Why spaghetti, bunny slippers and business promotions need to stay out of #GivingTuesday
Give the promotions a rest on this day dedicated to generosity, unless the “buy to give” offers are a regular habit.
Today much of the world is focused on giving generously — and on sharing ideas and conversations about charities and contributing to the greater good. This oasis of civic and global caring brings a respite in a season of sales and consumerism.
Then there’s the purveyors of high end jeans and mid-priced manicure kits, where #GivingTuesday seems almost like a way to sell, sell and promote themselves.
Yes, businesses are cashing in — and crashing in — on #GivingTuesday. They may view it as part of their good corporate citizen campaigns, yet it crosses into the crass consumerism that so dominates media and merchants this time of year.
For #GivingTuesday, JCPenney will support military families when you shop, as long as you round up your payment amount. The department store is kicking off the campaign with a $50,000 donation to two charities.
And Fazoli’s will give $1 to Feed the Children for every $5.99 all-you-can eat spaghetti dinner purchased on Tuesday, while woman’s fashion retailer Evereve will donate $10 from every pair of jeans sold in stores or online toward a loan fund for female entrepreneurs overseas. Other companies from Omaha Steaks to Hickory Farms to H&M also are grabbing #GivingTuesday.
Ordinarily I might be happy to see retailers and restaurants entwining their marketing with charities and causes, provided they clearly disclose how much they are giving and for how long. Instead of advertising dollars, I appreciate and am involved with businesses that market at charitable events and fundraisers, or donate regularly to good causes. But for #GivingTuesday, this connection makes me uneasy and turns my thoughts curmudgeonly. It seems disingenuous for businesses to soup up sales based on a day dedicated to igniting generosity and counterbalancing the Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
GivingTuesday was created by the 92ndStreetY and United Nations Foundation and its partners to turn our energies away from hoopla on holiday deals toward philanthropy and volunteering. Its purpose: “to celebrate generosity and to give.”
I adore the ideals of #GivingTuesday and plan to participate in this growing movement to inspire more generosity. And I’ve encouraged nonprofits to join the throngs of charities raising money or volunteers this day and the next ones.
From its start in 2012 in New York City, it has spread across the U.S. to Brazil, Singapore and the U.K. among others. And from the start organizers welcome businesses in selling mode. They list JCPenney and Dell alongside nonprofits such as Global Citizen and Physicians for Peace. They offer business case studies and a sample press release for corporate partners in the U.K. and elsewhere.
And businesses are jumping onto their growing and good-hearted movement.
Fazoli’s for example, hopes to raise $10,000 on GivingTuesday from spaghetti buyers on Tuesday. That contribution will come on top of $60,000 raised earlier this year, a spokeswoman told me. The affordable Italian chain reports that it has donated more than 13 tons of in-kind food donations to Feed the Children and $100,000 in previous years’ contributions. That kind of long-term commitment is laudable — and part of a larger trend.
Businesses are increasingly using volunteering and charitable donations as a way to build their brand, for workers and for consumers. It’s smart to deploy charitable connections as an incentive to encourage consumers to buy or eat or join your team. Cause marketing can be potent and powerful and I’ve used it in my little Mity Nice social enterprise.
Yet even with growing socially responsible and cause marketing efforts, businesses still accounted for only 5 percent of total U.S. giving last year. Meanwhile, individual Americans gave 72 percent — around $240 billion a year to charities, religious organizations and other causes, according to Giving USA 2014. About 83 percent of Americans donated money to a charity or cause, while two-thirds say the volunteered in a year, according to a 2013 Gallup poll.
We like to give to people in need. Giving to charity or individuals ranked just behind hugging children and falling in love as the most “feel good activities,” according to a 2012 Razoo / Harris Interactive survey. No wonder businesses look to consumer purchases and pass-along donations as a way to make more money — and make clients savor their spending.
So how does this affect us as we buy bunny slippers or other gifts for Chanukkah, Christmas or another December holiday? And what does it mean to getting involved in #GivingTuesday?
Start with the purest intent of the day: generosity. That means skipping those buy to give programs, unless what you’re purchasing is something your sister, partner or coworker really wants. Instead, give to give. And check to see if your employer has a matching donation program today too. Then use it to multiply your contribution now— or next week. Or find a company that’s doubling up for #GivingTuesday. The biggest example: Microsoft became one of the founding partners to promote youth issues globally, and it has raised more than $4.8 million.
If you want to give locally, carry some warm gloves or fresh oranges to hand out to homeless people, one of my winter giving traditions. Or head to your locally-owned supermarket or specialty food district and buy some pasta, sauce and salad fixings. Invite in 10 friends or colleagues for a #GivingTuesday dinner. Ask each to throw $5 or $10 into a pot and donate it to a local charity. That’s a delicious approach that could turn into a monthly or quarterly #GivingGroup.
Just don’t ask any company to donate your dessert — the community and giving will be sweet enough without that.
Follow Vickie on Twitter @WorkingKind or on her blog WorkingKind.com, which covers careers, kindness and creativity. Read about her international World Kindness Day ideas — from India to Indiana.
