Donations rise 53% for 'Giving Tuesday' in US

Giving Tuesday: An antidote to Black Friday in America (Getty Images)

Donors gave more than $10 million to nonprofit organizations online Tuesday — 53 per cent more than on the same day last year — during what organizers hope will become a national day of giving, the United Nations Foundation said Wednesday.

More than 2,500 charities around the country participated in the event, dubbed Giving Tuesday, intended to be a kick-off to the holiday giving season and an antidote to consumer-driven events such as Black Friday.

Several charities in the Washington area also benefited from press and social media attention focused on the event. Donors gave $10,000 to the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in the District of Columbia, for example, which was double their goal, according to Rachel Dutcher, the development manager.

"We were very happy with the results," Dutcher said.

AOL founder Steve Case's foundation teamed with actor Kevin Bacon's charity, SixDegrees.org, for a matching donor campaign on the social philanthropy site Crowdrise that brought in more than $120,000 — more than four times what was expected.