GivingTuesday 2023 is on November 28 and will be here before you know it.
Doesn’t it seem like the major holiday season begins earlier and earlier every year?
Thankfully, charitable giving rises alongside the holiday spirit. In fact, more charitable donations are made at the end of the year than any other time.
One way to kickstart the season of giving is by participating in GivingTuesday fundraising.
This annual “Global Day of Giving” event takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving (this year it’s Nov 28 which might feel late but is sneaking up fast) and has helped to amplify year-end fundraising efforts for nonprofits and charitable causes since 2012.
Although annual giving in 2022 was down for the first time since 2010, the 2022 GivingTuesday donations amassed to $3.1 billion in the US alone. This represents growth in giving with a 15% increase compared to GivingTuesday 2021, and a 25% increase since 2020. CauseVox’s 2023 Giving Study also found that despite current economic pressures, an overwhelming 81% of respondents intend to sustain or even boost their charitable activities.
But the beginnings of this international day of giving were quite humble. Just eleven years ago, the 92 Street Y in NYC and the United Nations Foundation considered how they could cut through all the noise of Black Friday and bring back the spirit of giving. What started out as a simple idea quickly transformed into what is now GivingTuesday.
It’s never too early to start planning how your nonprofit or cause can get in on all the energy, excitement, and benefits of the big day.
People don’t just give because they’re asked to. They give because they’re motivated by the story of a friend, a video you post on social media, or the client spotlight in your e-newsletter. Giving is the result of inspiration, empathy, and connection.
So start your GivingTuesday planning by considering who you want to inspire and how you want to do so. Data from GivingTuesday 2022 & CauseVox’s 2023 Giving Study reveals that globally young people are far more active givers, and 50% are also keen to increase their contributions in the coming year. Since donating online is the most common way for people to give on GivingTuesday, especially for the younger generations, it’s a good idea to focus on your online audience. Think about your email lists, your social media followers, and your partner organizations.
The best way to plan this day is to think about it as you would any other fundraising campaign. It’s not just a 24-hour event (even if it only “runs” that long). Instead, it’s an opportunity for storytelling, donor cultivation, supporter engagement, and way to build awareness around your organization and mission. Follow these fundraising plan best practices, including:
New Vocations used CauseVox to create their 2022 GivingTuesday fundraising site. You can too. Get started here.
Armed with basic information about campaign planning, map out your own GivingTuesday campaign.
Learn more about how you can create your GivingTuesday campaign site for free with CauseVox
GivingTuesday.org is known for its extensive set of resources to help nonprofits plan for the big day, whether you started thinking about the campaign in January or October.
They have huge amount of resources, including blog posts, logos and social media images, data from past years, and a particularly cool area called the Giving Lab. There’s ample support before, during, and after GivingTuesday.
CauseVox is here to help, too. With CauseVox’s easy-to-use fundraising tools, you won’t have to waste any precious year-end time and effort on unnecessary admin tasks. You’ll streamline your fundraising, eliminating redundant data transfers and complicated reporting.
Here are a few ways to take advantage of the tools available to you:
Boat People SOS had a successful GivingTuesday campaign using CauseVox’s streamlined fundraising tools. They also incorporated impactful stories and numbers on their campaign page that allows donors to see their impact.
Remember, while GivingTuesday may be one day, the weeks leading up to it are also important. HOPE Worldwide has consistently grown their GivingTuesday campaign, raising more every year. VP and Chief Development Officer Russ Hargrove says, “The week before Thanksgiving is all about storytelling and thank yous. We shower [our supporters] with good stewardship…”
GivingTuesday is a great opportunity to test out new fundraising techniques, messaging, and tools. Since most of the action is centered one day and one campaign, you can try something new without the risk of a long-term commitment.
Over the years, we’ve learned that GivingTuesday draws a notable increase in donations and online engagement, so it’s worth trying something different such as using CauseVox to launch peer-to-peer fundraiser to expand your donor base and recruit more supporters.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to launch a new website the same day or try something so out of the box that you’re setting yourself up for failure. Put all of your ideas on the table and then work with your team to figure out which ones are best for a day like GivingTuesday.
Consider one or more of these different techniques:
The Adult Congenital Heart Association Matching Grant Challenge doubled every generous donation. People love to give towards a goal, especially when they know their gift has double the impact.
Get started with CauseVox here.
Dorcas Ministries highlighted a powerful video with client testimonies on their campaign page which helped them exceed their original fundraising goal by almost $65,000!
The Cancer Support Community employed the use of a matching grant and highlighted their biggest donors and those in each giving category on their campaign page.
CauseVox makes it easy for you to run a GivingTuesday campaign that’s designed to help you get more donors with less effort.
You can quickly create a branded GivingTuesday campaign with conversion-optimized, mobile-optimized forms so you’ll get more donations than ever before.
Ready to make 2023 your best GivingTuesday, yet? Let’s get started!
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