Growth of Community-Based Giving Days in the United States: The Landscape and Effects

Over the past decade, local and regional community foundations across the United States have adopted "giving days" as a means to build awareness, bolster community pride, and raise money for local nonprofit organizations. While aggregate amounts raised through giving days are increasing, the median amount raised has dropped substantially and the range in amounts is widening. Still, there was substantial growth from 2009 through 2016 in the number of giving days in the U.S., raising over $1 billion across counties, cities, and states and thereby growing philanthropy within communities. Giving days may help increase a donor base but not all events are likely to raise large amounts of money.