Next week is host to the twelfth Giving Tuesday; a day when the non-profit community eagerly pounces on the opportunity to outdo last year’s high-water mark of $3.1 billion in individual and corporate charitable giving.
For many of the 1.8 million nonprofits active in the US, rolling out a successful campaign on Giving Tuesday is of existential importance. This is particularly true in light of Giving USA estimates of US giving being down by 2.1% in 2023, with a similar downturn expected for the current year in view of the tough economic conditions.
Non-profit leaders should expect stiff competition and a challenging fundraising environment, which gives all the more reason to put their best foot forward in the race.
This includes knowing where the market is heading, as well as being strategic about fundraising in ways that leverage, but don’t depend on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
Succeed on Giving Tuesday By Riding the Right Waves Of Long-Term Relationships
Although overall giving is likely to decline in 2024, there’s still plenty of good to go around if you know where to look for it.
One source of support that still remains underutilized by nonprofits is employee giving and corporate volunteering.
“Corporate volunteering and employee giving continue to see strong upwards trends with 11% donation volume growth year on year on our platform,” said Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity.
“Donation match programs are becoming more commonplace each year, with two thirds of companies in our community getting involved, and there’s great opportunity for nonprofits to tap into these if they’re proactive about it,” she adds, noting that successful Giving Tuesday campaigns often begin months before the event itself.
Coordinating volunteer hours might not be as easy as taking in donation dollars, but they offer a way to build long-term relationships that can also pull in employer-matched donations.
As the giving landscape becomes tighter and more competitive, it is the ability to create exactly these long-term relationships that sets leaders who excel in fundraising apart from the rest on Giving Tuesday as well as the rest of the year.
“Almost 80% of all giving comes from less than 3% of donors,” Ben Miller, SVP of Data Science and Analytics at Bonterra explains.
“Nonprofits need to meet donors where they are, and they need to work closely with the donors that are aligned with their mission if they wish to succeed,” Ben adds, noting how the task of non-profit leadership has taken more of the trappings of a relationship manager role than ever before.
“Most donors start small, and when they get comfortable with the organization and they see the work they are doing has real impact they ramp up their giving. All of this takes time and commitment, which means that running short-term campaigns that capitalize on just a single day of charity won’t have much of an impact in the current landscape,” Ben noted.
The key lesson for non-profit leaders here is that a successful Giving Tuesday campaign is born from a long-term commitment, as well as a high level of trust.
Build Momentum By Leveraging Trust: How to Turn Giving Tuesday into a Crescendo of Generosity
In addition to leveraging the right trends and building the right relationships, nonprofits also need to get smart about meeting donors where they are.
“There are so many nonprofits out there that simply don’t speak the secret language of philanthropy,” Sam Caplan, VP of Social Impact at Submittable, explained during our discussion on grantmaking.
“You can’t just show up on Giving Tuesday and expect a flood of donations,” Sam continues, “donors want to see a consistent story, impact, and commitment before they feel compelled to give,” Sam added.
For any individual donor, giving is rarely just about the outcome. Instead, giving is a result of a desire to help one particular organization make that outcome a reality, which changes the equation for nonprofit leaders in meaningful ways.
“Nonprofit leaders should know that trust-based philanthropy is one of the most important trends of our time, although the conversation on it is far from finished,” Sam added before noting that some donors feel uneasy about engaging in giving simply because the prerequisites for trust are not there.
Financial expenditure transparency, honest impact evaluations and realistic goals are just a part of the toolkit for creating trust. The other part is consistency, and herein lies another lesson for nonprofit leaders who aim to succeed on Giving Tuesday: if your campaign preparation begins in November, you are not doing Giving Tuesday right.
Organizations like Feeding America are great examples of this strategy in action.
By engaging donors throughout the year with regular updates, personal stories, and behind-the-scenes looks at their work, they cultivate relationships that naturally lead to greater generosity when the big day arrives.
A robust year-round approach also gives nonprofits the chance to test what resonates most with their audience, using those insights to craft a Giving Tuesday campaign that truly connects. Whether it’s video storytelling, data-backed impact reports, or donor recognition, every tactic employed over the year builds toward the crescendo of Giving Tuesday.
Create Your Own Moment: Owning the Narrative With a Signature Event Outside of Giving Tuesday
While Giving Tuesday is a collective movement that lifts all boats, the more successful nonprofits often find ways to create their own spotlight within the noise.
Some are doing so with their own signature events or initiatives designed to grab attention and maximize engagement.
Consider Glide, a non-profit known for its innovative approaches to fundraising. Their “Power of One Auction” stands out as a prime example of creating a buzz on the other side of the calendar.
With unique offerings and a strong connection to their mission, Glide ensures that their campaign cuts through the crowded landscape of Giving Tuesday appeals.
What makes efforts like these stand out isn’t just the exclusivity of the auction items—it’s the ownership of the narrative.
By creating a splashy, distinct campaign that feels intrinsic to their mission, Glide ensures their message doesn’t get lost in the tide of appeals flooding inboxes on Giving Tuesday.
Strategic Nonprofit Leaders Keep Donors Engaged Long After Giving Tuesday
One of the greatest mistakes nonprofits make is treating Giving Tuesday as the finish line instead of a starting point for deeper engagement.
The truth is that the weeks and months following the big day are just as critical for cultivating donor relationships.
Thank you notes, personalized updates, and clear examples of the impact their gifts make are essential for turning one-time givers into repeat donors. Glide, for example, sends detailed follow-ups to its auction participants, showing exactly how their contributions are making a difference.
Nonprofits that invest in meaningful post-event engagement build trust and loyalty, ensuring that their Giving Tuesday efforts lay the groundwork for future success. As Ben Miller from Bonterra aptly noted, “It’s the relationships, not just the transactions, that lead to lasting success in fundraising.”
For non-profit leaders willing to think and act strategically instead of simply tactically, the opportunity Giving Tuesday presents isn’t just to outdo the competition. The real opportunity here is to find a way to thrive in the giving landscape every day of the year.