Politics Are the Driving Force for Donations This Holiday Season

CHICAGO, Dec. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a successful #GIVINGTUESDAY in which over $168 million was donated, an increase of over $51 million from 2015 according to givingtuesday.org, popular online charitable action platform PublicGood.com has released its report on donation trends from Giving Tuesday and its predictions for the future of charitable giving.

In addition to the increasing trend of gifts and monetary donations this season, Public Good saw a direct correlation between political news and trends in giving. Below are Public Good's key findings regarding 2016 holiday giving trends:

• 100% increase in support for nonprofit organizations that focus on refugees and the environment.
• A major increase in support for civil rights organizations. In 2015, no civil rights organizations were the top donation recipients. This year, Injustice Watch (#2) and Environmental Law & Policy Center (#10) were both among the top 10 charities where donations were received at PublicGood.com.
• Strong increase in donations to children and youth focused organizations following the announcement of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. The day following the announcement of Betsy DeVos' appointment, approximately 75% of all donations on PublicGood.com went to children and youth organizations – up from less than 50% in 2015.

"People are responding to particular news quite quickly, not just making blanket politically motivated gifts. It's a trend that is likely to stay," said charitable giving expert and co-founder of Public Good, Dan Ratner. For the future of charitable actions, Ratner predicts this trend to continue: "All in all, we're projecting a 9% year-over-year growth in giving, which would be a significant uptick. Since a lot of that has been spread out over the year, we believe it is driven more by a stronger economy and more natural disasters. In the last month we've seen the mix of organizations change more than the volume of gifts."

Since the initial launch of Public Good in Chicago in 2014, the technology platform has been the pioneer and leader in powering "Take Action" in major U.S. publications including CNN, Tribune Media, Cox Media, Advance Media, Upworthy and many more. Take Action empowers readers to make a difference in the news that they are reading by connecting them with organizations and actions they can do to make a difference.

"The ability to go local is a critical part of the Take Action experience," said Melissa Anderson, Public Good President and Co-Founder. "We know that 80% of people prefer to give back in their own communities and our technology algorithm automatically connects readers with organizations in their community." In addition, Public Good has powered a number of phenomenally impactful campaigns for various nonprofits, including a campaign for the Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation that included Dolly Parton and garnered over 100 volunteer kidney donors in 72 hours, resulting in two successful surgeries and lives saved.

For those interested in taking action on causes that they care about, go to publicgood.com to find local organizations working on the causes that you are about with just one click. Public Good has every 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S. on the platform.

About Public GoodPublic Good is the online network for civic action, empowering people to make a difference on the causes they care about. Its Take Action technology connects people reading the news with things they can do to make a difference on the issues around the world and in their own neighborhoods. The company is based in Chicago and was founded in 2013 by veterans of some of the region's biggest tech successes including Obama for America, Sittercity.com, Orbitz, and Groupon. Its tools are in use by many of the nation's largest, most respected media outlets and allows users to support any of the nation's 1.1 million nonprofit organizations.

Media Contact:

Beth Feldman914-297-8458[email protected]

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SOURCE PublicGood.com