November 27, 2023 | GivingTuesday, Online Fundraising, Planning

The Last-Minute Guide to Giving Tuesday

It’s worth noting that procrastination isn’t related to self-control. In fact, plenty of procrastinators are perfectionists stuck in a freeze state. So, even if you find yourself working on your Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign right up until the last minute, rest assured that you can still make the most of this worldwide generosity movement with the time and resources you have left.

Below, we’ve compiled all of the know-how you’ll need:

• Best practices for your Giving Tuesday form
• Where to share your Giving Tuesday donation page
• When and how to share Giving Tuesday goal updates
• How to incorporate a monthly program

Best practices for your Giving Tuesday form

We recommend an online form product that is easy to edit and customize. You are likely to have Giving Tuesday goal updates as the day goes on, and it’s important to keep your donors engaged in the momentum. Second, your form is more likely to convert supporters with recognizable branding that matches the movement and your organization.

To learn best practices, watch the video below, or keep reading!

• Title & message – Give your form a title that matches your specific Giving Tuesday cause. Ensure you have a cohesive story or theme throughout your donation page.
• Branding – Add Giving Tuesday branding by visiting givingtuesday.org/logos. They have Canva templates available for social media graphics as well! If your form has an eyedrop tool, you can select background and button colors that match your image.
• Gift amounts – Update the descriptions for each giving level available on your form. Tell supporters exactly what their contribution amount will accomplish.
• Payment options – If your form tool integrates with mobile wallet providers like PayPal or Venmo, include them as payment options on your form. Many of your Giving Tuesday donors will be giving for the first time or contributing on short notice, which often translates to a high amount of low-dollar donations. It’s easier for them to justify a mobile payment that doesn’t require filling out their card information.
• Form fields – Intuitive customization, like adding custom form fields that are unique to your organization or campaign, allows donors to tell you more about themselves. For example, you can require fields such as “Where do you want your gift directed?” Create a drop-down menu with custom values for them to choose from.
• Integration – Make sure that your online form integrates with your fundraising CRM so that you won’t have to manually enter any of your Giving Tuesday gifts. With integrated online forms and payment processing, all of your supporters’ gift information and custom field responses will be neatly filed in your database.

With DonorPerfect Online Forms, all you have to do is add a Giving Tuesday header image of your choosing, and you’re ready to customize your donation page for maximum exposure. 

Where to share your Giving Tuesday donation page

Discoverability is the name of the game when it comes to your Giving Tuesday donation page. We recommend shortening your donation page URL to something easy to remember. So no matter where you choose to share it, even direct mail, you are making it easy for supporters to type in (ex. http://orgname.org/giving-tuesday).

• Website – During your campaign window, you can edit the donation button on your website’s homepage so that it links to your Giving Tuesday form.
• Social media – Since your supporters will find out about different campaigns through the #GivingTuesday hashtag, make sure they know how to support yours! Add your form link to the “About” section of your Facebook page, your Twitter description, your Instagram bio, your LinkedIn page, and any posts about your campaign.
• Email – Add your donation form link to your email signature if you plan on emailing donors directly. If using an email service like Constant Contact, you can add the link to your Giving Tuesday template, and perform a mail merge within your fundraising system to send personalized emails to segmented lists.
• Forms – Cross-promote your Giving Tuesday form by linking to it on your main donation page (in case anyone ends up there by accident or is used to going straight there). You can also include your Giving Tuesday form link on the confirmation email that a supporter gets when they complete another form, encouraging them to share.

Don’t have much time to write emails and posts? Use Generative AI to get a head start! Check out the free guide, AI for Nonprofits, to learn how fundraisers can use tools like ChatGPT and more!

When & how to share Giving Tuesday goal updates

Plan 2-3 times throughout the day when you can update donors about the progress that has been made toward your goal, or wait until you have an exciting announcement, like a major gift. Our research has shown that the highest volume of Giving Tuesday gifts are processed in the evening at 6:30, 11:00, and 11:59 pm, with gifts by hour peaking between 9 and 10 am, 4 and 5 pm, and 7 and 8 pm.

In addition to social media updates and updates to your donation page, you can also send personalized updates to mid-sized, large, major, and matching donors. Let them know how their generosity inspires others to give!

DonorPerfect users can lean on integrations to get the word out! DP Text allows you to send Giving Tuesday goal updates via text message, and DP Video allows you to send personalized video messages to thank major donors.

How to incorporate a monthly program

Giving Tuesday donors are perfect candidates for a monthly giving program, especially if you’re posting on social media with the #GivingTuesday hashtag. Generations Y and Z have shown that they prefer to support causes in smaller amounts over time. Simply add monthly giving as an option on your Giving Tuesday form or direct Giving Tuesday supporters to your dedicated monthly program page with automatic processing.

There are a few easy ways to develop a range of monthly gift options. You can find the median gift amount for your organization and divide it by three, then create 1-2 lower options and 1-2 higher options. 

Ex. With a median gift amount of $50, divided by three to get $17, your gift options may be $7, $12, $17, $22, and $27.

You can also report on 3-5 donor tiers by average gift amount. Find the median gift amount for each group and divide it by three.

Ex. If Tier 2 has a median gift amount of $60, their recommended gift amount could be $20/month. Tier 1 might have a median gift amount of $30, with a recommended gift amount of $10/month.

Ready to start a monthly program? Get everything you need to know about monthly and recurring giving from the experts at DonorPerfect!

No matter when you start planning your Giving Tuesday campaign, we hope that you feel equipped to participate in this beautiful, worldwide day of generosity! For more tips and best practices, our Giving Tuesday Cheat Sheet outlines your entire journey from start to finish, so you can start as early as summertime and as late as November!

Complete the form below to get your free Year-End Fundraising Bundle, which includes three guides: the Giving Tuesday Cheat Sheet, the Year-End Cheat Sheet, and AI for Nonprofits!

Meet the author: Emily Zacek

Emily Zacek is a copywriter, fundraiser, and nonprofit advocate. She brings a decade of professional fundraising experience, including specializations in grateful patient work, annual giving, stewardship, events, community engagement,...

Learn more about Emily Zacek