For Giving Tuesday Success, Emulate Black Friday

As nonprofits gear up to promote Giving Tuesday—the post-Thanksgiving fundraising day—they usually highlight it as a counterpoint to the consumerism of the Black Friday shopping extravaganza. But that doesn’t mean it’s smart to ignore all the lessons that successful retailers have learned after years of promoting holiday sales.

Among them:

A sense of urgency is a powerful trigger. Urgency is the essential idea behind Black Friday. Dating back to the 19th century, stores originally refrained from holiday advertising and sales until after Thanksgiving. So that late-November Friday became a huge deal for retailers.