After turkey overload on Thanksgiving and shopping overload on Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, there’s a little-known holiday called #GivingTuesday.
#GivingTuesday was started in 2012 as a “global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.” But #GivingTuesday is more than a hashtag; it is the annual kickoff of charitable giving during the holidays. In 2015, #GivingTuesday raised more than $116M in 71 countries. The social impact of #GivingTuesday included more than 1.3M mentions on Social Media, over 913K of those on Facebook.
JMT Consulting works in partnership with nonprofits helping them to optimize their back-office processes so they can put more dollars into programs. So, it made perfect sense for us to take part in #GivingTuesday in meaningful ways across the country.
What Did We Do?
Our Patterson, NY team led the way by teaming with one of JMT’s client’s – Green Chimneys. Green Chimneys is a “multi-faceted nonprofit organization helping young people to maximize their full potential by providing residential, educational, clinical and recreational services, in a safe and supportive environment that nurtures connections with their families, the community, animals, and nature.” Our team was pleased to pitch in with the Green Chimneys staff as we helped serve lunch at the Green Chimneys annual Thanksgiving Luncheon.
Our Austin, TX team followed the lead and decided to help combat hunger at home. On #GivingTuesday, the team spent the morning at the Central Texas Food Bank (a subsidiary of Feeding America), where we sorted more than 8,427 pounds of produce which translated into 7,023 meals for Central Texans in need.
In December, our Nashville, TN team will continue this holiday tradition by donating their time at Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee, their local subsidiary of Feeding America. The team will work in the warehouse sorting and processing food for those in need.
What We Learned
As Simon Sinek says, “Start with Why.” Our “Why” at JMT Consulting Group is to enable nonprofits to do what they do best. Every day we come to work looking for ways to better serve nonprofits, to make you more effective and proficient so you can focus on your mission and constituents.
By participating in #GivingTuesday, we put our “Why” into action, had fun, experienced team building and made a difference in our communities. This is what inspires us.
We hope all nonprofits had a successful #GivingTuesday. We also want to remind everyone that while this is the kickoff of holiday charitable giving, needs are year-round. As our Food Bank Organizer said, “this is the season to give, but hunger knows no season.” This holds true for every nonprofit.
