Stephen A. Eberle, CFRE

It’s Giving Tuesday again, and let me be clear: I applaud anyone doing their part to make sure nonprofits have the resources they need to carry out their missions. Nonprofits fill the gap between what government services cover and what the free market ignores. They matter, and your philanthropy matters. “Philanthropy” literally comes from the Greek for love of humanity—and your support shows exactly that.

BUT… I can never let this day roll by without naming the elephant in the inbox.

Giving Tuesday began with noble intentions. In practice, though? It forces nonprofits into a once-a-year cage match. Every organization—small, large, scrappy, sophisticated—is suddenly elbowing the others for attention, even though most of us spend the rest of the year partnering, collaborating, and sharing resources. The nonprofit world is far more interconnected than the for-profit world, and yet today we compete like we’re fighting for the last parking spot at Kohl’s.

Open your inbox. Scroll your social feeds. We’re all shouting past each other. And it feeds the false idea that nonprofits must compete for donors.

Here’s the truth from someone who’s been around the block: generous people are generous. People of means rarely support just one nonprofit. They support the causes they care about across the charitable spectrum. Philanthropy isn’t a monogamous relationship.

And then there’s the timing. Giving Tuesday lands at the tail end of a four-day consumer binge: Thanksgiving Groceries, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday… It unintentionally frames charitable giving as an afterthought. After stuffing ourselves, filling our carts, and playing the “add to bag” game with Amazon, THEN we’re told: “Hey, if you’ve got any scraps left, toss them at a charity.” It cheapens the whole thing.

Finally, let’s talk communication. Most nonprofits don’t have big marketing teams. Many don’t even have a marketing team. We usually communicate less than we should because we’re busy doing the actual mission work. But today? Today you’ll get 30 emails before lunch. Some from the same organization. It’s the perfect recipe for mass unsubscribes.

Tomorrow the headlines will tout the total dollars raised on Giving Tuesday. But just remember: those dollars came at a real cost to the sector. A day meant to lift us up now pressures us, pits us against one another, and overwhelms the very donors we love.

If you want to give today, fantastic. But if you want to give tomorrow, next week, or in March? Even better. Because thoughtful philanthropy, not flash-mob philanthropy, builds the world we actually want.