GivingTuesday, which takes place on December 2 this year, continues to be a powerful catalyst for generosity worldwide. In 2024, donors contributed a record $3.6 billion in a single day, underscoring how this movement has become a cornerstone of year-end giving. According to Blackbaud’s latest GivingTuesday Trends Report created in collaboration with the GivingTuesday Data Commons, there is a cause for optimism as nonprofits look to deepen individual donor engagement in the year ahead.
The report shows that donors who give on GivingTuesday are more likely to donate again within the next calendar year than those who give earlier in the year. GivingTuesday can be the gateway for cultivating long-term donor relationships. What’s more, both mean and median gifts have steadily climbed from 2019 to 2024. The average gift has risen from $400 to $506, and the median gift from $50 to $75.
So what should nonprofits do? Start with the basics: optimize your giving forms. Have a friend or family member test your organization’s donation process from start to finish. Is it easy to give? Does it work on mobile? Are you prompting for recurring gifts and offering pre-set donation amounts? Sometimes the most meaningful improvements come from seeing your form through the eyes of a first-time donor. When in doubt, try this exercise before GivingTuesday arrives. This small step could make the difference between a one-time gift and a lifelong supporter, or someone who abandons the page before donating.
Here are some more resources to help you get started:
GivingTuesday 2025 Is Coming: Here’s How to Get Ready via TechSoup
6 Ways to Optimize Your Donation Form and Increase Revenue via iDonate
Donation Page Optimization: Best Practices for Nonprofit Fundraising via Nonprofit Hub
As always, if you only have time for one action, schedule email outreach. Email remains one of the lowest cost means of driving donations. About a third of donors say that email is the platform that most inspires them to give, followed by social media, websites and print. Make sure your outreach cuts through the clutter on GivingTuesday by using email best practices such as subject line personalization and optimizing your message using A/B testing and AI tools.
Finally, remember that visuals drive generosity as much as words do. Pair your impact stories with strong, shareable imagery that reinforces your mission. Canva is once again partnering with GivingTuesday to offer templates tailored to GivingTuesday and end-of-year giving campaigns. Whether you’re spotlighting a beneficiary story, thanking donors, or posting a countdown to December 2, the right visual can transform data into emotion and emotion into action.