Giving Tuesday Shows Robust Results

All signs are pointing to a robust Giving Tuesday haul yesterday as nonprofits report big increases in their fundraising.

Online donations processed by Blackbaud on Giving Tuesday rose 90 percent, to $19.2-million from some $10-million during last year’s event. The average gift online yesterday was $142, up from $102 on Giving Tuesday 2012, Blackbaud says.

Network for Good, which processes online donations, said it handled $1.8-million in gifts on Tuesday, compared with $1-million on Giving Tuesday 2012. More people donated but in smaller amounts, as the number of transactions almost doubled to 13,435 but the average gift size slipped by almost $10 to $133.

Among the most closely watched efforts was Baltimore’s, as the city rallied to raise the most of any metropolitan area. The city reported that it surpassed its $5-million goal by about $500,000 for its inaugural “Bmore Gives More” campaign. More than 200 nonprofits, businesses, and individuals took part. The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, which was the most successful charity in the country last year on Giving Tuesday, raised $1.3-million yesterday, up from last year’s $1-million.

Among other highlights of the day:

• Good Ventures, the foundation started by the Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna, announced that it is offering a $5-million matching grant to GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that touts its no-strings-attached cash payments to poor people around the world. Any donation made through January 31 will be matched up to the total amount of $5-million.

• Google hosted a “Hangout-a-thon” online yesterday with a series of live programs meant to highlight selected nonprofit groups and get viewers to donate. Organizations involved were Save the Children, Unicef, and the Malala Fund.

• The Case Foundation gave away $75,000 in matching grants to nonprofits that used its Crowdrise page on Giving Tuesday. Nearly 80 nonprofits participated.

• The American Red Cross thanked its supporters who donated on Giving Tuesday by sending them unique images of sock puppets and the like saying “thanks.”

To find out more about those efforts and more that happened on Giving Tuesday, go to:philanthropy.com/givingtuesday2013.

Cody Switzer contributed to this article.