The Importance of Giving Tuesday for Nonprofits

As a nonprofit fundraiser, you probably have a robust grant writing program, plan charitable events, and maybe even have a successful individual giving program.

However, one way to raise donations that you might not be aware of is through Giving Tuesday.

If your nonprofit does not participate in Giving Tuesday, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to generate charitable gifts to support your cause!

Keep reading and we will tell you everything you need to know about this opportunity to raise money for your nonprofit!

If you work for a nonprofit organization, you understand how critical raising funds to support your mission is.

Nonprofits raise money in a variety of ways, including grant writing, fundraising events, monthly giving campaigns, and more.

Giving Tuesday is an additional way nonprofits can raise significant funds in a short period of time.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that is held each year on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. Giving Tuesday was founded in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation with a simple goal: encourage more people to do good through philanthropic contributions. In 2019, after 7 years of incredible success, Giving Tuesday created its own organization, led by co-founder Asha Curran as CEO.

Giving Tuesday offers nonprofits a day full of opportunities to highlight their missions, solicit donations, and gain new donors and supporters.

So how does a giving day work? It’s pretty simple: giving days—including Giving Tuesday—are 24-hour fundraising events that aim to raise awareness for charitable causes, increase engagement with nonprofits, and—most importantly—generate donations.

Sounds great, right? In the following sections, we’ll explain why your nonprofit should participate in Giving Tuesday and how you can run a successful campaign.

Aside from the fact that it’s an opportunity to participate in a global giving movement, there’s no shortage of reasons why you should launch a Giving Tuesday campaign.

1. Timing

Did you know that nearly 30% of all philanthropic giving occurs in December each year? During this time of year, especially during the holiday season, people are often thinking about making charitable gifts.

Giving Tuesday gives you the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that charitable giving is front and center in many people’s minds. The timing is, quite literally, perfect!

Additionally, because Giving Tuesday falls in late November or early December, it’s a great opportunity for your nonprofit to use the day to kick off your end-of-year giving campaign. This gives individuals and corporations a chance to make a final tax-deductible gift before the end of the calendar year.

Your organization could benefit tremendously from the goodwill and generosity of those wishing to positively impact others during the holiday season!

2. Momentum

Giving Tuesday is a well-known, highly recognized day of giving with a lot of brand awareness.

Since nonprofits that participate in this day are provided with marketing materials with the Giving Tuesday logo, it’s a great opportunity for your organization to capitalize on the momentum of this day and its past successes.

It’s also incredibly easy—Giving Tuesday partnered with Canva to provide nonprofits with templates for social media cover photos, graphics, and Instagram stories! It could not be any easier!
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On Giving Tuesday, you will find that everyone is talking about it—nonprofits, individuals, businesses, foundations, and even your friends and family. This groundswell of momentum, and the #GivingTuesday hashtag, allows participating nonprofits to jump on the Giving Tuesday bandwagon and raise money!

3. Awareness

Giving Tuesday is an amazing opportunity to raise funds for your organization. But, it’s also a chance to share your mission, tell success stories, and raise awareness about the important work that your organization does.

By sharing your message, you get the chance to expand your audience and connect with potential future donors, making future fundraising campaigns and giving days even more successful!

One of the ways that Giving Tuesday helps you expand your audience is through their highly recognizable hashtag #GivingTuesday. By utilizing it, you put your organization front and center to those who are following the hashtag.

Check out the social media post below from an equine rehab center that uses #GivingTuesday. This is a great example of how nonprofits can leverage Giving Tuesday’s brand recognition as well as the power of social media to leverage donations and increase engagement.
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Now that it’s clear why your nonprofit should participate in Giving Tuesday, you still might be wondering how to run a successful Giving Tuesday campaign. Don’t worry! Keep reading, and we will tell you everything you need to know!

Tip #1: Set Goals

Setting goals is an essential step in any fundraising campaign—including Giving Tuesday.

Having a set goal allows you to direct your resources effectively leading up to and during the giving day and track your performance year over year.

Setting goals might feel overwhelming, but it’s actually quite simple! Think about how much money you want to raise, how many people you want to reach, and how many new donors you hope to secure. Develop metrics around those things, and set them as goals for your giving day.

You should set your goals early on in the planning process for a fundraising campaign; ideally, your goals will be set at least 6-8 weeks prior to the giving day.

You want to be able to share some of your goals publicly, and even use them to rally support and activate new donors. A great way to do this is by using a fundraising thermometer on the day of the event or giving day, which serves as a visual representation of your progress toward your goal.

Here’s an important tip: ensure your goals are reasonable for your organization. If you set unachievable goals, you’ll have a hard time reaching them and risk damaging your team’s morale.

Tip #2: Develop a Strategy

Now that you’ve set some goals for your campaign, you need to develop a strategy to help you achieve those goals.

Experts recommend a multi-channel approach for Giving Tuesday.

What does this mean? It’s pretty simple—it means that you’ll use multiple channels to reach potential donors, such as email, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok), direct mail, and even phone calls to previous donors!

Here’s a list of some specific content pieces you will want to create as part of your Giving Tuesday strategy:

• Email blasts to current and prior donors
• Social media posts with relevant graphics and images
• Phone scripts for volunteers and board members to use when calling donors
• Direct mail pieces to be mailed out to potential supporters in the weeks leading up to the giving day
• Thank-you cards to mail to donors following the giving day

When you’re developing your campaign, remember that Giving Tuesday isn’t just about fundraising. It’s also about raising awareness of your nonprofit and the important work you do in your community.

Make sure to include your nonprofit’s brand in all your donor communications and social media posts.

Tip #3: Create a Donor Stewardship Plan

Anytime you plan to receive an influx of donations to your organization, you must be prepared to thank and acknowledge your donors. This means you need a solid donor management strategy before the campaign begins.

A donor management strategy should include a donor stewardship plan so that you can thank your donors, establish a relationship with them, and transform them into lifelong supporters of your organization.

Tip #4: Recruit Supporters

Like many fundraising events, Giving Tuesday is an all-hands-on-deck event. This means that the planning and execution of the event cannot be the responsibility of one single individual; it should be a team effort!

Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity to lean on your organization’s most loyal volunteers, including your Board of Directors, for support. Supporters and stakeholders can help solicit donations from their networks, help share and amplify your social media messaging, and even call donors to thank them over the phone.

Tip #5: Leverage Existing Donors

During fundraising events like Giving Tuesday, your existing donor base is a huge resource that should not be overlooked!

Your current donors are likely loyal supporters of your work, so ask them to help spread the word about the opportunity to donate.

Your existing donors can share your social media posts and forward your email communications to people in their network. This is a great way for your nonprofit to connect with people who may not otherwise see information about your organization.

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are also a great way to leverage your existing donors. This is where your supporters fundraise from their networks on your behalf. Again, this is a great way to get the message out about your organization to groups of people who are beyond your usual reach.

Following these five tips should help you develop an incredibly successful Giving Tuesday campaign!

Giving Tuesday is a global charitable movement that raises millions of dollars of support for nonprofits across the globe. This day is a great opportunity for your nonprofit organization to raise donations to support your work and increase awareness of your mission.

We’ve given you five great tips to use as you begin to prepare for your next Giving Tuesday campaign. Using the resources in this article, your day will surely be a success!

Happy fundraising!