Top 6 Giving Tuesday Trends to Apply in 2025

It's almost always worth it to debrief after a campaign to figure out what worked and what didn't, so you can apply those lessons learned in the future. Major campaigns like Giving Tuesday provide an even greater opportunity for these sorts of lessons as you can also learn from the success of competitor campaigns.

During this month's live Q&A for our Nonprofit Marketing Academy's Monthly Members, we did the work for you. Our team reviewed trends and tactics we saw nonprofits and purpose-driven brands leveraging through social media and email during Giving Tuesday. Whether you're a small organization or a large one, these trends and best practices can help maximize your impact in 2025.

1. Make Your Impact Clear

One of the standout best practices this year was using clear, compelling posts that told donors exactly how their contributions would help. This was done by sharing the need, the value, and the reach for each donation.

Share the Need

This is the "why" and demonstrates the urgency, which is compelling. This can be done simply and concisely through the use of stats or quotes. 

This example from the American Cancer Society uses a simple stat in the caption while also sharing the value in the graphic.  

Share the Value

For an even more effective means of sharing value, use impact numbers to share what a certain dollar amount can achieve. Maybe $2.18 will buy Thanksgiving dinner for an individual. Maybe $25 will provide backpacks for a classroom. Sharing this information helps make the impact of the donation feel more tangible.

This example from Habitat for Humanity of Orange County shares exactly what 3 different gift amounts may provide, which helps the donor feel like their donation is more than just monetary but an actual gift of critical building materials. 

Share the Reach

This demonstrates how far someone's donation can go. If you have a matching gift, make that match stand out!

This example from CARE not only highlights the need in an eye catching way on the graphic, but also makes it clear that any donation will be multiplied 5 times thanks to a matching gift. This is compelling for those debating who to give to on Giving Tuesday as it will feel like their donation will carry a greater impact than if they gave the same amount elsewhere.

2. Match Your Landing Page to Your Posts

Several campaigns we reviewed missed the mark when their social media posts didn't align with their landing pages. For the best experience, the feeling should be cohesive at each touchpoint to ensure the donors don't feel confused or deterred when clicking through. 

This example from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital did an excellent job creating that cohesion. Both the ad and the landing page carry the same clean design, simple and concise messaging, and even use photos of the same patient and family.

3. Keep It Simple

There's no need for long or complicated captions or text-heavy landing pages. It's also not necessary to make emails overly long. In fact, over-complication in design or messaging has a good chance of leading to lower engagement.

People are inundated with messages during GivingTuesday, so simplicity helps your message stand out and encourages action. Like this example from Feeding America, the most effective posts and emails were concise, with key points emphasized through bold text or eye-catching graphics.

So long as the need, the value, the goal, and the CTA are clear, that's enough! 

 4. Consider Collaborations with For Profit Businesses

We saw a number of nonprofits sharing a collaboration with a business and vice versa, whether from matching gifts or donating a percentage of sales. In either case, these collaborations helped reach new audiences and increased donations. 

Like this example partnership of Sugar Paper and Determined to Succeed, partnerships involving proceeds from product sales also provide an added incentive for the would-be donor, giving them them the opportunity to get something physical in return too. It's a win for the customer/donor with something for themselves, a win for the nonprofit with increased donations, and a win for the business with increased sales. 

5. Use Tactics that Make People Feel Good

It's a best practice to tap into heart when creating your campaigns, but that doesn't mean you have to necessarily pull at heartstrings. Instead, use copy and imagery that inspires feel-good reactions and positivity.

This is easier for some organizations, like this Petsmart Charities example that is able to feature adorable animals, but there are other feel good tactics as well. It could be highlighting the stories of people or animals your nonprofit has helped or making it clear how donors' contributions make a difference.

6. Don't Be Afraid to Get Creative!

You don't have to rely on the same old playbook every year. You don't even have to ask for donations! Here are just a few ways we saw organizations thinking outside the box.

Using illustrations

A lot of nonprofits we've worked with have had a hard time collecting real photos. While real photos are often the most effective at storytelling and demonstrating proof of your work, that's not to say you can't be effective using other means!

Take this example from The Salvation Army USA. The cute illustration and animation (which this screen grab unfortunately doesn't show) helped it to stand out from several other GivingTuesday ads that came across our feed that otherwise looked similar to one another. 

Using social engagement as a fundraising tool

We loved this example from Free Wheelchair Mission that used a matching donor that would give $1 for every like. This was a great way to encourage engagement from their audience and allow them to take a very simple action to support their cause.

This tactic could be a great opportunity for smaller nonprofits who want to expand their reach and  wouldn't otherwise be as successful attracting new donors on a 24-hour giving day.

Use Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to give instead of get

Who says you can't give on Giving Tuesday yourself? Giving something to your community, like this example from our industry peer Out in the Boons, is a great example of how you can use Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to express your gratitude and engage your community in a way that makes them feel seen and appreciated. 

Want More Giving Tuesday Resources for Nonprofits?

Nonprofit Marketing Academy has put together some great ready-to-use and customizable resources just for nonprofit professionals, including social graphics and captions, email templates, and even a planning checklist.

You can find all these resources and more as an Academy member or get just what you need from our shop on Etsy!