What Is Giving Tuesday? 12 Ways to Participate

The holiday gift-giving season commences with a series of shopping days: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. As people prepare to increase their spending, Giving Tuesday offers consumers the opportunity to round off their purchases with a donation toward a great cause. 

If you’re new to Giving Tuesday, we cover everything you need to know about this global generosity movement, including its history and collective impact. We also offer practical tips to get involved with this fundraising effort and a wide-ranging list of organizations to support.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a global movement that occurs annually on the first Tuesday following Thanksgiving. This year, Giving Tuesday falls on December 4. 

It harnesses the spirit of kindness and charitable giving, a central focus for many toward the end of the year. Through the campaign’s wide reach, Giving Tuesday donations have the potential to support year-round funding for nonprofit causes worldwide. 

While Giving Tuesday is only one day, it’s also the official kickoff to the year-end giving season. It raises awareness and funding for causes that span all categories, empowering individuals and communities to make a tangible difference in the world by connecting them with nonprofits that need support.

How Giving Tuesday started and why it matters

The history of Giving Tuesday started with a team at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact in New York City, which sought to create a movement that harnessed the power of social media and technology to promote charitable giving. They wanted to establish a giving day that reminded everyone of the true meaning of the holiday season beyond consumerism. 

Beginning on November 27, 2012, the team rallied nonprofits, businesses, and influencers to spread the message and inspire others to get involved with acts of giving. Hashtags like #GivingTuesday amplified the movement’s reach, making it a viral sensation on social media.

Since then, Giving Tuesday has continued to make an impact. It has proven to be a powerful fundraising idea, as it can quickly:

1. Foster generosity: Giving Tuesday cultivates a culture of philanthropy and radical generosity. It reminds people of the joy and fulfillment of helping others and contributing to charitable causes that resonate with their values.
2. Create positive change: Giving Tuesday provides a unique opportunity to support various causes, from education and healthcare to environmental conservation and social justice. It can drive substantial resources toward pressing global challenges.
3. Promote global impact: While started by Americans, Giving Tuesday has become an international celebration. It transcends cultural and geographical boundaries, promoting a global day of unity and compassion.
4. Empower nonprofits: Giving Tuesday is a crucial fundraising event for nonprofits and charitable organizations. It allows them to gain visibility, attract new donors, and engage with supporters for online donations, volunteer opportunities, and ways to promote advocacy.
5. Build community: Giving Tuesday unites people, businesses, and communities around a shared purpose. It cultivates a sense of togetherness, reminding us that we can make positive changes when we work together.

Key facts and statistics of Giving Tuesday’s scope

Classy data has shown that 12x more donors get involved with a nonprofit organization on Giving Tuesday compared to an average day of the year. It’s truly a time when we can all gather together to demonstrate what’s possible when we march toward a unified goal.

As this collective energy ignites, we see how it can flourish through the end-of-year giving season to help organizations fuel their missions beyond December:

• A quarter (25%) of donation volume on Classy occurs between Giving Tuesday and December 31
• Conversion rates are 2x greater on Giving Tuesday and New Year’s Eve compared to other days

Want to know how many others are getting involved with fundraising campaigns hosted on Classy? In 2023, Classy’s Giving Tuesday platform data found that:

• Supporters gave an average one-time gift size of $175
• 4,750 donors opted for recurring support to nonprofits, meaning their gifts automatically renew and have an extended lifetime value for the cause
• Donors joined together to make 340,868 gifts, totaling $49,405,464 for more than 3,500 nonprofits supporting different causes 

GivingTuesday.org also reported $3.1 billion raised worldwide in just 24 hours last year, adding up to more than $13 billion in Giving Tuesday donations since its launch in 2012. These figures drive home how participating in this annual event can make an exponential impact on the causes closest to our hearts.

12 ways to participate in Giving Tuesday

Whether you’re an individual, business, or board member, there are many meaningful ways to get involved on Giving Tuesday:

1. Make a charitable donation: Support a cause close to your heart by donating to a nonprofit organization. Whether it’s a local charity or an international humanitarian organization, your contribution can make a significant difference.
2. Volunteer your time and skills: Offer time and expertise to a nonprofit or community organization—help a local shelter, join a cleanup event, or provide pro bono services.
3. Fundraise for a cause: Host a fundraising event or participate in a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign to raise money for a cause. You can contribute your desserts to a bake sale, sign up for a 5K charity run, or register for an online fundraising campaign and encourage friends and family to contribute.
4. Support small businesses: Use Giving Tuesday to support local businesses and artisans—purchase products or services in person from small businesses that give back to the community or donate a portion of their businesses’ proceeds to charity.
5. Advocate for a cause: Use your voice to raise awareness about critical issues—share information on social media, write a blog post, or participate in online discussions.
6. Perform random acts of kindness: Brighten someone’s day with random acts of kindness—pay for a stranger’s coffee, leave positive notes around town, or help someone in need.
7. Donate goods and supplies: Check with local shelters, food banks, or community centers to see what items they need, such as food, clothing, toys, or other supplies.
8. Lean into corporate giving opportunities: See if your employer will match your donation to a particular nonprofit, participate in a local volunteering opportunity, or attend a sponsored community event.
9. Create a giving circle: Encourage friends, family, or colleagues to pool donations to support a specific cause or charity.
10. Start a social media campaign: Use the hashtag #GivingTuesday to join the global conversation—leverage your social media platform to spread awareness and inspire others to participate. 
11. Host a virtual fundraiser: Organize a virtual fundraising event, such as an online auction, webinar, or livestream, to raise funds and engage with a broader audience.
12. Give the gift of time: Offer experiences or activities to your loved ones instead of material gifts—spend quality time together, create memories, and consider donating the money you would have spent on gifts to charity.

Nonprofits using Classy’s fundraising platform know how critical it is to make the giving experience as easy as possible for donors like you. Our job is to continue innovating and improving our technology so that giving remains seamless. Examples of how our software makes giving easier for you include:

• Multiple payment options, including PayPal, Venmo, and digital wallets
• Easy setup of automated recurring giving payments weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, biannually, or annually
• Accessible options to attend hybrid fundraising events
• Hyper-customizable peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns with Classy Studio
• World-class safety and security

Impactful nonprofits and causes to consider for Giving Tuesday

There isn’t a single best organization to support on Giving Tuesday. The goal is to promote good in the world and give back to communities that resonate with your passions and interests. 

Not sure where to start? Here are some great nonprofits to consider supporting that work on various critical causes:

1. SeaLegacy: Join an effort that combines climate action and sustainable solutions through ocean stories to move audiences into action.
2. Stand Up To Cancer: Help fund and develop the newest and most promising cancer treatments to support patients.
3. Days for Girls: Work to eliminate the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation so that women and girls have improved health, education, and livelihoods.
4. The Greater Boston Food Bank: Act to end hunger across eastern Massachusetts by providing residents with the healthy food and resources they need to thrive (or donate to a food bank in your local community!).
5. KC Pet Project: Support care and adoptions for more than 15,000 pets per year across Missouri and Kansas, along with community education and resources (or find an animal shelter near you to support!).

And if you want to support a particular cause category, consider the nonprofits featured in these roundups: 

• Environmental
• Faith-based
• Clean water
• Mental health
• Cancer
• LGBTQ+

Join a Giving Tuesday campaign with Classy

This Giving Tuesday, you have a unique opportunity to join a worldwide generosity movement. Many nonprofits need support, and you can help them make a big difference. 

Choose a cause that speaks to your heart, and know that you can trust nonprofits using Classy to make the donation experience secure and seamless. Whether you participate in a Classy peer-to-peer fundraiser or donate to a seasonal campaign, your gifts will have an impact.

Follow Classy on LinkedIn and Instagram this Giving Tuesday to stay up to date with the success our nonprofit customers have during their campaigns and throughout the end-of-year giving season. It may help ring in your new year with more hope and inspiration.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien