Giving Tuesday: What’s the best day of the week for grant giving?

Giving Tuesday is a day of global giving, where everyone, everywhere can do something to support the good causes that mean so much to them. To mark it, we’ve taken to our search engine for grants data, GrantNav, to explore the significance of Tuesday for grantmaking! 

At 360Giving, we help funders in the UK publish open data about their grants. Our vision is for grantmaking to be more informed, effective, and strategic. Since we were founded five years ago, we’ve reached a critical mass and the UK’s leading funders now publish open data about their grants using the 360Giving Data Standard. This means that data about £65 billion of grants can be explored and analysed together, helping us to understand and improve grantmaking across the UK.

What is GrantNav? 

GrantNav is a free search-engine that we have built to make the data more accessible. With GrantNav you can explore and download data about where funding goes and how much is given across billions of pounds of grants, for causes and locations across the UK.

You can explore the data of over 460,000 grants from over 170 different funders using GrantNav. Of those grants, what significance do you think Tuesday, as a day of the week, plays?

Tuesdays… not so groovy for grants? 

Giving Tuesday is a day to celebrate giving and support the causes we’re passionate about, whether that’s by donating money, volunteering time or sharing skills. Now, more than ever, vulnerable communities and charities need support. But the occasion got us interested in whether Tuesdays in general were a good day for giving grants.

So we took to GrantNav, and found that Tuesday is, in fact, the least popular day of the working week to award grants. Instead, funders hold out for Wednesday which topped the leaderboard as the most popular day to award grants.

What about grants that mention Tuesdays?

When it comes to mentions, however, 336 grant descriptions include ‘Tuesday’ – a similar number to those that include ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Thursday’. ‘Saturday’ is the most commonly mentioned day of the week, included in 1,117 grant descriptions.

And what about the causes? 

OK, OK… we’ll move on from obsessing over weekdays. Much more interesting is the wonderful diversity of causes across the UK that funders are supporting. Typing ‘Tuesday’ into GrantNav highlights the amazing initiatives and projects which are giving support, hope and much more to individuals, communities and our planet. 

Below, we highlight 9 of those initiatives so we can all remember what Giving Tuesday is really about from Swansea community farm supporting mental health recovery to activities for children affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and COVID-19.  

Stitch up and sew

Dadihiye Somali Development Organisation have been improving their activities and educational trips for children and young people. From Tuesday sewing classes to supplementary school and a volunteering programme, the activities support those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and the consequences of COVID-19. (£14,020 from The Childhood Trust.)

Photo by Jake Ryan

Delivering food to those who need it

The RCCG Amazing Grace Chapel in Hull used to provide hot meals to the homeless at their soup kitchen. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, the group has adapted and now distributes over 80 lunchbox meals every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to the vulnerable. They plan to do so into March 2021. (£9,000 from Two Ridings Community Foundation.)

Online dancing

Grapevine Essex provides educational and recreational activities for adults with learning disabilities living in Essex. During term times, the Tuesday Clubnight is a chance to relax with friends, learn new skills and enjoy different experiences in a friendly, safe and secure environment. In response to COVD-19, Grapevine Essex has taken their meetings, activities and dance sessions online to keep supporting the community during this challenging time. (£1,500 from Essex Community Foundation.)

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

The one and only, Hastings Fat Tuesday

Hastings Fat Tuesday is an annual, winter-season, live music festival in Hastings, East Sussex. Based on Mardi Gras traditions, the five-day festival showcases a thriving music scene including local, regional and national musicians and bands. Funding supported the Young Musician Makers programme, UnConvention and the Volunteer Programme. (£1,750 from Sussex Community Foundation.)

Boots on at Swansea Community Farm

Swansea Community Farm holds volunteer workdays every Tuesday and Thursday. Volunteers get stuck in with caring for the animals, community allotments and conservation to support their mental health. (£249,988 from the National Lottery Community Fund.)

Photo by Sam Carter 

Travel back in time Tuesdays

The Posh Club near Crawley holds a Tuesday Club for over 60’s on a low income. It’s a place for conversation, solidarity and camaraderie helping to prevent loneliness and isolation. From cabaret acts and a pianist to vintage costumes and decorations, attendees travel back in time to enjoy an afternoon tea from the 1940’s. They can also put on their own shows with singing, playing instruments and comedy. (£196,504 from the National Lottery Community Fund.)

Outdoor play 

The South Oxford Family Room at Grandpont Nursery School and Childcare have taken their family play sessions outdoors. This means they can continue to support families during the week in a COVID-safe environment. Their Tuesday sessions support new mums, and promote breastfeeding and wellbeing. The grant ensures the costs of the staff and equipment for the autumn and winter 2020. (£2,000 from the Oxfordshire Community Foundation.)

Photo by VisionPic.net

Boosting wellbeing through theatre

This grant enabled the Bristol-based Misfits Theatre Company to provide weekly Tuesday sessions for people with learning difficulties, focusing on their physical and mental wellbeing. (£7,960 from the National Lottery Community Fund.)

These are just a few of the grants that came up from typing ‘Tuesday’ into GrantNav. There are plenty more to explore! Why not use another word such as ‘give’, and see what you find?

If you’d like to know more about using GrantNav and how it can support your grantmaking decisions, get in touch with us at labs@threesixtygiving.org .