Using GivingTuesday to Drive Year-End Results
By Betsy Oliver, Director of Fundraising Services
GivingTuesday began in 2012 with a simple but powerful idea: create a global day to do good. What started as a single day of generosity has since grown into a worldwide movement, now present in more than 100 countries. Rooted in the concept of radical generosity—the belief that the suffering of others should be just as intolerable to us as our own—GivingTuesday inspires people everywhere to give, share, and connect across cultures, communities, and causes.
Today, GivingTuesday (or #GivingTuesday as so many of us know it) had an impact on millions of people. During a period of days, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday (or Cyber Week…), when we are inundated with ads and emails reminding us to shop/spend/save, it’s easy for a nonprofit to wonder whether participating in or promoting Giving Tuesday is worth the time and effort.
The simple answer is yes!
But here’s the important caveat: it should not be your only focus for year-end giving. Instead, think of GivingTuesday as one key piece of your end of year fundraising (pumpkin?) pie. If your campaign runs only in December, GivingTuesday is the perfect launch pad. If you begin earlier, use the day to create extra momentum and visibility without letting it take over your entire strategy.
The good news? GivingTuesday already generates plenty of attention on social media and in the press—you just need to leverage it. Here are a few ways to maximize the opportunity:
Create a peer-to-peer campaign - Invite board members, staff, or volunteers to set personal fundraising goals between GivingTuesday and December 31. Donation platforms like DonorBox, GiveButter, and Bloomerang make it easy to create individual fundraising pages for them to share with friends and networks.
Use challenge or gift matching - The attention on philanthropy on GivingTuesday provides an excellent opportunity for nonprofits to leverage the offer of a matching gift (a board member or donor will match any gift given on GivingTuesday up to a certain dollar amount) or challenge gift (a donor will challenge the community to come together and give a collective gift to the organization, and they’ll match it if they’re able to donate the amount).
Provide small incentives for donating - Make giving fun through small gifts available just on GivingTuesday! While this shouldn’t be financially costly to the organization or overly cumbersome to the staff, it can be nice to provide small tokens of appreciation (think fridge magnets, car decals, reusable grocery bags) to donors who give on GivingTuesday. It’s also a great promotion for your org!
Promote “Power Hours” or giving challenges in hour increments - Create urgency with timed challenges. For example: “Help us raise $1,000 by 10 a.m.!” or “We need just 5 more donors by lunchtime!” Borrowing from NPR’s “pledge-drive playbook”, these short bursts of urgency often inspire immediate action.
Host a good, old-fashioned phone-a-thon - Order a few pizzas, pop some popcorn and chill the Diet Cokes- it’s time for your volunteers to put the fun in fundraising! Calling donors with a personal thank-you and a gentle reminder about year-end giving builds community and boosts results.
No matter your year-end fundraising goal—whether $50,000 or $500,000—GivingTuesday should be an intentional part of your larger plan. With GivingTuesday falling on December 2 this year, you’ll still have 29 more days of generosity to reach your goals and finish strong in 2025.
Need help planning or executing your GivingTuesday strategy?
Purpose Possible is here to help—let’s talk!
For more end of year fundraising tips, check outs some of our previous content below:
