#GivingTuesday a Wonderful Success! Still a Few More Items on the Library’s WishList

The Birmingham Public Library would like to thank all of our wonderful donors from Birmingham and beyond for making #GivingTuesday so successful! As of this writing, we have raised $4,300 of our $6,000 goal. And donations are still coming in. For most of the campaign, each of your gifts has been matched one-to-one by one of our generous Foundation Board members—so each $10 gift has become $20, each $100 gift has become $200, and so on.

Our goal is to complete this campaign by January 1, 2013, so that we can purchase each and every item in the new year. Please take a look at our list here, and consider donating enough for an entire wish or helping complete a wish with other donors. No amount is too small.

Birmingham Public Library WishList

This year is the launch of #GivingTuesday—a day dedicated to giving that falls on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Nationwide, thousands of charities, corporations, and foundations—including the Birmingham Public Library—have promoted #GivingTuesday to encourage charitable giving around the holidays. It’s the perfect time to spend some of your holiday money to help out your favorite non-profit.

#GivingTuesday Website

Just how big was #Giving Tuesday this year? Here are some incredible numbers:

• Donor tracking company Blackbaud processed $10 million in online donations on inaugural #GivingTuesday – a 53% increase when compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving the previous year.
• #GivingTuesday became a trending topic on Twitter in the United States on Nov. 26. It trended for much of the day on Nov. 27 and intermittently trended as a global topic as well.
• Media outlets reaching all 50 U.S. states covered both local and national initiatives.
• The #GivingTuesday message was echoed in statements from the mayors of Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, philanthropy leaders including Bill Gates, and the White House.

BPL will continue to promote the Library WishList throughout the holiday season or until each wish on our list is granted. Thank you to all who have donated! It has made our holiday season very bright!