How to Get Ready for Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday, which takes place this year on November 29, is coming soon! 

We know there’s never enough time in the day for busy nonprofit leaders, and preparing ahead for events like these can be challenging. But we don’t want you to miss this great opportunity to boost fundraising and awareness for your mission.

So how can you jumpstart success for Giving Tuesday? Resilia’s nonprofit experts recently held a webinar on getting the most out of Giving Tuesday, where they shared insider tips and answered key questions, many of which are recapped below.

Answers to Top Questions on Building Giving Tuesday Campaigns

Q: What is Giving Tuesday?
A: Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. It was created in 2012 as a simple idea – dedicate a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, donate, and celebrate generosity.

While the Giving Tuesday organization provides a lot of high-profile coverage for the day, planning your nonprofit’s campaign strategy and collecting donations is up to you. However, the Giving Tuesday organization does provide some helpful resources that you can use to be a part of the movement and achieve success on the big day.

Q: What advice can you give to a new nonprofit participating in Giving Tuesday?

A: Work with what you have and set realistic goals. If you’re a small organization, you’re not going to raise $100,000 on your first Giving Tuesday. But you can work with what you have and build from there. Maybe your goal is $500 along with another objective of gaining 100 new Facebook followers. Setting specific goals you and your team can reach with reasonable effort can set you up for success on Giving Tuesday and help you build momentum for the rest of the end-of-year giving season.

Q: Where should I begin? 

A: Join the conversation NOW. Start posting on social media about your goals and plans and use #GivingTuesday. Make sure you’re posting regularly and ASAP. You can never have too much runway to get Giving Tuesday started. Let people know what you're planning and encourage them to join you.

Q: How do you know what to make your goal?

A: Make your goal your own. It can be around fundraising, but it doesn’t have to be. It can also be based on signing up volunteers, gaining social media followers, building awareness, or filling other needs your organization has. For example, one goal can be to have at least five volunteers participate in your first Giving Tuesday event. If you have a budget for marketing, dedicate a small percentage of that towards achieving a Giving Tuesday fundraising goal. Share your goal on social media to get your supporters excited about it, and update them on progress throughout the day.

Q: Unfortunately, we didn’t receive much last year. What are some tips to make this year different and more successful? 

A: Start early and plan ahead. Review what worked or didn’t work in the past, and note the things you could have done better. Often you’ll find that things may have broken down because your plan was incomplete. You should know in advance the list of people you intend to reach, which emails you will use, what social media platforms you will post on, etc.

Also, get specific with your plans. For example, note that “I’m going to post X number of times on Giving Tuesday” or “I’m going to ask the champions of my organization to post for me.” Then, have everything ready to go in advance, including links and messages, before you ask people to share. In reality, you could start preparing anywhere from six weeks to six months in advance to get people geared up for the big day. Starting early is the best way to have a more successful campaign.

Q: How do you maximize impact with only a fraction of full-time employees?

A: Utilize the Giving Tuesday assets that are already available and free! Just go to the nonprofits section of the Giving Tuesday website to access all of the great tools they’ve already created including a workbook, planning doc, and marketing assets. These tools have been designed with years of trial and error to ensure nonprofits’ success. And they’re completely free!  

Also, on the Giving Tuesday website, you can check if there is a local community movement in your area that you can join. There are also cause-based coalitions that may fit your organization and could help promote your organization to a new world of donors and influencers.

Q: This will be our first year targeting Giving Tuesday. We have one person who runs the organization as a volunteer and we don’t have a budget. What are some key things we could do?

A: Find a corporate partner or sponsor. If you’re short on staff for Giving Tuesday, find a corporate partner who can help spread the word. Many companies, restaurants, recreational centers or even pubs might be willing to have a charitable day where their staff can help raise funds for your cause. Maybe someone on your board works for a company and can give an introduction. Or maybe one of your corporate donors would be willing to post in support of your organization on Giving Tuesday. Here are a few additional ideas to try to raise money or awareness:

• Host a third party event. Consider hosting ‘Giving Brewsday’ at a local brewery on the evening of Giving Tuesday where a portion of the proceeds go to your organization. The brewery can help handle a lot of the legwork!

• Ask your donors/sponsors if they can “match” donations. It’s a great way to double your fundraising. Check if your corporate donors or generous individual sponsors will match donations you get on Giving Tuesday. Matching gifts can really drive donations.

• Look for small businesses to team up with. Consider your local pub, brewery, restaurant or other business. Be ready to walk in with a proposal in hand with a plan for the day. Local businesses can benefit from the publicity and goodwill Giving Tuesday often generates.

Q: How can I get my ads and posts to reach more people? 

A: Know your donor demographics and how to reach them. Consider the social media platforms and other websites where your donors would be most active, and be sure you are posting on those sites. If you have experience with paid social media ads, consider allocating some budget for a pre-Giving Tuesday appeal.

Make sure you use #GivingTuesday and any cause-related hashtags. Social media algorithms will want to see you’ve been consistent in posting about Giving Tuesday in the days and weeks leading up to the event so you show up in people’s feeds. Regular posting will help you stay at the top of people’s feeds. Ask your employees, volunteers, and donors to be your ambassadors and respond to and/or reshare your posts in their networks.

Q: How do we differentiate Giving Tuesday from our year-end appeals so that donors respond to both?

A: Make Giving Tuesday a kick-off to your year-end campaign. If you have a solid plan for the end of the year, just make Giving Tuesday a starting point. Use the day to highlight the good things you’ve been doing all year long. Make it a celebration day to get people geared up for the upcoming year-end fundraisers. Celebrate all the wins of the year so people know that investing in your organization is worth it and they’ll want to donate again. 

If you’re already mid-campaign, try incorporating Giving Tuesday into your plans as a day to ask specific donors to make matching donations. Also, use the day as an opportunity to announce a big donation that will create momentum for your year-end campaign.

Also, be sure to make Giving Tuesday a day to thank your donors, supporters, and volunteers. Never underestimate the power of saying thank you!

For more tips on how to have a successful Giving Tuesday or year-end fundraising campaign, visit the Resilia Nonprofit Platform, which is filled with courses, templates, tools, and other resources. In particular, our Giving Tuesday Best Practices course in Resilia Academy goes in-depth on how to effectively plan a Giving Tuesday campaign. Not yet a member? Sign up for the Resila Nonprofit Platform today!