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In the weeks before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, the buzz around Black Friday and Cyber Monday often takes center stage. But one global movement is working overtime to shift the focus from consumerism to generosity. Reaffirming what the holiday season should mean, Giving Tuesday reminds us that giving is something that should be celebrated.
Each year, nonprofits, donors, and communities come together on this day to inspire giving, volunteering, and collective impact. Beyond the single-day event, Giving Tuesday offers valuable lessons in collaboration, storytelling, and community building that can be used year-round.
In this article, we'll explore the history of Giving Tuesday, plus provide campaign tips for nonprofits during the giving season.
In this guide:
Giving Tuesday (often known in viral spaces as #GivingTuesday) is a global generosity movement that encourages people everywhere to give, collaborate, and celebrate kindness. It takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.
The idea is simple but powerful: After several days of shopping and sales, people are invited to shift their focus (and wallets) away from consumption and toward contribution and community. That may look like donating to a nonprofit, with personal time or financially, or performing various acts of kindness.
According to GivingTuesday.org, participants across more than 90 countries take part each year, raising billions of dollars and inspiring millions of acts of generosity. It’s now recognized as one of the most important days of the year for nonprofits to engage supporters and kick off year-end fundraising efforts.
MORE: How to optimize peer-to-peer fundraising during Giving Season
Black Friday, established in the 1960s, is widely recognized as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Cyber Monday followed in 2005, and Small Business Saturday soon after. But by 2012, two organizations—the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation—saw an opportunity to balance the growing culture of consumption with a day devoted to giving.
That year, they launched the first #GivingTuesday as a social media campaign encouraging people to give back in any way they could. The campaign quickly gained traction, spreading across social media and other platforms as individuals, nonprofits, and organizations shared the hashtag #GivingTuesday to promote causes close to their hearts.
In its first year, the campaign raised over $10 million in donations. Over the years, the movement has transformed into a global celebration of generosity, uniting people in more than 90 countries.
By 2023, Giving Tuesday inspired more than $3.1 billion in donations across the U.S. alone, according to the GivingTuesday Data Commons. Though impressive, its real power goes far beyond numbers. It has become a reminder that kindness, collaboration, and community spirit can transcend borders and that giving doesn’t require wealth, only willingness.
November and December are the busiest giving months of the year, and Giving Tuesday kicks off this season of generosity. The day offers the perfect opportunity to remind supporters of your impact and inspire people simply looking to give to take action while giving (and potential tax benefits) is top of mind.
Research from Neon One shows that nonprofits raise between 24% and 47% of their annual online revenue during November and December alone. That makes Giving Tuesday the perfect moment to capture early momentum, build community excitement, and set the tone for a strong year-end giving season.
One of the reasons Giving Tuesday has been so successful is because it united nonprofits under a shared brand rather than competing messages. It invited and encouraged everyone to participate under one core message. The Giving Tuesday logo and hashtag are free to use and adapt, encouraging collaboration, inclusion, accessibility and creativity.
Your organization can embrace this same spirit by:
Download the Giving Tuesday logo for your campaign
When everyone works toward a collective goal, many people benefit and the message resonates a lot louder and further.
Partnerships are key to Giving Tuesday. Organizations, small businesses, and even local influencers can amplify your message through matching donations, employee giving drives, or sponsored challenges.
Invite small businesses to contribute a percentage of sales or individuals might offer professional services pro bono. These collaborations create momentum, increase visibility, and multiply the power of generosity.
Even though Giving Tuesday lasts just one day, multichannel campaigns help sustain momentum and reach new audiences.
Combining digital outreach with authentic storytelling can dramatically boost engagement and create emotional connections that last beyond Giving Tuesday.
An effective Giving Tuesday campaign starts with accurate, complete donor information. Outdated or duplicate records can lead to missed connections and wasted outreach efforts. Before launching your campaign, take time to clean and enrich your donor database so your messages reach the right people with the right appeal.
Tools like LexisNexis Batch Services can help verify contact details, append missing information, and uncover valuable insights that strengthen your fundraising strategy. Reliable data ensures every communication feels personal, relevant, and primed to inspire generosity.
Explore Batch Services
Giving Tuesday may mark a single day of generosity, but the relationships and inspiration it creates should last all year. Turning that one-day success into sustained engagement is how nonprofits build lasting impact.
Some ways to engage donors year-round include:
Start by expressing genuine gratitude. Send thank-you messages promptly, share results publicly, and highlight the difference your supporters made. Whether it’s a social post, an email, or a short video, showing the real-world impact of each donation reinforces trust and deepens connection.
Transparency and consistency are key to building long-term relationships. A strong reputation helps your organization stand out and encourages continued support—especially during high-visibility moments like Giving Tuesday.
The average peer-to-peer campaign raises $22,026, making it an extremely effective way to fundraise. Consider asking your community members to create DIY fundraising campaigns that replace holiday gifts. They could highlight personal stories from the individuals your organization serves or just personalize the landing page, explaining why they’re passionate about the cause.
Host small events, volunteer spotlights, or impact updates throughout the year. Whether it’s a spring 5K, a summer panel, or a digital gratitude campaign, these touchpoints remind your community that generosity goes beyond a season.
Expanding your reach is easier when you know where your audience is engaging online. Tools like media monitoring can help your nonprofit identify partnership opportunities, track campaign performance, and measure visibility over time.
Post videos where donors tell meaningful stories about the organization, host a volunteer Q&A on X, or use graphics and testimonials to quantify the impact donations have. What does music programming mean for underserved students? How many meals can a $50 donation fund for unhoused youth?
While creating content and maintaining a social media feed can already feel like a daunting task, it’s important to use social media analytics and tracking to understand your impact and maximize your efforts.
Consider a social media analytics program like Nexis Social Analytics that provides data visualizations for virality mapping and hashtag tracking. It compiles data from ten social media networks and over one hundred and fifty million web sites, so you can focus on “social listening,” to hear what people are saying about your brand. This will help you understand just how far your campaign is reaching.
MORE: How donor prospecting technology can streamline your Giving Season workflow
Every Giving Tuesday provides valuable insights. Take time to analyze your results, look at which channels drove engagement, which stories resonated most, and what inspired first-time donors to give. Understanding these patterns will help you strengthen your next campaign and build a more intentional year-round strategy.
Consider holding a post-campaign debrief to discuss successes and opportunities for improvement. Tools that analyze donor behavior and online activity can uncover new prospects and trends.
An effective Giving Tuesday campaign starts with accurate, complete donor information. Outdated or duplicate records can lead to missed connections and wasted outreach efforts. Before launching your campaign, take time to clean and enrich your donor database so your messages reach the right people with the right appeal. Tools like LexisNexis Batch Services can help verify contact details, append missing information, and uncover valuable insights that strengthen your fundraising strategy—often within 24 hours. Reliable data ensures every communication feels personal, relevant, and primed to inspire generosity.
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