Your One-Month Giving Tuesday Plan

Giving Tuesday of 2025 is just around the corner. Tuesday, December 2nd to be exact. Whether you’ve had a plan in place for a while or you’re just now getting started, the next month is a chance to prepare your biggest fundraiser of the year.

In this post, we give you a one-month guide to the most important day in the non-profit world. Treat this as your Giving Tuesday plan. Act on it, and you can make this Giving Tuesday your most successful one ever. 

Why Giving Tuesday Matters

For most nonprofits, Giving Tuesday is by far the most important day of the year. In 2024, Giving Tuesday generated over $3.6 billion in donations in the U.S. alone. If you want a piece of the pie, you need to start preparing now. 

Still, Giving Tuesday is about more than just generating donations on one day. Treat it as an entire month when you have the chance to meaningfully contribute to other important goals. 

Here are just a few of those:  

• Activating new donors
• Re-engageing lapsed supporters
• Telling a clear story that resonates with your audience
• Building momentum that you can use for year-end giving (as well as starting 2026 on the right foot)

And now:

Here’s your week-by-week Giving Tuesday plan.

Your Giving Tuesday Plan

Week 1 (November 3 – November 9)

This is the time to lock in your plan so you can focus on executing the rest of November.

1) Clarify Your Campaign Goal

What are you trying to achieve this Giving Tuesday? And what are the exact metrics you need to measure to know if you have succeeded or not?

Here are a few things you might be tracking: 

• Total donations generated
• Total number of new donors
• Overall match that you meet

Be detailed here. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to shape the exact calls-to-action, email copy, and visuals that you need.

2) Nail Down Your Core Message

What story do you want to tell? A good Giving Tuesday theme is usually: 

• Centered on impact
• Emotionally resonant
• Simple and repeatable

Again: get clear with your message so your entire team knows how to structure your campaign.

Week 2 (November 10 – November 16)

At this point you have your main goal and potential theme in place. During week 2, it’s time to re-engage your supporters and start building curiosity about what’s coming.

1) Send A Teaser Email

Let your email list know that Giving Tuesday is coming up. Even if it’s top of your mind, that’s usually not the case with your audience. Let people know that their support during your upcoming campaign is going to make a real difference.

Subject line ideas:

• “Something important is coming up in December”
• “Mark your calendar for giving Tuesday”
• “Your chance to make a real impact”

2) Start Posting Teasers On Social

Keep things light and visual. Now is a good time to consider “sneak peeks” or short mission reminders. Be specific about how much time is left before Giving Tuesday, and try to build interest as much as you can.

3) Work On Creative Assets

Even though you likely won’t be using these assets for a few weeks, it’s best to get started early. Here are the essential components to consider:

• Donation page copy
• Thank-you email template
• Campaign graphics (for email and social)
• A few evergreen Instagram or Facebook posts

The sooner you get started making these, the more time you have to go through a few rounds of edits if necessary.  

Week 3 (November 17 – November 23)

Three weeks into November is when you want to start sharing your story more publicly. It’s a great time to bring your community into the fold.

1) Announce Your Campaign

Use your social platforms and email list to communicate the most important information. Here are the things you should be clear about: 

• What your main goal is
• Why this goal matters
• How people can get involved
• When your Giving Tuesday campaign starts

Try adding urgency here – but doing it honestly. 

2) Start Posting Mission-Centered Stories

You don’t just want to talk about raising funds. Instead, use quality content marketing to your advantage. Here are a few things you might consider posting:

• Reflections from your staff
• Quotes from your community
• Behind-the-scenes photos or videos
• Case studies of people your organization has helped in the past

The main goal of this sort of content? To make your audience feel the impact before they’re ever asked for money.

3) Segment Your List

While not strictly necessary, segmenting your list can have great results. Consider sending a slightly different message to:

• First-time donors
• Monthly givers
• Lapsed donors

These are all people that have different relationships with your organization. Send messaging that takes that into account, and you will increase your total amount of donations as a result.

Week 4 (November 24 – November 30)

At this point, you’re just one week out from Giving Tuesday. This is when repetition and consistency matter the most. 

1) Share Progress Toward Your Goal

If you started your campaign a bit earlier, now is the time to share results. This builds a little bit of social proof, and gets people more excited to give themselves.

2) Optimize Your Donation Page

Now is the time for last tests, even if you have already been sending traffic to your donation page. Make sure it’s:

• Fast 
• Mobile-friendly
• Clearly tied to your Giving Tuesday message

Even just one last round of testing can ensure you’re ready to go on Giving Tuesday.

3) Reshare Your Campaign Story

There is a common fear here of being too repetitive. This is a misplaced concern. The fact is, most supporters need to see your message multiple times before they actually take action.

One thing you can do: use slightly different photos, quotes, or CTA’s. This keeps things fresh.

4) Send A Reminder Email

With only a few days left before Giving Tuesday, it’s important to be specific about your reminder. Even if you have already started collecting donations, December 2nd will likely still be your biggest day. 

Two main tasks:

• Tell people that it’s coming up.
• Give them information on how to donate. 

The Week Of Giving Tuesday (December 1 – 5)

Once you reach the week of Giving Tuesday, here are the things we suggest:

Monday, December 1

Send an email and social post reminding supporters that Giving Tuesday is tomorrow. These messages should: 

• Highlight urgency
• Include your match (if you have one)
• Share stories that get resonate emotionally

Giving Tuesday, December 2

At this point, most of your work has already been done. The day of Giving Tuesday itself is all about simple communication.

1) Send several emails throughout the day

These can be as simple as “Time to donate!”

2) Post throughout the day on social media.

• Morning kickoff
• Midday progress update
• Donor thank-yous
• Final-hour rally

It’s even more effective if you are able to share live video updates. Keep showing that your team is energized and excited.

3) Have a contingency plan.

If you’re short of your goal that evening, have a message ready. Something along the lines of “We are 85% of the way there!”. This can make a huge difference in last-minute donations. 

The days after

The rest of the week after Giving Tuesday is about one thing: thanking your donors.

Send a follow-up email to everyone that:

• Thanks the people who gave
• Shares your results (even if you didn’t hit your goal, transparency is important)
• Includes next steps for ongoing engagement (year-end giving, for example)

Follow this Giving Tuesday plan, and it could be your best one yet!

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