6 Tips for Making the Most of Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday began in 2012 as a global movement encouraging people to do good. This year, it will be observed on November 29.
GAgives on GivingTuesday is the official organizer of the Giving Tuesday campaign in Georgia, connecting Georgians to the state’s many nonprofits.
Anyone can participate in Giving Tuesday. As an organization, GivingTuesday represents a broad coalition of individuals, families, nonprofits, schools, religious organizations, small businesses, and corporations.
However, in its most fundamental sense, Giving Tuesday is not an organization so much as a movement. Participation is free and open. The goal is simple: to catalyze giving and raise as much money for worthy causes as possible.
Start the giving season on the right foot
Giving Tuesday and End of Year are the biggest occasions for giving. In fact, 12% of all giving occurs during the last 3 days of the year. Because of their distance from one another on the calendar, many organizations choose to treat them separately. However, Giving Tuesday can also function as a launchpad to kickstart EOY campaigns and build momentum early.
No matter how you choose to engage in Giving Tuesday, it will set the tone for the most crucial time of year for fundraising. So it’s worth taking the time now to get your message and your strategy right. Follow these six tips to ensure a successful day of fundraising and a new year of impact.
1. Know your story
Yes, it’s a big day for giving and the work you do is impactful, but studies show that donors are most responsive to campaigns that are both specific and timely. Take some time to consider the story you want your campaign to tell and make sure that your content propels that narrative forward.
2. Identify your objectives
There are many ways to participate in Giving Tuesday. About half of organizations focus on fundraising, but others use the day to organize events such as food drives or volunteer days. Feel free to get creative. On this day, more than any other, audiences are looking for meaningful ways to engage with you.
3. Plan ahead
Decide how you want to participate, and plan your content and promotion ahead of time. It’s not too late to schedule your content so that you can spend the day engaging with your supporters.
4. Update your GAgives profile
Profiles are free to nonprofits and are an excellent way to drive campaign traffic and accept donations. If you have another primary donation page, you don't necessarily need to link to your GAgives profile, but it’s useful to have an updated profile in case someone does discover your organization there. This makes a good first impression and is one more way to drive traffic back to your primary donation page. In 2021, GAgives helped Georgia nonprofits raise $27.1 million. You can learn how to claim or update your profile here.
5. Be thoughtful with your hashtags
The #GivingTuesday hashtag gets billions of impressions each year, and in Georgia, #GAgives and #GAgenerosity get a lot of traction as well. Don’t just rely on these, however. Make sure you’re also including hashtags that are relevant to your mission. And don’t overdo it! A few hashtags on most social platforms is plenty.
6. Follow up
Campaigns aren’t just opportunities to raise funds; they’re opportunities to deepen relationships and build new ones. Make sure to collect emails for donors and volunteers and have a plan for engaging with them afterwards.
Giving Tuesday Resources
Below are some links with instructions for how your organization can participate in Giving Tuesday, as well as turnkey graphic resources to help your content tap into this movement’s significant momentum.
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