Giving Tuesday Guide for 2025: FAQs, Tips & Campaign Ideas

With over $18.5 billion donated by millions of supporters since its inception, Giving Tuesday is the ultimate fast-paced fundraising opportunity for nonprofits. Since you only have 24 hours to reach your fundraising goals, you need a strategic plan to reach supporters and maximize your impact. 

That’s why we curated this comprehensive guide to running successful Giving Tuesday campaigns. We’ll explore:

• Giving Tuesday FAQs
• Best Practices for Successful Giving Tuesday Campaigns
• 9 Engaging Giving Tuesday Campaign Ideas

Throughout the guide, we’ll also touch on the best software solutions you can leverage to drive donations. Remember, it’s never too early to start planning, so let’s get to work!

Giving Tuesday FAQs

First, make sure you’re up to speed on the basics of Giving Tuesday fundraising for nonprofits. Explore each common question below to check your knowledge.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday, also stylized as GivingTuesday or #GivingTuesday, is a global day of generosity and giving that occurs on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving each year. It started as an online movement in 2012 and quickly grew into an international phenomenon. As of 2024, Giving Tuesday participants have raised over $18.5 billion for charitable causes.

When is Giving Tuesday 2025?

Giving Tuesday 2025 falls on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

For future reference, the dates for the next few years are:

• December 2, 2025
• December 1, 2026
• November 30, 2027
• November 28, 2028

Who Can Participate in Giving Tuesday?

Anyone can participate in Giving Tuesday! Whether you’re raising money as an individual, nonprofit, school, higher education institution, or another group, you can join in. You do not have to officially register your participation, and you don’t even have to be a registered 501(c)(3), as long as you notify donors that their gifts are not tax-deductible.

Why Do Nonprofits Fundraise on Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday campaigns come with plenty of benefits for nonprofit organizations, including:

• Access to new prospective donors searching the Giving Tuesday hashtag
• Natural momentum and motivation for giving
• Increased brand awareness and fundraising results
• Easy donor engagement and stewardship potential
• Opportunities to promote your other fundraising campaigns online

What Are the Best Ways to Raise Money on Giving Tuesday?

Primarily, Giving Tuesday takes place online, but how does it actually work? Organizations promote their campaigns and reach their goals in various ways, from social media fundraisers to engaging events and peer-to-peer campaigns. You can use any strategies that work for you, but we’ll cover some of our favorite ideas later.

Best Practices for Successful Giving Tuesday Campaigns

Excited to join the ranks of fundraisers who tap into the power of Giving Tuesday? Follow these best practices to maximize your campaigns’ potential.

Start Planning Early

Giving Tuesday is more than a single day. It requires months of careful planning, communication, and engagement to ensure everything runs smoothly. Most nonprofits start planning for Giving Tuesday at least a few months in advance (August or September).

However, the earlier you start planning your Giving Tuesday campaign, the more your organization will benefit.

In the months leading up to Giving Tuesday, establish goals and review past campaign performance. Identify successful strategies and areas for improvement to make this year’s campaign more effective. Make sure your goals are realistic enough to be achievable, but still ambitious enough to propel your nonprofit to new heights.

Then, communicate clear goals with your internal team regarding:

• Overall fundraising objectives
• Financial budget
• Donor acquisition goals
• Social media engagement metrics
• Event attendance
• Marketing plans
• Online donation page
• Matching gifts strategy
• Campaign messaging

With a long-term strategy, your team can reap the benefits of Giving Tuesday all year long. Remember, the earlier you plan, the more time you give your organization to connect with internal and external teams to maximize your presence for Giving Tuesday.

Choose the Right Giving Tuesday Software

Investing in a streamlined fundraising software is the number one way to reach Giving Tuesday donors and secure funding for your cause. These tools help you set up donation pages, host events, manage peer-to-peer campaigns, and much more. Choose the right platform (like OneCause!) to make giving easier than ever for your donors.

As you research Giving Tuesday software solutions, look for a platform that includes:

• Customizable online giving forms that allow donors to pick and choose donation amounts, leave messages, and share with their networks.
• Branded giving sites that showcase your mission and impact while expanding your reach through social proof and built-in engagement tools.
• Peer-to-peer fundraising technology that gets more people engaged before, during, and after Giving Tuesday through social media, ambassador fundraising, and more.
• Text-to-donate functionality that makes it easy for people to quickly contribute to your cause from their phones.
• AI features that save your team time and create a better giving experience for your donors.

Nonprofit fundraising software is your most powerful ally. Before you decide on a solution, evaluate your options thoroughly by reading reviews, requesting demos, and assessing your organization’s technology needs.

Optimize Your Donation Page

The digital world is the primary reason that Giving Tuesday has become so popular, so you should expect donors to give online. This means you need a branded, easy-to-use (and easy-to-create) online donation page.

Your giving page should be straightforward and easy to complete in just minutes. Avoid common pitfalls by using these tips to optimize your donation page now:

• Use a simple design. Design a user-friendly site with prominent calls-to-action, varying donation levels, brand logos and colors, and more.
• Ask for only the necessary information. Build trust among new and current donors with a secure, optimized donation process that only collects essential data.
• Add impact labels. Clearly connect gifts to your mission by labeling the value of suggested donation amounts. For example, “$50 = One new cat bed for our animal shelter!”
• Make it mobile-friendly. Before you share it with your network, test your donation process to ensure it runs smoothly on all devices.

With a one-stop-shop online giving page, your supporters can learn exactly what your organization’s goals are, how they can get involved, and what sets your Giving Tuesday campaign apart. Then, they can easily donate from anywhere.

Provide Multiple Ways to Give

Just as you should leverage different promotional channels, your team should also provide several different ways for supporters to donate on Giving Tuesday. This might include:

• Standard cash donations
• Donations via digital wallets
• Monthly, recurring gifts
• Anonymous contributions
• Tribute donations
• In-kind gifts
• Corporate matches
• Donor-advised funds
• Non-cash gifts like stocks

The more opportunities you offer, the more prospective supporters you’ll inspire to give. For a good example of a donation page with multiple ways to give, check out this page that was created with OneCause:

Build a Strong Social Media Campaign

Thoughtful social media strategies will help you stay top of mind among donors during this global day of giving. There’s no denying the power of social media, so be sure to include the following in your strategy:

• #GivingTuesday: Use this hashtag to boost your online presence and promote your posts to new audiences.
• Campaign hashtag: Create a custom hashtag related to your campaign to streamline your supporters’ activity.
• Videos or photos: Avoid stock imagery and prioritize relatable, impactful visuals of your mission.
• Donation link: Always include the link to your donation page across social media posts and platforms.

To elevate your social campaign even further, incorporate countdown posts and fundraising thermometers to build anticipation or gamification tactics to spur donations through healthy competition.

Use social media templates to get started, then customize them with your organization’s voice and branding. Your goal is to be creative and get your supporters excited to amplify your impact. Don’t forget to update your community before, during, and after your campaign.

Tell Powerful Stories About Your Mission

Many nonprofits tend to lean into displaying impact data and previous Giving Tuesday fundraising results. While these metrics are important, they’ll communicate your organization’s message in a much more compelling way when paired with storytelling. Share authentic, compelling stories about your beneficiaries and community members to emotionally engage (and convert!) more donors.

To write a story that resonates with new and existing donors alike, use these basic best practices:

• Only tell real, relevant stories that evoke positive emotions.
• Ask beneficiaries, volunteers, staff, board members, and even donors to share their stories.
• Use a classic story arc: setting, conflict, resolution.
• Incorporate images and videos to put a face to your stories.
• Always get explicit permission from individuals to include their stories in your marketing materials.

Once you get your audience’s attention with a compelling story, encourage them to play a part by donating to your Giving Tuesday campaign. End every story with a clear call to action and a direct link to your donation page.

Highlight Matching Gift Opportunities

The key to making the most of Giving Tuesday is uniting your supporters to work together towards your goal, and what better way to rally supporters than letting them know that they can double their contributions?

Matching gifts are a great asset during Giving Tuesday, and while donations are not automatically doubled, your organization can secure a match to entice donors to give more. For instance, you can partner with a major donor who is willing to match all donations up to a certain amount. Or, you can motivate donors to request corporate matching gifts from their employers.

Either way, promote matching gifts throughout your Giving Tuesday communications. Emphasize that your donors’ impact will be doubled at the top of your donation page, or include a pop-up message about the opportunity.

Invite Volunteers to Chip In

Don’t be afraid to engage volunteers to help you make the most of Giving Tuesday. They can help you brainstorm campaign ideas, staff fundraising events, or even leverage their social networks to spread awareness for your cause.

Ramp up the excitement and share opportunities for volunteers through:

• Email campaigns
• Text messages
• Direct mail
• In-person events
• Social media

Make sure to thank your volunteers early and often, especially if they donate in addition to contributing their time.

Recruit Fundraising Ambassadors to Lead the Charge

Ambassador fundraising allows nonprofits to elevate their most involved and passionate supporters to a new, upgraded role. Instead of just being a dedicated donor, they can play a critical role in the success of your nonprofit by fundraising on your behalf.

The key to success is selecting the right ambassadors. Start by looking at board members, active volunteers, committee members, or past donors. Recruit peer ambassadors by emphasizing what’s in it for them: the chance to showcase their support publicly, grow a cause they’re passionate about, and build new connections in the process.

Once you’ve recruited your ambassadors, give them tools that will fuel their success:

• Arm them with a robust ambassador toolkit that includes social media graphics, sample captions, and fundraising tips.
• Provide clear guidelines, goals, and ambassador responsibilities for the Giving Tuesday campaign.
• Organize casual meet-ups with ambassadors to give them time to share ideas and deepen their connection to your cause.

Then, brainstorm ways to incentivize your peer-to-peer fundraising participants. You might use gamification strategies like:

• Leaderboards
• Milestones
• Fundraising thermometers
• Prizes

Pro tip: Introducing fun, competitive, and socially based peer-to-peer elements into your Giving Tuesday can supercharge any campaign.

Take a Multichannel Approach to Promote Your Campaign

The digital revolution has changed the fundraising game. Now, there are more platforms and ways to spread the word about your cause like never before.

Leverage your donation page to drive supporters to a single location from every marketing channel you leverage. Here are the core channels to consider when planning your next Giving Tuesday campaign:

• Social media:  Giving Tuesday started on social media, so it’s arguably one of the most important elements of your marketing efforts. Create unique, engaging posts that target your donors, board, and community to get the most likes, shares, and comments.
• Email: A classic and easy way to spread the word is to plan an email calendar that increases in cadence the closer you get to the big day (i.e., it goes from monthly to weekly to daily communications).
• Website: Emphasize the importance of your campaign and your goals by creating a page on your website that spotlights your Giving Tuesday campaign. Include an embedded form or a link to your donation page.
• Traditional marketing: Though it is important to capitalize on digital trends in the fundraising world, don’t diminish the effectiveness of posters and direct mail. Hang flyers at heavy-traffic locations or mail campaign packets to donors to reach a wider audience.
• Text messaging: Donors love it when they can give as quickly as possible. Use fundraising tools like Text2Give® to send out a text message to supporters. By including a shortened link in the text, people can donate right from their phones.

Regardless of which channels you use, send out announcements and information to your donors well in advance so they don’t miss the big day!

Tap Into Revenue-Boosting Engagement Strategies

Possibly the most crucial step to expanding your donor base for Giving Tuesday is to use specific strategies catered to the needs of current and potential donors.

Taking the time to understand who your donors are and why they give will take your nonprofit to the next level. For instance, today’s donors want to support nonprofits that demonstrate their impact, help them feel connected to the mission, and build trust.

After understanding what makes your unique donors tick, here are some possible strategies to boost Giving Tuesday income:

• Ask for your donors’ preferred communication methods and respect them.
• Evaluate how dedicated individual supporters are to facilitate new roles for them (ex, if you have a donor with a large online following, ask them to be an ambassador).
• Leverage social media to give shout-outs and show how donors’ support is helping further your cause.
• Amplify donor impact by promoting employer matching gift opportunities.

As you take the time to individualize your donors’ experiences, know that this will expand your reach tremendously and make Giving Tuesday a hit!

Steward Giving Tuesday Donors Strategically

Giving Tuesday is not just a day of generous giving, but a day of exploring and learning about different nonprofits. Nonprofits must focus on the big picture and think beyond Giving Tuesday’s 24 hours. After the day ends and you meet your short-term fundraising goals, take steps to steward your new donors for the long term.

The first thing you want to do after Giving Tuesday is to thank your donors for their contributions. Go beyond the usual appreciation email and consider sending a handwritten letter or appreciation video. A unique thank-you will help you stand out, so donors are more likely to remember and engage with your organization again.

Then, use these stewardship ideas to retain relationships with new and existing Giving Tuesday donors:

• Write personalized thank-you letters
• Regularly share impact metrics and stories
• Ensure the giving experience is easy
• Foster inclusion with a dedicated welcome campaign
• Share volunteer opportunities
• Invite donors to upcoming events

Sometimes, donors may not know how to get more involved with your organization, so be sure to remind them of the many opportunities to engage with your mission. Consistently communicating with donors will help you keep them engaged even after a day full of giving.

Keep the Momentum Going Throughout Year-End Giving

Over 17% of all giving happens in the last month of the year, making this prime time for nonprofit strategy and engagement. Your Giving Tuesday momentum can help you reach fundraising goals through the end of the year. Keep the ball rolling with proactive year-end giving strategies right after Giving Tuesday ends.

Maintaining an active social media presence will help you stay connected, but keep these year-end giving best practices in mind to maximize results:

• End-of-year giving is the perfect time to experiment with new campaign ideas. This is your opportunity to try something new and freshen things up!
• Align your Giving Tuesday and year-end campaigns. While Giving Tuesday is its own entity, be sure to announce to donors what other fundraisers you will be hosting throughout the year.
• Host an end-of-year black-tie gala or auction for top donors. This is a great opportunity to have one last fundraiser while also providing a special “thank-you” to devoted donors.
• Look outside the box and try a new channel, like text-to-donate, to drive last-minute donations. Text-to-donate options are great for those people who may not be on social media and want a quick, easy way to give before the year is up.

Use year-end momentum to provide donors with challenges and new surprises to keep them engaged. No matter what you decide, this is the time to get creative and strive for the highest engagement levels possible.

Identify Lessons Learned for Next Giving Tuesday

Just because Giving Tuesday is a single day on the calendar doesn’t mean nonprofits can ignore it until next fall rolls around. The best way to have a successful Giving Tuesday is to plan well in advance, starting even after the previous Giving Tuesday ends.

It’s never too early to start planning for Giving Tuesday. As you wrap up this year’s campaign, sit down as a team and share lessons learned and key wins. Make sure next year’s campaign plans include:

• Scope out potential ambassadors.
• Evaluate the success of your fundraising platform.
• Map out continued engagement and year-round campaigns to engage new donors.
• Brainstorm potential campaign themes for next year.
• Continue to post Giving Tuesday content to engage and educate supporters the whole year.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum of enthusiasm towards the biggest giving day of the year, one thing is for sure: Giving Tuesday can no longer be ignored.

9 Engaging Giving Tuesday Campaign Ideas

Looking for campaign inspiration? Check out our list of exciting, proven ideas for boosting revenue on Giving Tuesday.

1. Online Fundraising

Online fundraising will likely be your most lively channel for Giving Tuesday, so start by prioritizing your online donation page and digital marketing strategies. Choose a fundraising platform with plenty of customization and sharing features and ensure it can handle a high volume of donations at the same time. Once you have a strong online donation page set up, plan a coordinated marketing campaign across social media, email, and other online channels.

2. Peer-to-Peer Campaigns

Make it easy for your donors to create their own personal fundraising pages as peer-to-peer fundraisers. Provide them with a few resources, and they’ll share your Giving Tuesday information with their networks and raise funds on your behalf. By giving your most loyal, fervent supporters the ability to create their own fundraising pages, you open up a new world of potential donors to your cause.

3. Text-to-Give

This channel is great for spur-of-the-moment donors or people who stumble upon your social media posts as they look for ways to get involved on Giving Tuesday. By sharing your text-to-give phone number and keyword (like “DONATE”), anyone can give efficiently. All they need is a phone!

4. Matching Gift Campaign

Double the impact of each contribution by securing a match. If a loyal major donor is already planning a large donation, they’re the perfect candidate to offer matching gifts. Reach out and explain the benefits of a matching gift challenge (extra momentum, larger donations, etc.), then ask if they would be willing to pledge to match donations up to a certain amount. If they were already committed to giving $20,000, they could set that as their maximum.

5. Online Events

Virtual fundraising events are a natural extension of online Giving Tuesday campaigns. They’re easy for supporters to join, whether they find your campaign on social media or receive an invitation link via text or email. Use online fundraising software to host a virtual raffle or silent auction and quickly boost your fundraising revenue.

6. In-Person Events

You don’t have to host a large-scale gala on Giving Tuesday, but a small, casual event could bring in additional donations throughout the day. No matter what type of in-person gathering fits into your budget, it’s a good idea to have at least one way people can make donations in person, since some donors prefer to see who exactly is getting their funds.

7. Custom Hashtags

Hashtags create a central place for donors to find your organization and posts related to your campaign on social media. Include #GivingTuesday in your social media posts to get your cause in front of new audiences, but consider creating a hashtag specific to your nonprofit as well. Something like #WildlifeWarriorsGive2025 or #GivingTuesdayLAFD allows you to tap into the momentum while keeping your brand front and center.

8. Recurring Giving Campaign

Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to promote your monthly giving program. You’re already directing donors to your online giving page, so why not highlight recurring donations as an easy way to increase their impact? Loyal supporters will be excited to contribute in a more convenient way, while first-time donors will love the opportunity to make a long-term impact on a new cause that resonates with them.

9. Branded Merchandise Sale

Giving Tuesday is all about supporting and celebrating donors’ favorite nonprofits, and many supporters love to show their support publicly with branded merchandise. Share links to your online merchandise store so donors can showcase their support. Or, if you have extra branded t-shirts on hand, sell them at your Giving Tuesday event for additional revenue.

Jumpstart Your Giving Tuesday Campaign with OneCause

Ready to amplify your organization’s impact this Giving Tuesday? Whether you’re a Giving Tuesday pro or this is your first campaign, the OneCause fundraising platform can help you engage more donors and maximize your revenue potential.

Check out other helpful resources to harness the power of giving days:

• Your Ultimate Giving Tuesday Prep Guide. Maximize your Giving Tuesday efforts with the tips and tricks in our downloadable guide.
• 10 Ways to Leverage AI for Giving Tuesday & Year-End Fundraising. Discover how AI can boost your nonprofit’s efficiency in reaching year-end fundraising goals, streamline your efforts, and amplify your impact.
• Giving Tuesday: 10 Awesome Best Practices for Your Cause. Get the most out of Giving Tuesday while keeping it easy with a few tips to maximize your impact.