Following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday gave a needed boost to several local charities.
“We are happy today,” said Lee Chambers, marketing and communications manager for the Dakin Humane Society, which is based in Springfield and has an office in Leverett. “We had set a goal of $30,000, which we really hoped we would be able to gather. We had $24,000 in online donations and received donations through the mail which got us to our goal.”
Chambers said the humane society has been a beneficiary of Giving Tuesday, in which people give to charities on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, for two years. This year the organization received donations from more than 300 people
The donations help the organization maintain its food bank for pets and its spay and neuter clinic, which Chambers said is the largest in New England.
“Contributions keep us innovating,” she said.
At the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Giving Tuesday did not bring in the amount of the recent Monte’s March, which raised nearly $200,000 last week, but it was still important, according to Marketing and Communications Manager Chris Wojcik.
“This time of year is busy for us as far as donations are concerned,” he said.
The food bank relies heavily on donations, according to Wojcik. The organization only receives food from the federal government and a slice of the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is shared among the state’s four food banks.
“I think it’s great that in Western Mass there’s this culture of philanthropy and support for the local nonprofits,” he said. “Areas throughout he country don’t have that sense of community and we’re lucky to live in an area where we do. To see everybody come together to support the community is tremendous.”
Monica Green, development director at the Kestrel Land Trust, said Giving Tuesday is a useful way to get people thinking about making donations to charities.
“Anything that puts a spotlight on the good work nonprofit organizations are doing is a benefit to those of us who are trying to raise awareness of those programs,” she said.
At Kestrel, donations go to helping conserve forests, which can help address the problem of climate change, Green said.
Jim Ayres, executive director at the United Way of Hampshire County, said that Giving Tuesday and its May counterpart Valley Gives are useful, but not what his organization focuses on for fundraising.
“The majority of United Way giving is focused on year-round engagement,” he said. “Hunger, homelessness and childhood trauma all require solutions and engagement year round.”
Instead, the United Way tries to encourage people to make regular payroll deductions to the organization rather than one larger contribution once per year, he said.
Nevertheless, Giving Tuesday does provide a venue for people to think about giving and builds awareness of the need of many local organizations, he said.