From attracting employee participation in their corporate giving programs to connecting with your community, GivingTuesday offers a perfect moment to amp up and show off your brand’s commitment to social good. So what does participating in GivingTuesday look like for companies and brands? Get inspired with these stand-out examples from GivingTuesday 2018.
Use Your Technology for Good
Following its biggest shopping day ever, Amazon made it easier for consumers to give presents to children in need by simply saying, “Alexa, donate to Toys for Tots.” Alexa then recommended a gift from Toys for Tots’ curated list and after the order was confirmed, Amazon matched each donation toy for toy.
Match Donations on GivingTuesday
Coca-Cola matched $100k in donations to its nonprofit partners in Metro Atlanta which support fostering women’s entrepreneurship—providing education, skills-based training, and other professional development resources that help women overcome barriers to success.
Facebook and PayPal partnered up to match up to $7 million in donations made by users to US-based, 501(c) organizations on Facebook. They also waived any processing fees for nonprofits using Facebook Payments.
EQT and the EQT Foundation offered its employee a 2 for 1 match to any nonprofit they gave to on GivingTuesday, granting nearly $270,000. The also created a full-day of service and philanthropic activities in their communities.
In celebration of GivingTuesday, United Airlines matched customer donations of MileagePlus miles to the airline’s featured Charity Miles partners up to 6 million miles. MileagePlus members who donated 1,000 miles or more to one of United’s charity partners had their donation matched mile for mile up to 5 million miles by United Airlines. Additionally, every time the hashtag #UnitedCharityMiles was used on social media channels Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook in support of the United in Giving campaign, the airline donated 1,000 miles per post, up to 1 million miles for a total of up to 6 million miles donated.
WeTrust Spring, a fundraising platform that allows social entrepreneurs and nonprofits to raise funds via cryptocurrencies, matched 100% of every individual’s Ethereum donations, up to $100k. Their 14 nonprofit partners do work ranging from clearing 250,000 marijuana convictions by 2019 to protecting against web censorship and policies that threaten internet privacy.
Encourage Employees to Volunteer
TOMS® Shoes kept its stores across the country closed until 1:00 pm on GivingTuesday in order to let employees spend the morning volunteering at local organizations they cared about.
SAS Software organized staff members from 16 country offices and 13 US offices to volunteer and support some of their favorite causes, helping vulnerable populations while spreading good cheer.
Zenith sent staff to volunteer at NYC nonprofits, including Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. and Project Angel Food. One of their employees said, “I spent 4 hours chopping vegetables for people who suffer from illnesses that don’t allow them to cook for themselves. My arm is hurting, but somewhere someone will have my veggies and it’ll make their day a little easier, and that’s honestly all that matters.”
Use Your Brand Awareness for Good
Lyft and Nissan created a campaign to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Habitat Humanitarian brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott and their celebrity friends took a spin as they talked about the meaning of home and the importance of giving back, all while celebrating the important work of Habitat for Humanity. Celebrity riders included JB Smoove, Caleb Marshall, Aimee Garcia, Chris Hardwick, LeAnn Rimes, and Sugar Ray Leonard. Lyft riders nationwide were also encouraged to ‘round-up’ their rides on GivingTuesday to support Habitat for Humanity.
In San Antonio, Portland, and Seattle, Imperfect Produce invited customers to reuse their Imperfect boxes by filling them up with most-needed pantry items. Imperfect Produce delivery drivers picked them up for two weeks starting on GivingTuesday and donated what was collected to the San Antonio Food Bank, Oregon Food Bank, and Seattle Food Lifeline Food Bank.
Donate Your Product to People in Need
On GivingTuesday, Casper supported rescue, relief, and resettlement organizations by donating mattresses, sheets, and other essentials to families in need. Organizations included The Red Cross, IRC, IFT, and Miry’s List.
Match Employee’s Donations on GivingTuesday
EA normally matches 100% of full time employees donations up to $5k per fiscal year. For GivingTuesday, the video game company matched 200%. EA also sent some employees to participate in a Missing Maps project, creating maps for natural disaster and conflict areas.
Get Both Your Employees + Customers Involved on GivingTuesday
In a campaign called #GivingOnUs, T-Mobile gave its customers, fans and employees the opportunity to give back more than $2 million. T-Mobile customers could login to the T-Mobile Tuesday app to give 10 meals to Feeding America®. Additionally for every tweet with the #GivingOnUs hashtag, T-Mobile gave 10 meals to Feeding America®. T-Mobile also gave employees $27 to donate to the charity of their choice and gave customers using the T-Mobile app the chance to win $25, $100, or $500 to their preferred organization.
JPMorgan Chase gave a $2 credit for every $1 donated – up to $1,000 – to employees’ Charitable Spending Account, which was used to “pay it forward” to nonprofit organizations. Together with 10,000 employees, the firm raised $5.9 million dollars. This represents a 63% increase in the number of participating employees since 2017 and a 28% increase in donations.
Create an Epic Moment
JetBlue ran a #CheckInForGood contest and flew a plane full of do-gooders to “Destination Good,” the Dominican Republic. Winners of JetBlue’s #CheckInForGood contest were so committed to good, they agreed to join JetBlue on a volunteer trip during JetBlue For Good Month without knowing the destination. JetBlue announced the destination on GivingTuesday and over the course of 3 days in the Dominican Republic, the do-gooders renovated a local school, beautified a community play space and built buoys to protect coral reef beds.
Harrah’s Resort in Southern California sent their employees to volunteer at 11 different local nonprofits. Some packed lunches for homeless, some cleaned up a beach, some cleaned an exhibit at a military museum,some bathed dogs at a service dog nonprofit, others donated blood. Each nonprofit they worked with additionally received $2500 from Harrah’s. “We’ve been participating in GivingTuesday for the past 4 years and truly enjoy getting out as a team to help others throughout Southern California,” said Amber Lussier, Harrah’s Director of Resort Marketing.” It also serves as a very powerful team building event for everyone involved. You see teammates come together in ways you wouldn’t see otherwise.” They start organizing their event in the summer, reaching out to local nonprofits who need volunteers. Each activation has a Harrah’s team leader who organizes staff for their project.
Find more ideas for how companies and brands can give back or small businesses in our case studies!
