Dear friends,

I hope you had a nice weekend with plenty of rest and recovery after the busy Giving Tuesday push. Year-end fundraising is still front and center, as you know. Let’s dive in!

Giving Tuesday Results

According to The NonProfit Times, the Giving Tuesday Data Commons reported record highs in 2024 for U.S. Giving Tuesday participation. Increases in both donations (+16% from 2023, for a total of $3.6 billion) and donors (+7%, for a total of 36.1 million) have raised hopes for a strong year-end across the sector. Of note, the year-over-year increase in donations (+16%) surpassed both Black Friday (+10.2%) and Cyber Monday (+13.3%). However, the best news for fundraisers may be this year’s increased participation, which counters the sector-wide decline in donors that we have seen in recent major benchmarks.

Likewise, Avalon observed year-over-year revenue growth, with some variation by client and issue. In addition, we continue to assess total impact via match extension, which has a longer tail. Senior VP and director of digital innovation Mary Meredith observed that Giving Tuesday campaigns illustrate the importance of understanding and investing in the omnichannel donor journey:

The donor journey as a linear set of interactions does not exist anymore. Siloed channels do not recognize the intricacy of who we are and how we think and act as human beings in today’s world. While email marketing remains a very important tool in our fundraising toolbox, it has its limits, especially in a crowded landscape. Paid media, texting, web optimization, email list building, email list hygiene, and direct mail are all equally important to drive growth.

In addition, Mary noted that Giving Tuesday does not stand alone, but it sits within a comprehensive strategy: “Giving Tuesday is just a beginning. We will continue to analyze and optimize results throughout year-end, to build on that foundation.”

Volunteerism Trends Up

I was encouraged to see new research from the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps, which suggests volunteerism is recovering from pandemic lows. Recent data shows that 28.3% of Americans formally volunteered between September 2022 and September 2023, up from 23.2% in 2021. This includes nearly 76 million volunteers, for estimated totals of 4.99 billion hours and $167.2 billion of economic value. For the first time ever, researchers also tracked virtual volunteering, finding that 18% of volunteers engaged in virtual or hybrid service. Thank you to everyone reading who volunteered their time for great causes this year!

Zoom 2.0

Avalon COO Kerri Kerr shared an interesting article on the future of Zoom, which recently changed its name to “Zoom” from “Zoom Video.” The rebrand makes space for new tech, as the company seeks to compete with remote work giants Microsoft and Google. To date, Zoom has introduced both AI Companion, which assists with tasks like meeting summaries, and Zoom Docs, which incorporates AI into collaborative documents. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has also shared a bold, futuristic ambition to build “digital twins,” which are avatars that can attend meetings and even make decisions in users’ proxy. There is plenty of debate about the merits of this idea, as there should be—but for now I am intrigued by how current AI enhancements could improve collaboration.

Word of the Year

Oxford University Press has announced its 2024 Word of the Year: “brain rot.” Following last year’s “rizz,” this year’s winner beat out both “demure” and “romantasy.” Proving that everything old is new again, the term dates back to 1854, when Henry David Thoreau cautioned against brain rot in Walden. The importance of engaging our brains and thinking critically about the media we consume is timeless.

“Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.”

– Oxford University Press

Grateful Gadgets

As per tradition, Avalonians gathered virtually the Friday before Thanksgiving to share their favorite gadgets. I always find a highlight or two for my Christmas list, and this year I’m excited about this teeny tiny vacuum, which got a great review from analytics VP SB Birnie. Please enjoy browsing our list of go-to gadgets!

Thank you to Avalon’s virtual gatherings committee for coordinating our “Grateful Gadgets” party!