Classy’s Donation Volume Nearly Doubles to $24 Million on December 31, 2018; Marks Largest Giving Day in Company History

The changes to the tax code may not be thwarting charitable giving after all, if nonprofits’ year-end fundraising results on Classy are any indication. After a record-breaking Giving Tuesday 2018, Classy, the #1 online and mobile fundraising platform for nonprofits, announced that nonprofits raised over $24 million on Dec. 31, 2018—up 93% from the year before—surpassing Giving Tuesday 2018 as the largest single giving day in company history.

On the heels of several natural disasters in the United States and across the globe, human services—a cause category that includes disaster relief—topped the donation charts with more than $5 million raised on Giving Tuesday via Classy. This aligns with Classy’s September 2018 consumer survey which found that donors felt disaster relief was the number one cause needing support on Giving Tuesday.

Furthermore, the number of large online donations (defined as gifts $5,000 or above) grew by 58% this Giving Tuesday—exceeding the overall donation growth rate by over 15 percent—with the largest online gift surpassing $100,000.

While large-scale donations haven’t always been associated with online giving, Classy’s recent report, “Why America Gives,” found that 52% of people find it easiest to make donations digitally, whether on a computer or smartphone—confirming that these increasing online gift sizes signify a continued shift in the public’s general comfort with and preference for online giving.

Through Classy’s real-time giving hub, which now displays 2018 recap data, visitors were able to track the Giving Tuesday momentum on the Classy platform throughout the day. By 6:00 p.m. CST, the Classy platform had already exceeded its previous Giving Tuesday donation record of $10.3 million in 2017. Donations peaked during the 10:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. hours (CST) with more than $1 million donated on Classy during all four 60-minute periods.

“The first Giving Tuesday in 2012 saw $32,000 raised by nonprofits on Classy, so it’s beyond inspiring to see over $15 million raised on the platform this year, just six years later,” said Scot Chisholm, Classy CEO and Co-Founder. “Our customers’ fundraising success this Giving Tuesday leaves us hopeful and enthusiastic for what the rest of the holiday giving season will bring to their critical programs. We’re thankful for the millions of donors that participated in this Giving Tuesday, both on and off the Classy platform, and for their impact on the causes most near and dear to their hearts.”

Other key highlights from Giving Tuesday 2018 on Classy include:

  • Human services, health, and international/foreign affairs rounded out the top three causes on Classy’s platform. Human services received $5 million in donations, while health and international/foreign affairs each received $1.9 million in donations.
  • The top five organizations to raise the most money on Classy’s platform were Camp Kesem, The Salvation Army, Shriners Hospitals for Children, the Gary Sinise Foundation, and RZIM. These front runners demonstrated a diverse array of causes, including disaster relief, free and specialized healthcare for children, veteran support, religious services, and more.
  • Classy’s average one-time gift size on Giving Tuesday was $114, up 5% from the year before.
  • Though women continued to make up the majority of Giving Tuesday donors on the Classy platform (64% in 2018), on average, men gave 10% more than women this year.
  • The most generous U.S. states per capita were Montana, South Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska, and New Mexico. The least generous U.S. states per capita were Louisiana, Arkansas, New York, Hawaii, and North Dakota.
  • Existing recurring donors that chose to give an additional one-time gift on Giving Tuesday grew by 84% this year, continuing to reinforce the ultimate value of these engaged supporters.
  • Dollar contributions went up 9% for one-time donors that gave both last year and this year on the Classy platform, a promising metric of increasing generosity year over year.

“For several years, our Giving Tuesday fundraising campaigns have helped us serve thousands of children across the country who have been impacted by a parent’s cancer,” said Cristin O’Leary Jones, Development Director at Camp Kesem. “We’re excited to be named Classy’s top fundraiser for the fourth consecutive year and thankful for every donor who contributed to our cause.”

A recap of Classy’s Giving Tuesday platform activity can be found at https://www.classy.org/giving-tuesday/.

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