3 Tips for a Successful Giving Tuesday Campaign

Boost your fall fundraising with this digital touchpoint

The fall season is upon us, and before you know it, Giving Tuesday will be here! 

To everyone else, the end of the year may mean festivities, fancy dinners and shopping lists. To the nonprofit fundraiser, they also mean a flurry of holiday fundraising campaigns. With no long breaks between these holidays, it’s often challenging to give each one the fundraising attention they deserve.  

Although Giving Tuesday sometimes gets lost in the shuffle between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s an important day for fundraising: Donors in the U.S. gave $3.1 billion on Giving Tuesday alone in 2023!

Make Giving Tuesday a pillar of your fall fundraising this year! Read on for 3 tips to make your Giving Tuesday campaign a success.

Why Giving Tuesday?

When raising money for Thanksgiving meals, Christmas gifts and urgent Year-End needs, you may be asking yourself, “Why should my organization participate in Giving Tuesday?”

Shoppers may be thinking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday is a great reminder to donors to remember a gift to their local nonprofit during this busy season, too.

Bottom line: If you aren’t promoting Giving Tuesday, other nonprofits in your area are. While there are so many worthy causes to donate to, it’s important to ensure your organization isn’t falling behind during this critical season. Here are 3 tips for making your Giving Tuesday Campaign a success:

1. Make it a Match

If you know me, you know I’m a fan of a Matching Challenge! Securing even a small matching gift for Giving Tuesday is a great way for your organization to stand out. 

Plus, Matching Challenge campaigns consistently see a higher response rate AND higher average gift than their non-Match alternatives.

2. Consider a Tangible Goal

Another way to make your Giving Tuesday campaign stand out is to be very clear in your messaging. You can achieve this by setting a tangible goal for your organization.

There’s no shortage of stories about how your nonprofit impacts people and the community. Why not share some of the ways your team is making an impact, or share some urgent needs for improvements?

3. Start Your Message Early

While Giving Tuesday falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, don’t wait until then to start sharing your message. Digital communication is key in any Giving Tuesday campaign. 

Consider sending an email to donors 2-3 weeks ahead of the big day! Follow up with social media posts to let your supporters know that you need their help to meet the matching challenge or other Giving Tuesday goal your team has established. Urgent, follow up email messages on Giving Tuesday will help reinforce the need and drive action for the donor. And don’t forget the all important thank you!

Bonus tip: Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to encourage all kinds of support for your organization, even outside of financial giving. A statement from the Giving Tuesday website says it best: Giving Tuesday inspired people around the world to give their time, skills, goods, voice, and more, showing that everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts. 

Reach out to your volunteer network, educate supporters with important stats about your cause and share success stories to drive support for your organization. There are so many ways to drive the Cycle of Giving on Giving Tuesday, from volunteerism to prayer, material gifts to financial support. Learn more about the Cycle of Giving from our Senior VP of Academy, Shellie Speer-Burnett.

Need help?

BDI’s team can support you in any and all Giving Tuesday needs! From proven email marketing campaigns and social media assets, to press releases and strategy sheets, we’ve got you covered! Connect with your BDI Strategy team, or feel free to contact us here.