As we move into the season of giving, it’s an ideal time to reflect on who and what we appreciate and how we can show our thankfulness. Everyone in Georgia benefits in some way from one or more of our state’s hard-working nonprofits – which are all coping with surges in demand for their services, increasing costs, and a reduction in resources, staff, and volunteers.  

The Georgia Center for Nonprofits (GCN), which hosts GAgives on GivingTuesday each year, is asking Georgians to use the month of November to show how #GAgivesThanks. Over the next 30 days, they’re putting a spotlight on 30 unique ways to give thanks leading up to GivingTuesday, when the international community comes together for a day of giving in support of the nonprofits that do so much for our communities. Taking place the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, this year on Nov. 28, 2023, GivingTuesday is an international event that highlights the true spirit of the season of giving, following the well-known shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  

“Georgia nonprofits continue to rally in challenging times, finding ways to continue serving as a vital connective thread in the fabric of their communities – providing educational opportunities, supplying aid services, rescuing animals, enhancing parks and outdoor experiences, highlighting the arts, and so much more,” said GCN President & CEO Karen Beavor. “Through #GAgivesThanks and GAgives on GivingTuesday, we’re encouraging Georgians to showcase the importance of nonprofits and demonstrate just how much we appreciate the difference they make in our lives. Year after year, Georgians step up to showcase their true generosity with record-breaking levels of giving, both in numbers of individual donors and total amounts raised. We’re eager to champion the importance of our nonprofits and to help steer another record-breaking groundswell of support in 2023.”

To help launch the 2023 GAgives on GivingTuesday initiative, nonprofit participants and their supporters can take part in the 30 days of #GAgivesThanks campaign, where a new prompt is provided daily that encourages Georgians to show their “thanks'' through social media while helping build visibility for nonprofits and GAgives. Each prompt can be found in the downloadable and easy-to-share 30 Days of #GAgivesThanks calendar, covering everything from mentors, healthcare workers, and coaches to pets, parks, and more. For a dozen years, GCN has been uniting nonprofit, philanthropic, and for-profit partners to build excitement for GAgives; their aim, with the #GAgivesThanks campaign, is to catalyze thousands of Georgians to join that partnership by sharing their personal #GAgivesThanks messages through social media posts as well as online donations, raising awareness for and furthering the impact of nonprofits throughout the state.

Nationwide, nonprofits have been affected by a dramatic downturn in giving while being called upon to meet increasing need for their services, complicated by the effects of inflation on both operating costs and donations. Further challenges include staffing and volunteer shortages, making 2023’s GAgives all the more meaningful. GivingUSA found that 2022 saw some of the sharpest declines in giving since it started recording statistics in 1956, with a 10.5% decrease across the country from 2021 to 2022. Though this drop followed a pandemic-fueled surge in giving, the need for many nonprofits’ services has climbed back to pandemic-era levels or higher. In addition, federal grants related to the pandemic are ending for many nonprofits, especially those providing childcare services, forcing them to reduce staff or even consider closing their doors should they not be able to raise needed funds.  

While 2022’s GAgives on GivingTuesday was another record-breaking year, with more than $29.3 million in donations and more than 190,000 gifts – an 8% increase over the prior year’s record-breaking total – the sharp decline in donations in 2023 so far means that, for many nonprofits, the need for donations of all sizes is all the more important this year.  

All Georgia nonprofits can participate and raise money through GAgives.org for the 2023 GAgives on GivingTuesday campaign. Organizations are encouraged to utilize the complimentary resources GAgives provides to assist in maximizing donations – including donor-motivating prizes from official GAgives sponsors, campaign toolkits, marketing materials, online trainings, GAgives success stories, and more – to help them engage their volunteers, staff, board, and supporters. 

This year, sponsors are sharing their #GAgivesThanks wishes by giving nonprofits that registered for prizes the chance to win additional funds – through “Power Hours,” “Golden Tickets,” and leaderboard contests. Those generous sponsors include WestRock, Arby’s Foundation, Carr Riggs & Ingram, Aprio, Mauldin & Jenkins and GasSouth. Additional GAgives support comes from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cox Enterprises, Georgia News Network, Outfront Media, WSB-TV Family 2 Family, and more. 

“Aprio is proud to partner with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits to support GAgives on GivingTuesday,” said Michele Blondheim, Aprio Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. “Participating in a global day of giving is a significant way to make a positive social impact by bringing people together. Together, we can make a difference and shape the future of our communities.”

All Georgia nonprofits also have access to an updated marketing and engagement toolkit on GAgives.org, featuring a new shareable calendar and customizable graphics for the #GAgivesThanks month-of-gratitude awareness campaign, along with peer-to-peer fundraising resources, online tutorials, sample messaging and templates for rallying supporters, and more. 

Since 2012, GAgives has galvanized Georgians to be a part of the state’s largest giving movement, resulting in over $122.8 million in donations so far, thanks to more than 560,000 individual gifts.  

Created, executed, and overseen by GCN for the direct benefit of Georgia nonprofits, the GAgives on GivingTuesday campaign is enhanced by generous sponsors, media partners, and participating organizations, whose contributions and creativity amplify the impact on nonprofits, allowing them in turn to continue operations for, and enhance their offerings to, the communities of Georgia. 

GCN considers it an honor to champion Georgia’s largest giving movement and serve as the official state lead for GivingTuesday, a generosity campaign involving all 50 states and more than 150 countries.