28 Giving Tuesday Ideas to Kickoff the Charitable Season

Giving Tuesday will fall on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024, and mark the beginning of the charitable season alongside the holidays.

Both local and national organizations use this period to help communities fight for their causes. 

But in order to help others, nonprofits need to attract the attention of their audience. And for that, they need to launch marketing and advertising campaigns. This helps them connect with donors, raise funds, and support the cause.

As the leading marketing automation platform for nonprofits, we spend a lot of time researching the best ways to help your nonprofit reach out to donors, raise funds, and extend your fight for the cause.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday refers to the global generosity movement or global day of giving. The day is celebrated every year on the first Tuesday following Thanksgiving, between November 27th and December 3rd. It comes right after Cyber Monday and Black Friday.

But how did people start celebrating this day?

The U.N. Foundation officially coined Giving Tuesday on New York’s 92nd Street in 2012. The organizations thought to celebrate the day by encouraging people to help others.

Since then, governments, nonprofits, and individuals have tried to help others in whatever way they could, including charitable giving, planting trees, supporting helpless people, and so forth.

What is interesting about Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday helps to re-imagine a world built upon care, generosity, and shared humanity.

This fantastic day has been setting one donation record after another in the U.S. Every organization working who asks people to help them can help others get a significant amount of charity in just a few days. People across the country who believe in the cause of specific organizations try to help them as much as possible.

Individuals and businesses help several nonprofits, such as healthcare organizations, food banks, natural disaster relief, and others, get the support they need to impact the communities before the year ends truly. Year-end fundraising is an ideal way to end the year. Also, with significant fundraising, the organization can get enough money to make the holidays fun and joyful for less privileged people.

What do Nonprofits do for Giving Tuesday Campaigns?

Nonprofit organizations operate through charity and community support. Though they raise donations year-round, these special days boost their chances of driving change on a bigger level.

Therefore, many organizations set fundraising goals for Giving Tuesday.

They run Giving Tuesday campaigns to market their vision, encourage donors and support their cause. These campaigns and fundraising activities can begin several days before Giving Tuesday and can continue to gather money several days after the Tuesday. 

Nonprofits also organize events to raise funds. These types of events are ideal for sharing your goals, vision, and action plans. Also, based on the type of organization, they can ask for support in terms of money or volunteering.

Giving Tuesday Campaign ideas to start the charity season

Looking for Giving Tuesday ideas to increase donations, sign new donors, and attract attention?

We have gathered the most promising strategies that help nonprofit organizations.

Since people have been celebrating Giving Tuesday for several years now, many individuals will already be waiting for the right organization to get in touch with them during this period.

So, targeting the right people who might share a common cause is crucial. This can only happen when you look for creative and appealing marketing opportunities to motivate people to donate money.

#1 Direct Mail Fundraising

Nonprofits searching for an affordable, easy, and strong fundraising strategy should look into direct mail. 

Letters, postcards, and self-mailers are highly effective forms of marketing. They look professional, show how valuable the receiver is to you, and accurately deliver your message. Due to its tangible nature, your client can review it whenever they want and take the desired action.

Wondering how direct mail can become part of your fundraising strategy this season? 

Try Postalytics. It’s the first direct mail automation online platform for the United States and Canada. We understand that the conventional direct mailing process is monotonous, challenging, and requires a great deal of effort. With Postalytics, nonprofits can build, send and track effective direct mail campaigns with little effort. 

You can sync customer data from their CRM, saving you time. In addition, you can forget about printing, sorting, and delivering mail and focus on the most important aspects of running your nonprofit. We’ll make sure that every piece of your mail reaches a potential donor at the right time. Adding QR codes and pURLs in each mail will provide additional insights into the performance of your campaign.

The primary reason why nonprofits choose Postalytics over other marketing tools is that it’s highly cost-effective, offers great ROI, and is user-friendly. You can try it out for free today.

According to Dennis Kelly, CEO of Postalytics:

“We are excited to introduce the first end-to-end direct mail automation tool to the nonprofit market. We have seen explosive growth in automated direct mail marketing in the U.S. and Canadian commercial markets. We expect nonprofit marketers to adopt this no-brainer technology now that nonprofit USPS postage discounts are available.”

#2 Thank You Postcards

There is no more appropriate gesture than to deliver a timely thank you postcard for the donor’s contribution. 

Thank you postcards are the best way to show donors how much you appreciate their support. It is one of the best Giving Tuesday ideas and shows that donors’ help greatly matters to you. 

Postcards are also ideal for breaking down the way you’re going to invest their contributions.

You can also encourage donors to continue helping others in the future. It also motivates them to donate money to your organization year-round whenever possible. Simply put, a thank you note can go a long way and encourage a person to donate regularly to a better cause.

#3 Create an Online Fundraising Page 

If you want to raise money, it’s essential to have an online donation page. 

You can create nonprofit fundraising pages using different platforms so that you can divert your clients to the page where they can get all the details about the program and explore ways to support your cause. These sites require you to give basic details about how much you want to raise. You need to provide pictures or videos to create a more appealing page for a successful giving Tuesday campaign.

Organizations can also write their story to impress people to help them. Based on the site you choose, it will take only a few minutes. You can incorporate the link in your letters and postcards through QR codes so people can scan it and visit the page. This will improve the click-through rate and increase the chances of achieving your mission.

#4 Launch a Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Scheme

The peer-to-peer fundraising campaign is getting popular among nonprofits. It’s also known as team or social fundraising and is an online fundraising method in which individual ambassador supporters fundraisers on behalf of a larger organization or cause. These volunteers’ fundraisers promote the cause to their families or friends online.

If you have people who can become your volunteer and create an online site to run a fundraising campaign, then you should go for this one. This technique can help you earn a significant amount of money.

#5 Use Price Anchoring in Your Donation Requests

Price anchoring is a technique of giving a price point for a donation to influence decisions. The price point can impact the psychological decisions of the people in a fundraising event. Experts suggest using this technique to gain a high amount on average. In this case, you need to increase the highest donation request- more than you need.

By using price anchoring in your donation request, you can expect to achieve your fundraising goals more quickly. Of course, people will pay based on their budget. But giving price anchoring as a reference will help them offer as much money as possible.

#6 Share Short Video Clips on TikTok, YouTube Shorts & IG Reels

It’s essential to reach your audience to raise money. But interacting with your audience in the right way is important so that they can take out some time and support your cause. The best and most straightforward way to do so is by using attractive, captivating, and creative videos.

You can opt for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and IG Reels. Most of your audience is on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Targeting them where they are the most can help you achieve your goal.

#7 Shares Before & After Stories on Your Website & Social Media

One of the most important Giving Tuesday ideas is to keep donors in the loop. They should know how you have used their money and what the progress is. Sharing before and after stories on social media and website is the best thing to do.

When you show them the pictures before using the donation, they will have an idea about the condition of people who need help. This will impact their donor’s decision. Once you use the money for the bigger cause, displaying new photos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages or websites will allow them to see their impact.

#8 Set Up a Monthly Subscription Program for Donors

Nonprofits that need regular donations can set up a monthly giving program. The subscription programs allow donors to automatically give a specific amount to the nonprofit every month. According to organizations, a monthly subscription is a reliable source of financial support. This way, they know how much money they can expect to get in a month; organizations can create their plan for every month in advance accordingly.

These programs only require minimal admin work to supervise and run these campaigns. Donors can also use them to save their time and effort to send you donations every month. Based on the technique you choose, the money can be directly detected every month from their account, which is easier.

#9 Launch SMS promotion for Giving Tuesday

Whether you choose for online donations through an online fundraising page or give your account numbers to people to donate, SMS promotion can help you promote your programs. Though SMS marketing techniques are old, they are still valuable and relevant. By sending a message, you can make people aware of your program.

You can also use it to remind donors to support your organization in the future. SMS promotion is also helpful to keep your clients updated on the progress. You can design the promotion based on your needs and requirements. For instance, you can add a link to your fundraising page so that people can directly visit the page.

#10 Reach Out to Local News 

Another great idea for fundraising is to get the help of the local media. Many media platforms will be pleased to help organizations in the great cause. Also, some of them even support local organizations every year for Giving Tuesday. So, start looking for local print or broadcast media who can help you make people aware of the particular problem in the community and to get support for it.

You can share your website, the money you want, and other details in the news. The more details you can give, the better it is. Adding pictures to the print or TV ad is also a great idea to get the attention of the viewers.

#11 Organize a Gala Night for Donors & Supporters

Organizing nonprofit events is common. Fundraising events are quite appealing and a great way to be vocal about the cause. Gala nights are perfect for you if you want to organize an event for high-profile individuals. It will be an unforgettable event for your donors, and if put together in the right way, it can help you raise an exponential amount of money.

Hosting a gala will also help you build strong relationships with the donors. This compels the donors to support you in the future. However, keep in mind that it’s a luxury event and requires money to organize. So, make sure to determine whether or not you can afford the event.

#12 Hosts a Comedy Night

This is another great way to grab the attention of the donors. A comedy night will help you entertain others in the event while allowing you to raise money. Hosting a comedy night also gives an opportunity to discuss your cause and goals in a light way without making people uncomfortable.

If every speaker on the comedy nights chooses words carefully, they can motivate people easily. Do remember that it’s a great deal. You not only need to invest money in the event but also require quality comedy speakers who can help you offer the best experience to the visitors.

#13 Plans a Trivia Night

It is a group event commonly known as bar trivia or quiz night. Trivia nights are basically quiz nights that are usually organized in the pub. In this event, people test their knowledge on several topics to compete for prizes. Fundraisers can organize the event to collect money as well as o give a great time to the visitors.

People purchase tickets to events or games, which they can use for the cause. You can also offer food and use a percentage of it to invest in the organization’s goal. Ensure to make people aware of your event through letters, postcards, or brochures. 

#14 Surprise Donors with Tickets to a Live Show

Some organizations offer tickets to the live show to the donors. You can decide the cost of the tickets based on their actual price and the amount of money you want to raise. When you offer tickets to the donors, make it clear that a specific amount of money will go to the donations. This way, you can motivate more people to purchase tickets.

The show should have something compelling for the donors. In other words, it should be interesting to watch. Also, the show can be anything like theater, music, comedy, etc.

#15 Set Up a Live Calendar Reminder for Donors

It’s important to think about your current and regular donors. Making the donation process easy and accessible is totally a worthy approach. When donors find it easy to remember your event or donating period, the additional work to remember everything by them will be reduced.

For this purpose, you can create a live calendar for your website. Adding the event date or the donating date to the calendar will allow the donor to check and see the dates and times easily. You can also create an online calendar reminder that will notify your donor a few days before the event. This way, your donor will not forget to support you in helping the community.

#16 Share a Celebrity Cameo

Celebrities and famous people can greatly influence the donor’s decision. You can benefit from this approach and encourage people to donate. You can do this by opting for a celebrity cameo. 

This is a short video made by any athlete, artist, actor, or some other famous person.

They share important messages in these videos and tell people how important it is to support nonprofits. They also show their belief in the organization so that people hearing them can contribute to the cause. Celebrity cameo allows you to get the attention of their followers. This not only helps you raise funds but also helps you gain new followers. Share the videos on different platforms, such as social media and your website. Ask your chosen individual to share the short video on their personal pages like Facebook and Instagram.

#17 Encourage Supporters to Share an #unselfie

Social media channels have set different trends in the last few years that are helping people to share their views and opinions on a particular thing. Unselfie is one of them. It is a campaign in which people take pictures of themselves with their favorite charitable cause. The Unselfie campaign is amazing to get viral and get infinite support from the people. It’s also helpful to spread awareness of a problem.

Start encouraging people to share pictures through your social media page. Your loyal donors and volunteers will surely follow you back. When they share their picture, their followers will also follow them. You can share the pictures on your stories to emphasize people and display that many people support you. This will encourage others who haven’t shared the picture yet.

#18 Showcase Donor Stories on Your Website

Humanize your nonprofits with stories. What you do, how others react to your fundraising programs, and whom you serve- you can showcase everything through a story. It first grabs the attention of the viewers and then motivates them to take a step.

Sharing your donor stories on your website will help people understand that you are a credible and trustworthy organization. It builds trust and showcases that their money will be used for the right thing. You can also share these stories on your social media accounts to attract people who are present in these spaces.

#19 Host a YouTube Live Stream

YouTube Giving gives an opportunity to creators to support charitable causes on the platform. But there are some qualifications and requirements that you need to meet first. Eligible channels can raise money by incorporating a donate button to live streams and videos. If viewers believe in the cause, they can donate directly in live chat or on the video watch page.

If you want to raise money through this method, you need to ensure to give a strong message in the video. Giving the right facts and figures is also vital. Tell some emotional stories and information about your organization. It’s better to create a pitch or some notes to discuss in the video so that you don’t leave any important points to discuss.

#20 Retarget Cold Supporters 

Retargeting cold supporters from time to time is important. 

These are the people who have trust in you and your goal but have stopped supporting you due to any reason. Since these people already know how your organization works, encouraging them to hold your hand is much easier than others. So, start working on it.

You can do this by sending direct mail to your supporters. Incorporate a well-designed message that includes how much you value their support and in what programs they have helped you. Use Postalytics to retarget passive supporters. 

Postalytics will help you deliver a personalized message to interact with each supporter on a personal and deeper level.

#21 Launch an NFT Drop

Fundraising through NFT is becoming a common and trending technique. Minting new NFTs can act as an additional stream for fundraising. When an individual buys an NFT from your organization or an NFT artist who has partnered with you, your nonprofit will receive the donation.

Your organization can get this charity through crypto. Based on your goals and needs, you can use crypto for the cause or sell it to gain money.

#22 Create Donor T-Shirts

Many organizations are raising money through donor t-shirts. You can also use this technique for fundraising dollars. The t-shirts create a rallying point for people who support your mission. It gives an opportunity to people to raise awareness of your goals and mission every time when they wear them. Hence, these shirts advocate your cause and take your message to a wider audience.

You can offer shirts to the people who offer donations to you. Or you can sell them as a product and use the money to help the community. Use a method that your audience will prefer.

#23 Share a Wish List

Charity organizations often collect things that they don’t even need. People bring clothes, shoes, kitchen items, home accessories, and everything they don’t use. But charity organizations don’t need every type of item. Creating a charity with the list can reduce the time spent sorting and storing unnecessary items.

Add all the essential things you need to the wish list. Share the wish list every time with the people when you need charity. Also, clarify that your organization prefers to get stuff mentioned in the list.

#24 Raise Funds on Facebook

A Facebook fundraiser is a relatively new tool to raise funds. You can create a fundraiser to raise money for any cause. Share your fundraiser with people to get donations and achieve your goal.

The best part about this technique is that you can easily create it. Handling it is also easy, and since Facebook has an impeccable number of users, you can collect hefty money in less time.

#25 Publish a Free eBook

Free eBook is a great way to attract social media traffic, build loyal donors, and collect funds. Offering an eBook that gives valuable and relevant information to people encourages people to build good relations with you.

They will be more likely to donate to your cause. If they love your book, they will try to share it with others, helping you get more attention and eventually more funds.

#26 Host a Photo Contest

Hosting a photo contest is perfect if you are looking for a more fun and entertaining way to collect money.

You can share a photo of your organization in a particular theme or style. Then, ask others to participate in the contest and share their photos. Just take a fee to add each picture to the contest to raise money.

#27 Organize a Virtual Giving Event

Online or virtual giving event is one of the latest ways nonprofits raise donations. 

You can organize any virtual event. It can be a show, games night, or something similar. Choose an exciting and captivating event so that people join the event to support your cause and enjoy it.

#28 Track & Analyze Your Progress

Whatever strategy you choose to raise funds, it’s essential to track and analyze your progress.

For instance, if you choose a direct mailing strategy, you can measure results and track how many recipients have checked your website to better understand your donors.

Tracking will give you an idea of whether your strategies are effective. It will help you improve your methods so that you can expect better results in the future.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, giving Tuesday is the Black Friday of the nonprofit world. 

We hope that the above Giving Tuesday fundraising ideas will help your organization. You can opt for Facebook fundraising, celebrity cameo, photo contest, or any other method. 

Postalytics is ideal if you want to send direct mail and measure your performance.