The Complete 2023 Giving Tuesday Toolkit for Nonprofits

Giving Tuesday

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Written By

Tiara Stephan

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Giving Tuesday is a big deal for the fundraising community. For many nonprofits, Giving Tuesday is the most important giving day in their yearly fundraising calendar, and it takes time and careful planning to execute a successful Giving Tuesday campaign. To help you along your Giving Tuesday journey, we’ve collected the most helpful eBooks, how-to articles, multi-channel marketing templates, expert tips, ideas, tricks, and resources into this Giving Tuesday toolkit to make planning your campaign a breeze! This toolkit provides everything your organization needs to navigate Giving Tuesday from start to finish, saving your team time and money. 

What is Giving Tuesday?  

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 at the 92nd Street Y, a cultural and community center in Manhattan. Since its inception, Giving Tuesday has turned into a worldwide movement, championing radical generosity and encouraging donors to give—in ways big and small—in pursuit of making the world a better place. Giving Tuesday takes place on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. For many nonprofits, Giving Tuesday is an important giving day that marks the beginning of the year-end fundraising season.  

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Giving Tuesday preparations  

With how important Giving Tuesday is for fundraisers, it’s best to plan for the giving day a couple months in advance. Use these resources to get a head start with your preparations: 

Giving Tuesday communications  

With so much of Giving Tuesday happening online, your communications plan is crucial to your success. Check out these resources to create a cohesive Giving Tuesday communications strategy:  

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Giving Tuesday donation forms  

A good donation form helps entice donors into giving to your organization. Use these resources to optimize your donation form for Giving Tuesday: 

Ways to celebrate Giving Tuesday 

Giving Tuesday is more than a social media campaign. Here are a few ideas to liven up your Giving Tuesday campaign:  

  • Events: While Giving Tuesday is often focused on social media, hosting an event can entice your supporters to celebrate Giving Tuesday with you! Here are a few event ideas.
    • Giving Tuesday auction 
    • Walkathon  
    • Movie night 
    • Talent show 
    • Scavenger hun
  • Volunteer activities: Not everyone can give financially on Giving Tuesday, but your supporters can still donate their time. Be sure to provide them with plenty of volunteer activities. Consider one of these volunteer events to motivate your supporters.  
    • Supply drive 
    • Volunteerathon 
    • Trash pickup 
    • Garage sale 
    • Rescue animal playday 
  • Hashtag campaigns: Get your supporters to help you with your Giving Tuesday marketing campaign by hosting a hashtag challenge! Here are some tips for your Giving Tuesday hashtag campaign. 
    • Use a simple hashtag 
    • Keep it relevant 
    • Make it shareable 
    • Add the Giving Tuesday hashtag 
    • Repost your supporters’ contributions 
  • Livestreams: Livestreams are a great way to interact with your donors throughout Giving Tuesday. Plus, livestreaming sends out notifications to your followers, reminding them of the day. Here are a few ideas to include in your livestream.  
    • Show your fundraising thermometer 
    • Give campaign updates 
    • Answer donor questions 
    • Give a tour of your organization 
    • Invite experts to talk about your cause 
  • Sharing stories: Storytelling is a helpful method to motivate your donors to give to your Giving Tuesday campaign. By showing them where their money is going, donors will better understand why their donations are so important. Use these tips to tell effective stories throughout your giving day. 
    • Invoke an emotional connection 
    • Provide context 
    • Use images and videos 
    • Be authentic  
    • Make it active 

Thanking your Giving Tuesday donors  

Stewardship is one of the main aspects of retaining new donors. Take a look at these resources to show your donors your appreciation: 

  • How to Send a Heartfelt Giving Tuesday Thank You to Donors: Once the clock strikes midnight and Giving Tuesday has come to an end, your job isn’t over quite yet. Thanking your donors will help you build strong connections and keep them engaged. Learn how to send a thank you to your donors that will make them feel appreciated!  
  • Creative Ways to Thank Your Donors: Wondering how you can spice up those thank-you emails to your donors? Need help brainstorming fresh ways to show your gratitude to your supporters? Check out these creative ideas to thank your donors in ways they won’t soon forget!  
  • Use Video Thank-Yous to Show Donors a Little Extra Love: Visual storytelling doesn’t just apply to your donation forms and your website. Show a little extra appreciation to your donors with a thank-you video! Videos are a great way to show your donors the impact of their donations and turn them into long-term supporters of your mission.  
  • 6 Ways to Customize Your Thank-You Page: There’s almost nothing worse than showing your donors a generic thank-you page after they complete their donation. Take the opportunity to spread the love, show impact, and keep the gratitude flowing with customized thank-you pages!  
  • 3 Ways to Retain Giving Tuesday Donors in the New Year: On Giving Tuesday, one of your main goals should be to reach new donors and spread the word about your mission. However, once Giving Tuesday has come and gone, focusing on building long-term relationships with donors both new and old should be top of mind! Learn how to create a stronger donor cultivation cycle and retain your Giving Tuesday donors beyond Giving Tuesday!  
  • How to Thank and Retain Year-End Donors: Turn those one-time year-end donors into long-term friends of your organization for years to come. Use these tips and tricks to fine-tune your retention strategy for the new year!  
  • The Lucrative Art of Thanking Donors: Donor appreciation is both an art and a science. Check out these appreciation strategies to help show your Giving Tuesday donors some love! 
  • Donor Stewardship: Create Lifelong Donors in 6 Steps: To properly steward your donors, it’s important to know where they are in their donor lifecycle. Use these six steps to turn your Giving Tuesday donors into lifelong supporters.  

Final thoughts  

The last three months of the year are when 37% of all giving happens, and Giving Tuesday is one of the main giving days fundraisers like you use to hit your end-of-year goals. With this Giving Tuesday toolkit, you’ll be well on your way to designing dynamic donation forms and engaging communications for Giving Tuesday. Happy fundraising! 

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About the Author

Tiara Stephan

Tiara is a writer by trade and a passionate supporter of nonprofits by nature. When she's not typing away at her keyboard for hours, you can find her dancing (if you can call it that) at concerts, drinking copious amounts of English Breakfast Tea, and daydreaming about traveling the world.

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