RESOURCE ROUNDUP FOR #GIVINGTUESDAY

Last year I posted helpful resources for Giving Tuesday. This gigantic day of giving is coming again on December 3, 2019. Just like last year, it’s smart to prepare early and make your appeal about a very specific need or cause. 

Giving Tuesday makes a huge impact. It is a global social media movement uniting the world to share its gifts with some of the neediest causes. Last year was a huge success, improving from all previous years. Here are the 2018 highlights from the official #GivingTuesday website:

  • $400 million raised online in the U.S.
  • 3.6 million total gifts 
  • $105 average gift
  • Inspired grassroots giving activities in every country in the world

For 2019, I picked a few of the best new resources from many fundraising gurus across the country:

  • Obviously a great place to start is the #GivingTuesday website with lots of tips, a timeline, messaging text, templates, a complete toolkit and sample press release. This is where you can also download the #GivingTuesday logo file.
  • Mary Cahalane of Hands On Fundraising reminds us to put gratitude and thanks to the donors back into Giving Tuesday.
  • Brian Lauterback of The Nonprofit Fundraising Group suggests 12 must-do’s to leverage #GivingTuesday as a kick-off to a 5-week fundraising sprint.
  • MobileCause created customizable templates, on-demand webinars, fundraising tips infographics and workbooks on bringing in new donors and establishing monthly donors in The Ultimate #GivingTuesday Resource Center.
  • Firespring publishes a #GivingTuesday eBook with easy steps to knock out your most successful giving day ever.
  • Vanessa Chase Lockshin from the Storytelling Non-Profit has put together a 4-part video training seriesto help you plan your Giving Tuesday campaign including best online fundraising tactics.
  • To give you a head-start, Classy has published an ebook, Giving Tuesday Social Media Templates. It is loaded with pre-written social media posts tailored for Facebook and Twitter including recommendations on when to schedule post to mazimize engagement. 
  • George Weiner from Whole Whale summarizes 31+ Giving Tuesday Ideas on #GivingTuesday. 
  • The Blackbaud Team offers best practices and proven approaches in upcoming webinars to make this your most successful #GivingTuesday yet.
  • Salesforce considers Giving Tuesday as the kickoff for the end-of-year fundraising season. Get great fundraising tips and tricks in Your 2019 Guide to #GivingTuesday.
  • Causevox provides a full overview from start to finish on how you can launch a successful campaign for your nonprofit in this #GivingTuesday guide. 

Remember the wisdom of Matthew 7:7 — “Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find.” With faithful, creative asking and seeking, your #GivingTuesday campaign will build momentum right into your end-of-year appeal.

*This post was originally published in October 2018 and updated in October 2019.