How to make the most of Giving Tuesday 2023

Now in its eleventh year, Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving. It takes place on 28 November 2023, just after Cyber Monday.

 

 

The history of Giving Tuesday

 

Giving Tuesday started in 2012, in the US, as a day to give back after Thanksgiving. Its UK roots started in 2014, and since 2022 has been led by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. Today, Giving Tuesday takes place in over 60 countries around the world.

 

The aim of Giving Tuesday is to harness the power of social media to inspire millions of people to come together on one day to give their time, money, or their skills to celebrate charities and communities.

 

In 2022, Giving Tuesday raised over £20m within the UK. It also trended at number one on Twitter (now X) and had messages of support from prominent individuals such as the Minister for Civil Society, Stuart Andrew MP, and businesses such as NatWest.

 

 

How charities can make the most of Giving Tuesday 2023

 

So, you want to get involved in Giving Tuesday? Here are our top tips to make the most of this global day of giving.

 

 

Define your ask

 

Giving Tuesday is all about giving. But this doesn’t need to be just monetary. People can get involved by giving time, giving their skills, campaigning, or donating. Decide and define what it is you’d like to ask of your supporters. Be clear in your goal.

 

If you’re in need of more volunteers, then Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity to do a volunteer recruitment drive.

 

Need a push to get your campaign to reach its goal? Then Giving Tuesday is perfect to promote your campaign and encourage people to get involved and to share it with their network.

 

As Giving Tuesday is close to Christmas, if you already have a Christmas Appeal, think carefully about whether a separate donation ask at this time is appropriate – or tie it into your existing appeal.

 

 

Become an official partner

 

Sign up to become an official Giving Tuesday partner to receive regular emails to keep you updated about the campaign and to provide inspiration.

 

 

Download the toolkit

 

Giving Tuesday has a toolkit with logos, photos, graphics, GIFs, and Instagram stickers to help you promote your campaign. Download it from their website. The toolkit is particularly useful for charities who may not have the time or resources to create their own graphics.

 

 

Ideas for Giving Tuesday

 

Now that you have defined your ask, become an official partner, and downloaded the toolkit, here’s some ideas for how to get involved.

 

 

Use Giving Tuesday to tie in with Christmas

 

Christmas is a joyous time of year when family and friends get together in celebration. But for many, Christmas can be a lonely time of the year. Get creative for Giving Tuesday and organise a Christmas party for people in your community who would benefit from company and community spirit.

 

Read how catering company Hickory Foods spread Christmas cheer by organising a community Christmas lunch in Musselburgh.

 

This is a wonderful way to engage local businesses and help bring people in the community together.

 

 

Promote your Christmas shop

 

If your charity has an online shop, or physical charity shops, Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity to promote your Christmas cards and any other Christmas items or gifts.

 

 

Celebrate your supporters

 

Giving Tuesday is a wonderful way to celebrate your amazing fundraisers, volunteers or even your colleagues. Why not showcase some of them throughout the day, across your social media channels? You may want to choose specific social media channels for a specific audience. For example, you could celebrate colleagues, corporate fundraisers and partners on LinkedIn and volunteers on Instagram or Facebook.

 

 

Organise match funding

 

Approach your corporate partners or local businesses, if you’re a local charity, and ask if they will match fund what you raise on Giving Tuesday. Often people are incentivised to donate knowing that their donation will be doubled.

 

 

Raise awareness

 

A simple, yet effective, idea for Giving Tuesday is to ask your supporters and online community to raise awareness of your cause on their own social channels. You could choose a particular service or campaign that you would like to highlight and then create graphics and copy for your supporters to share.

 

Alternatively, you could do a UGC (user generated content) campaign and ask people to share how your charity has supported them.