5 Strategies for a Successful Giving Tuesday Campaign

A common mistake nonprofits make on Giving Tuesday is going in without a concrete, detailed plan. Without a solid strategy, you might get a few donations by simply posting on social media and including links to your online donation form, but you won’t maximize your organization’s potential. 

Follow these strategies to make your Giving Tuesday campaign more effective:

1. Narrow Down a Giving Tuesday Campaign

Choosing the right Giving Tuesday campaign is crucial in order to make it resonate with donors and inspire meaningful action. Here are some popular campaigns to get you started:

• Mobile Giving Campaign: Mobile giving adds convenience and ease to the donation process. Donors simply send a predetermined keyword, like “GivingTuesday,” to your text-to-give phone number, and they will automatically receive a link with instructions to give. 
• Matching Gifts Drive: Certain companies financially match the donations made by their employees, usually at a 1:1 ratio. These matched gifts allow you to multiply your fundraising revenue on Giving Tuesday with little to no effort. All your nonprofit has to do is add a matching gift search tool to your donation form to allow donors to check their eligibility.  
• Charity Auction: Charity auctions are popular among donors because they receive something tangible in return for their charitable donations. To run an effective auction, procure items that your target demographic will find appealing and send out personalized invitations to donors likely to submit larger bids. 
• Virtual Fundraising Event: Virtual events allow donors to participate from any location. As a result, nonprofits can engage larger audiences with fewer additional costs. Whether you host a virtual gala, walk-a-thon, or benefit concert, schedule live appeals to keep participants engaged and donating.

If you’re still having trouble deciding on a campaign, check out our comprehensive list of top Giving Tuesday ideas for inspiration. 

Once your nonprofit has settled on a campaign or event, start promoting it as soon as possible. Post about it on social media, send emails, hand out flyers, and run digital ads. This multi-channel marketing approach will provide you with multiple touchpoints for reaching supporters in the months and weeks leading up to Giving Tuesday. 

2. Create a Dedicated Campaign Page

Having a dedicated Giving Tuesday campaign page on your nonprofit website can help widen your list of potential donors, expand your network, and cultivate deeper relationships with the supporters who give. 

To be successful, your campaign page should include:

• Organization information: During your Giving Tuesday campaign, you will likely be exposed to potential donors who may not know about your mission and want to learn more. Provide background information about your nonprofit, including the history of your cause and any useful statistics to back up the need for support. 
• Campaign details: Describe the current campaign you’re hosting and include an actionable goal that will inspire visitors. For instance, your goal might be to “raise $50,000 for childhood cancer research during our Giving Tuesday campaign by 11:59 p.m. on November 29, 2022.” 
• Contact information fields: Ask supporters to enter their full name, phone number, and email address so you can collect important data and communicate with them going forward. This is especially useful for post-campaign donation receipts and thank-you messages. 
• Donation form: Include an online donation form to process donations. This form should include suggested giving amounts, payment information fields, and a recurring gift option. 
• Fundraising thermometer: Embed an automatically updating fundraising thermometer on your campaign page. When donors see that you’re close to reaching your overall fundraising goal, they tend to be more inclined to give. 

Drive traffic to your Giving Tuesday campaign page by including links to it in all of your solicitations, correspondences, and social media posts.

3. Spread the Word on Social Media

Social media is a valuable resource when it comes to driving support on Giving Tuesday. With the right posting strategy, social media can help spread the word about your cause and help you secure much-needed donations. 

Certain social media conglomerates will even support participating nonprofits. In 2021, Meta matched $8 million in qualifying donations made on Facebook during the day-long Giving Tuesday celebration.

Follow these steps to implement a social media strategy on Giving Tuesday:

• Use hashtags. #GivingTuesday receives millions of impressions each year. To help your posts stand out, use the generic Giving Tuesday hashtag alongside one that is specific to your organization. For example, if your campaign is aimed at rescuing dogs from a local shelter, you could use the hashtag #SaveTheDogsGivingTuesday22. Encourage supporters to add the hashtag to their relevant posts and watch it gain traction. 
• Leverage multiple platforms. Each social media channel has features that can help you engage with your audience in meaningful ways. Well before the celebration, launch a fundraising campaign page on Facebook. Then, on the big day, answer questions on Instagram Live and post hour-by-hour fundraising updates to Twitter. 
• Brand your posts. Branding your social media content to include Giving Tuesday materials lets supporters know that you have joined the movement. Add the Giving Tuesday heart logo to relevant posts and change your profile picture or cover photo to include an overlay of the logo as well. 

Whether you post a Tiktok of your CEO giving an important message or a longform testimonial on Facebook, make sure to include a link to your campaign page and donation form across your social media accounts. 

4. Tell a Compelling Story Through Video

Your Giving Tuesday campaign should tell a story about who your organization is and what you’re trying to accomplish. To achieve the highest level of impact, you also need to evoke empathy and inspire supporters to act. 

Nonprofit videos are an effective way to check all of these boxes. Whether your nonprofit is launching a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign or hosting a silent auction, you could benefit from having a video asset. For example, you could use a campaign video to describe your organization’s mission and make a compelling case for why you deserve support. 

Testimonials are another powerful video storytelling tool. This type of video content puts a face to your organization, helping donors understand how their support directly impacts the lives of real people.

Plus, it’s simple to incorporate testimonials into any existing campaign, even at the last minute. You don’t need a fancy camera, professional lighting, or a seasoned director. All that’s required is an existing constituent who’s willing to talk about their personal experience and a smartphone camera. Once you’ve filmed your video, you can upload it to any number of free video hosting service websites, such as YouTube or Vimeo, and share it from there.

5. Reach Out After the Campaign

Following up with supporters after every donation is critical for retention. Being attentive to your donors and showing genuine appreciation is the secret to cultivating long-term support. So as soon as you receive a donation notification, be sure to thank your supporters for their gift—within 24 hours, if possible. Don’t have time to mail out individual thank-you notes or make phone calls? No problem. Send them a quick thank-you video from your executive director, a board chair, or an impacted constituent.

In addition to thanking supporters, you should encourage them to share your Giving Tuesday campaign with their networks—whether that be via social media, email, or text messaging. Include a clear message in your donation confirmation page asking supporters to share your campaign on your behalf.

A great and low-effort way to generate support on social media is to turn your campaign theme or title into a hashtag. A well-crafted hashtag can make your campaign more memorable and easy to understand at a glance. Tag your Giving Tuesday social media posts with your unique hashtag while urging supporters to use it in their own feeds.