What you may not know about GivingTuesday and the best ways to maximize support and engagement on the biggest giving day of the year
As November winds down, the countdown to GivingTuesday begins. Over the past 12 years, GivingTuesday has developed into a global movement, marking a day of the year dedicated to giving. It currently has 104 official country campaigns and over 200 community campaigns in the US alone.
Since 2022, GivingTuesday has been the leading day for new donors; it offers nonprofits an unparalleled opportunity to reengage loyal supporters and share their mission with untapped audiences. 2024 also offers a special opportunity to identify and engage DAF donors, a $251 billion opportunity with tens of thousands of nonprofits having DAFpay, the express DAF giving option, embedded directly in their donation forms.
In a recent webinar hosted by Chariot, Kelsey Kramer, VP of Partnerships at GivingTuesday, joined Chariot’s Head of Strategy, Mitch Stein, to explore why GivingTuesday is a crucial opportunity for nonprofits and share actionable tips to help organizations maximize their impact on this transformative day.
6 things you might not know about GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday is the single biggest Giving Day of the year
In 2023, 34 million adults in the U.S. took part in GivingTuesday, making an impact in various ways. Around 18 million donated money, 14 million shared messages or promoted nonprofits on social media, 8 million gave their time by volunteering, and 10 million donated goods.
The total sum donated amounted to $3.1 billion – increasing 0.6% from 2022.
Nonprofits engage more new donors on GivingTuesday than any other day of the year
In 2022, GivingTuesday officially became the top day for nonprofits to engage new donors, surpassing even December 31st. This milestone underscores the importance of focusing on donor outreach during this key time. As individual giving and donor retention see incremental decline, GivingTuesday offers nonprofits a unique opportunity to attract new supporters and drive greater participation.
It’s the best free awareness building of the whole year
To reach donors – nonprofits often focus on three key steps:
Generating awareness of their organization
Fostering interest amongst their target demographic
Cultivating engagement through various campaigns and giving-opportunities.
The first step – creating awareness – is arguably the most difficult and the most expensive. With its ever-growing name recognition, GivingTuesday offers an effective - and free! - springboard for nonprofits to amplify marketing efforts. While potential donors might not yet know your organization, they likely are familiar with GivingTuesday, and launching a campaign with that language will help raise the visibility of your organization and capture the attention of your target audience, all without costing you a penny in marketing fees.
Half of the general public doesn’t recall getting solicited on GivingTuesday – 9% say they would have given if they had been
According to GivingPulse, last year, half of all donors don’t recall being solicited for gifts on GivingTuesday, and at least 9% of those individuals reported that they would have given had they been asked. People are most likely to give when asked, and it’s clear that money is being left on the table when we’re not asking!
At this time of year, those of us working in the nonprofit sector likely see GivingTuesday content wherever we look– it feels ubiquitous. And yet, while the day does have high name recognition amongst the general public, most do not share a perception of this oversaturation, and nonprofits shouldn’t feel like a specific GivingTuesday campaign is “overkill”. On the contrary, your potential donors are looking out for it!
“When we ask, they show up”
People giving in other settings is a great indicator that they’ll give again
Even if someone has given to your nonprofit recently, they might still want to give on GivingTuesday and beyond. In fact, recent data from Neon One shows that 80% of donors who gave on GivingTuesday gave another gift to the same organization before the end of the year, showing that involvement in a campaign does not disqualify a donor from participating again soon after.
DAF Donors want to be involved in GivingTuesday
While DAF donors love to use their DAFs for their major, year end gifts, they also use them more spontaneously, when solicited. According to data from Vanguard Charitable, donors who used their DAFs for unplanned grants gave 39% more than those who only gave for planned giving. The same Vanguard Charitable study also showed that spontaneous giving didn’t replace other planned gifts: “more than three quarters of individuals who give unexpectedly say their unexpected giving increases their total giving, rather than displacing the giving they’d already planned to do.”
Further – donors typically give much more when they donate via DAF. According to the 2024 DAF Fundraising Report released by Chariot and K2D Strategies, donors increase their support of an organization by by 96% once they start supporting from their DAF instead of other payment methods.
8 Action items for your nonprofit this GivingTuesday
Engage donors directly
GivingTuesday provides a shared giving moment for your supporters to come together. Be sure to share that opportunity with your audience! If you’ve successfully promoted other giving moments recently - like a regional giving day or DAF Day - even more reason to share the opportunity on GivingTuesday with your audience. By participating in other giving days, your supporters have shown you that they enjoy supporting your mission when their impact can be amplified by a community. Make sure they hear from you on December 3, 2024.
Differentiate your appeal
Whether you’re concerned that your supporters have gotten many appeals from you this year before GivingTuesday, or that they’re getting solicited by many organizations on GivingTuesday, the answer is to differentiate your ask. Is there a specific program you can highlight in your messaging? Is there a donor willing to contribute a matching gift? Can you promote your monthly recurring giving program? Consider ways to make this a more novel opportunity to support your mission.
Explore untapped audiences
Use the free publicity provided by GivingTuesday to try and reach audiences you’ve yet to reach. Both Millennials and members of Gen-Z are committed to bettering the world through charity, but they might not respond to the same communication and marketing tools as an older crowd. Conduct research and tests to see how best to reach this widely overlooked, yet increasingly more important, segment of individuals. Consider if there are other demographics your team has yet to invest time and/or effort into.
Activate Volunteers
Some demographics – especially younger ones – like to volunteer their time. Your leading ask for volunteers or social media followers could be amplifying your GivingTuesday campaign vs. a direct ask for donations. Once you’ve engaged folks as volunteers, they are often a reliable source of support throughout the year, not just during giving season.
Highlight DAF giving in your messaging
In 2023, the average size of a DAF gift was $4,625 – over 26 times bigger than the average credit card gift (Fidelity Charitable). Be sure that your standard outreach includes information about DAF giving, making it clear and easy for donors to see that your organization accepts DAFs gifts – and the steps it takes to donate with one.
DAF details should be easy to find
When a donor searches “your organization + DAF” on Google, make sure they find helpful, detailed information that guides them through the process of donating via DAF. This means having a DAF section of your website, typically at the top of your “Ways to Give Page” or drop down list of donation options. At a minimum, that page should include your organization’s EIN, full legal name, and a point of contact for questions. Other helpful things include a description of how DAFs work and why people use them to support your organization. Check out great examples from The NYC LGBT Center and March of Dimes.
Segment & solicit DAF donors in a unique way
It’s important to note that DAF donors represent a distinct group with specific giving behaviors and preferences – they are engaged and intentional. By tailoring your approach, you can emphasize the ease and benefits of giving through DAFs, while also highlighting the impact of their donation. Consider personalizing messaging, providing clear instructions on how to donate via DAF, and linking to DAFpay if you have it available.
Simplify the DAF giving process
Provide DAFpay, Chariot’s 3-step DAF payment method, to your supporters. It’s the easiest way for a donor to give and provides maximum security, ensuring the gift is made to the right organization and for the money to get to the right place quickly. Donors can submit DAF gifts directly in your donation form or website, and you capture their gift size, name and email immediately to start stewarding them. Check out the 6 free and easy ways to get started with DAFpay before GivingTuesday.
