The #GivingTuesday train is still moving, full speed ahead.

The charitable holiday, which was launched in 2012 in response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, has shown consistent growth as it’s gained in popularity. And new statistics released by three of the payment-processing firms commonly used by nonprofits tell a compelling story of that growth.

According to The NonProfit Times, Blackbaud processed upwards of $47.7 million in transactions, up roughly 20 percent from 2015. Meanwhile, DonorPerfect reported $18.9 million in transactions, a 27 percent increase; and Network For Good saw $7.65 million in donations, a 16 percent increase.

Additionally, the nonprofit consultancy Whole Whale projected that organizations would receive more than $250 million in donations this year.

In Blackbaud’s case, the firm noted that average donations were slightly smaller than prior years—$126, an 8 percent decline—but that total is still far above the average of $50 for small-donor gifts. And because online donations were up significantly—by 31 percent in Blackbaud’s case—the lower donation total didn’t have a negative overall effect.

In comments to Post and Courier, Blackbaud Vice President of Data and Analytics Steve MacLaughlin noted that the trend lines were very positive, showing that #GivingTuesday is seeing growth with smaller nonprofit organizations.

“Everything would point to continued growth. The double-digit numbers are still very impressive,” MacLaughlin said. “This isn’t just for the really large organizations. In fact, where the growth has been is in medium and smaller organizations over the past two years.”

(iStock/Thinkstock)