Did you #GivingTuesday this year? Should you have?

Your email inbox probably noticed that #GivingTuesday was this week! 😊

The annual day of giving has grown and become almost ubiquitous among nonprofits. Yes, it is loved by many in the nonprofit world. But also has strong detractors. In fact, we question it, too. We asked if participating in #GivingTuesday is worth the effort a couple of years ago.

So, is #GivingTuesday worth the effort? As we wrote in that article, the right question is really “Is #GivingTuesday worth the effort for MY camp?” 

Here are some tangible ways your camp might take advantage of the ubiquity of #GivingTuesday:

• Stewardship. For example, your camp could run a thank-a-thon. 
• Engagement. Could you create a fun social media campaign to engage your campers, staff, and families?
• Focused fundraising campaign. Do you have a very specific program or campaign that can leverage the excitement of #GivingTuesday? 
• Part of year-end fundraising plan. Do you have a well-developed year-end fundraising campaign that could include #GivingTuesday as one component? 

What did camps accomplish THIS year?

We love hearing about successful #GivingTuesday campaigns from camps, and this year was no exception:

• The Cohen Camps (Camps Pembroke, Tel Noar, and Tevya) received dozens of important in-kind gifts from their Amazon Wishlists this year (see picture at top of the blog).
• Camp Deeny Riback collected and shared fun videos about supporting camp. #AmpUpCamp
• Camp Ramah in Canada raised over $116,000 from 250 donors!
• URJ Camp Harlam crushed its $25,000 #GivingTuesday goal, raising over $41,000 towards their campaign to preserve and renovate their iconic Chapel on the Hill (and creating lots of fun engagement with their community during the day).

What about YOUR camp?

These are just a few of the success stories from #GivingTuesday this year – we’d love to hear if/how YOUR camp participated. Whether you solicited for a specific #GivingTuesday fundraising campaign, engaged your families with a fun social media campaign, or ran a successful thank-a-thon, let us know how it went!

**
Written by Kevin Martone. Kevin is the Technology Program Manager with JCamp 180. His focus area is in applying technology (database management, communications) to support fundraising and outreach efforts. Kevin leads JTEC (JCamp 180 Training in Effective Communications) and co-leads Data2Donors, a program to help camps prioritize their database for improved Alumni outreach and fundraising.

**
Who we are: JCamp 180 is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF). Our goal is to significantly enhance the long-term effectiveness of nonprofit Jewish camps in North America. To meet this goal, we provide affiliated Jewish camps with consulting services, annual conferences, shared resources, professional development, and matching grant opportunities. Find more at www.jcamp180.org