What Do Amazon, Victoria's Secret And Bitcoin Have In Common? Giving Tuesday

A store that sells bras is donating some of its sales proceeds to breast cancer research.

The Mormon Church has put out a bunch of reverse vending machines, where people who put their money in don't get anything back — because the money goes to help others.

A major airline is going the extra mile for people in need by matching fliers' donations of their air miles to those who need to fly, such as cancer patients who need to travel for treatment or people visiting terminally ill loved ones.

And an organization that provides nonprofits and charities with bitcoin processing software is launching a big bitcoin charity campaign, called #BitcoinTuesday with a goal of raising $1 million in cryptocurrency for nonprofits.

Giving Tuesday

Those are just some of the ways in which Americans will donate an estimated $500 million or so to nonprofits and charities Tuesday for "Giving Tuesday," an event that was created back in 2012.

We are filled with joy to be able to participate in this wonderful campaign to #LightTheWorld form Arizona with @ComeUntoChirst. Last year donations from these Giving Machines helped us provide 335,000 meals! #givingmachines https://t.co/Wq6F6S02PS via @KTAR923

— United Food Bank (@UnitedFoodBank) November 14, 2019

See Also: Wealth And Philanthropy: The World's 10 Richest Aren't The World's 10 Most Generous

Chance For Companies To Build Good Will

While the idea of Giving Tuesday is seen by many as a chance to mitigate some of the guilt of over-consumption around the holidays — coming just after the capitalistic consumption frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday — companies have found a way to get in on the charitable day, too.

From L Brands Inc's LB Victoria's Secret Stores, which are donating 5% of revenue from Tuesday's purchases to the Susan G. Komen organization for breast cancer research, to United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL, which is encouraging frequent fliers to donate miles to people who need them by matching contributions up to 10 million miles, companies are finding ways to connect their brands to what people are talking about, posting on social media about and feeling good about.

“Alexa, donate to Toys for Tots.” #DeliveringSmiles pic.twitter.com/vzyrcFvoXC

— Amazon.com (@amazon) November 27, 2018

Other companies that have in the past linked their brand to the one-day generosity movement have included Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, which announced Tuesday that customers can ask Alexa to donate to Toys for Tots, and Amazon will help the customer pick and buy a toy, handle the donation, and match contributions toy for toy.

Several companies also use the day to generate some good will through their employees. Many partially match donations. Some are particularly generous. Electronic Arts Inc. EA, for example, normally matches 100% of employee donations up to a certain amount, but on Giving Tuesday, it matches 200%.

The philanthropy-focused day was started in New York in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation.

Parents often ask me how they can encourage their children to give back. Here’s a lovely way to start, from 12-year-old Khloe: #GivingTuesdayKids! https://t.co/WNYmDgNjJd @GivingTuesday pic.twitter.com/PlKmFHZD6m

— Melinda Gates (@melindagates) December 3, 2019

Evaluating The Good

The Giving Tuesday movement has driven extra giving thanks to social media, and it's also sparked a couple of side phenomena — including organizations that aim to help people know which nonprofits and charities are doing the most with the donations they get.

Giving Tuesday says that last year, 3.6 million donations were made on the day, and $380 million was raised in the United States. The average gift size was just over $100.