprofit that helps homeless veterans and rescues animals, says she often has to explain the holiday on social media.

“A lot of other people out there don’t even know what Giving Tuesday is,” Kraemer said. “Coming up to Giving Tuesday, we educate people. … It could be a salvation for a nonprofit to help them at this time of year.”

“What I love about it is it’s right after Thanksgiving, the day of giving,” she added. “Maybe if we could get more people to talk about it, it would help.’

Even more than a decade out from the original start of the movement, new organizations are still joining in.

This is Plum Borough Community Library’s first year participating. Normally, a lot of local libraries raise funds during September’s “Love Your Library Month” event, but the library decided to look for additional support on Giving Tuesday this year.

“It’s just another way to reach a wider audience, to get our message of what we offer to the community out there, and try to get some donations as a result,” said Pam Calfo, library director. “It’s a great avenue … and it’s a nice, united messaging on Giving Tuesday.”