[UPDATE - Jan 7,2014] Charitable giving remains strong throughout December! MGFC reports an impressive 93% increase for mobile giving December 1-31, 2013 vs. December 2012. This compares to an average increase in mobile giving of 13% for all of 2013 before GivingTuesday.

[UPDATE - Dec 23, 2013] The number of donations processed by Blackbaud increased +134% on Tuesday, December 3, 2013 compared to the same Tuesday in 2012. Average dollars donated also increased on GivingTuesday, resulting in a jump of 421% in total donations.

[UPDATE - Dec 18, 2013] Two weeks after GivingTuesday, giving remains strong. MGFC reports a robust 157% increase  for December 1-15, 2013 vs. December 2012. This compares to an average increase in mobile giving of 13% for all of 2013 before GivingTuesday.

GivingTuesday has inspired a global movement of giving - and it's just getting started. December 3rd was the opening day of the giving season and we want to share some of the many highlights so far.

More than 10,000 partners in 43 countries contributed to the movement this year. In Canada and around the world, a growing wave of charity is building and we are excited to see so many organizations working on successful campaigns.

In addition to the case studies and individual success stories we will be sharing soon, here are a few of the highlights from the launch of GivingTuesday 2013 in Canada.

Overwhelming response in Canada

The first ever GivingTuesday in Canada exceeded all expectations. More than 1,300 charities, foundations, groups, businesses and brands came together to participate. Together, these organizations launched an unprecedented campaign for giving, engaging millions of Canadians. We have already heard from many organizations reporting their campaigns exceeded targets. Media coverage was also strong from coast to coast with major coverage online, in print and on television and radio. You can see some of the media coverage here.

GivingTuesday becomes a global movement

Although one of the first countries to create a GivingTuesday movement outside the US, Canada was not alone in joining the initiative this year. Official movements were started in Australia, Mexico, and Singapore with participants coming together in a total of 43 countries on every continent. The movement also enjoyed endorsement from global leaders like The White House among others.

Significant increase in giving, new donors

Although results are preliminary and many organizations have yet to complete and report on their campaigns, initial results measured by CanadaHelps on December 3rd are very encouraging. An increase in donations of 169% over 2012 with the vast majority coming from new donors shows a significant impact from the GivingTuesday campaign already. See highlights of the CanadaHelps results here.

Responding to a special GivingTuesday offer from the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada, 31 charities are running GivingTuesday text-to-donate campaigns. Running until the end of December, these campaigns have already shown impressive results with a 203% increase in text donations over 2012. A list of all the GivingTuesday mobile campaigns can be found at MobileGiving.ca.

Canadians respond in huge numbers on social media

Social media was (and continues to be) full of GivingTuesday stories. At the peak of activity on December 3rd, the #GivingTuesdayCa hashtag was trending in 2nd place. There were more than 12,000 shares of the hashtag on Twitter alone, with many organizations also engaging on Facebook and other platforms. As a result, millions of Canadians were exposed to GivingTuesday messages with tens of thousands directly engaging in the conversation.

Perhaps more significantly, all this social media conversation also resulted in direct positive impact for charities: Many partners are reporting encouraging initial results on their social media campaigns and CanadaHelps found that the number one source for donor traffic on GivingTuesday was Facebook.

Celebrities support GivingTuesday

This year Hollywood got behind GivingTuesday in a big way. Big names like Ellen DeGeneres, Heidi Klum, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lopez and Charlize Theron (to name a few). Closer to home, GivingTuesday was endorsed by recording artist Bif Naked and Lost Girl star Rick Howland as well as pro athletes like Josh Gorges, Carey Price, The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Argos. See some of the celebrity endorsements here.

Corporate Canada is behind the first GivingTuesday

Many corporations are supporting specific charities and the GivingTuesday movement.

The CIBC #GivingTuesdayCa Retweet campaign offered a $1 donation to CIBC Miracle Day for every RT of their GivingTuesday tweet, in addition to their $10,000 GivingTuesday matching gift to the Canadian Women's Foundation.

Interac provided $10,000 in matching donations to any Canadian charity on December 3rd. Deloitte, Newfoundland Power and others offered matching gifts.

Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, PayPal Canada and many others participated with innovative programs. The Huffington Post reported on some of the matching campaigns launched on GivingTuesday.

Spare a RT for #GivingTuesdayCA? For every RT of this msg today, @CIBC will donate $1 (up to $10k) to #CIBCMiracleDay kids' charities!

— CIBC (@cibc) December 3, 2013

Cities mobilize for GivingTuesday

Following the lead of US cities like Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore, Canadian municipalities joined the GivingTuesday movement in 2013. The first municipality to officially proclaim Dec. 3rd as GivingTuesday was Norfolk County, ON. The Mayor of Guelph endorsed GivingTuesday and the University of Guelph campaign and Giving Fair. Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Calgary, AB issued a GivingTuesday proclamation, resulting in a strong rally of support and exciting campaigns in that city.

More to come...

There are hundreds more GivingTuesday stories yet to be told and we will be sharing as many as possible in the coming weeks. If you have a GivingTuesday story to tell, please contact us.