Daily Buzz: #GivingTuesday’s Big Bump

Facebook’s recent bad press  (opens in a new tab) can’t take away from the good it did this week.

According to stats gathered by The Chronicle of Philanthropy  (opens in a new tab), #GivingTuesday, in its seventh year, raised $380 million, a 27 percent increase from 2017. Leading the way was Facebook, which nearly tripled the $45 million it helped bring in last year; its array of new fundraising tools helped charities raise $125 million this year. The company teamed with payment processor PayPal on a $7 million match for charities that took part on the platform, but it took only a few seconds  (opens in a new tab) for the match to hit its cap. The amount was three and a half times the $2 million match offered last year, which went nearly as fast  (opens in a new tab).

Other major payment processors also reported growth, including Blackbaud, which saw a modest increase  (opens in a new tab) to $62.6 million from $60.9 million last year. The big story: The average donation amount increased from $134 to $147, and donations went to more charities this year.

Smaller firms pitched in too. The Chronicle reports that DonorPerfect and Classy each saw double-digit growth in donations over last year—in Classy’s case, by nearly 50 percent  (opens in a new tab).

Overall, it represents yet another year of steady growth for #GivingTuesday, which has successfully leveraged the waves of social media in a big way.

Survey Invitations Matter

Your #survey  (opens in a new tab) invitation can make a big difference in your response rate. Here are tips to review before you send out your next online survey. #CSAE  (opens in a new tab) #ASSNCHAT  (opens in a new tab) https://t.co/lyrAoxs4dy  (opens in a new tab)

— Gerald Bramm (@gbramm) November 29, 2018  (opens in a new tab)

Trying to get folks to take your survey? The way you make your pitch can make all the difference, B2B researcher Gerald Bramm says in a roundup of tips for improving response.

“The invitation outlines objectives of the survey and explains how the results will be used,” he explains on his Bramm Research blog  (opens in a new tab). “It gives respondents a valid reason to complete the questionnaire. It answers the question … ‘what’s in it for me?’”

In his post, he recommends giving a specific completion date, a guarantee of confidentiality, and (potentially) an incentive.

Other Links of Note

If you need to boost your spreadsheet game, PCWorld offers a useful guide  (opens in a new tab) to help you make sense of Excel’s powerful macro functionality.

What the heck is “hygge”? It’s a Danish term for a general sense of comfort and warmth. And it could improve your office, the Nonprofit Marketing Guide argues  (opens in a new tab).

Instagram gets more accessible. The app’s newest features  (opens in a new tab) make it easier to use for those with visual impairments.

(cnythzl/iStock/Getty Images Plus)