Every year, when Giving Tuesday approaches, nonprofits of all shapes and sizes spring to action to promote their campaigns. While there are many online channels to leverage to make the most of this 24-hour fundraising window, the vast reach of social media makes it an especially effective tool for mobilizing supporters around the world.

As of today, Facebook has over 2 billion daily users. This extensive user base, combined with the platform’s powerful social networking features and built-in donation tools, makes it an essential aspect of any Giving Tuesday strategy.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to optimize your Facebook Giving Tuesday fundraising results:

• What You Need to Know About Giving Tuesday
• How to Build Your Giving Tuesday on Facebook Strategy
• How to Register for Giving Tuesday Facebook Fundraising Tools
• 7 Facebook Giving Tuesday Tools to Leverage
• Facebook Giving Tuesday Timeline for Nonprofits
• 5 Best Practices for Giving Tuesday on Facebook

According to the GivingTuesday Data Commons, Giving Tuesday donor acquisition growth rates are over four times higher than the rest of the year, with about 40% of Giving Tuesday donors choosing to give again the following year. A well-thought-out Facebook strategy ensures that you get in front of as many potential donors as possible and secure lasting support for your nonprofit.

What You Need to Know About Giving Tuesday

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a global philanthropic movement that occurs annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It was founded in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City, and the United Nations Foundation.

The day is dedicated to encouraging people to give back through donations, volunteering, and acts of kindness. "What is Giving Tuesday?" is a question often asked to understand this initiative aimed at promoting charitable giving and community engagement. The event leverages social media and partnerships with nonprofits to amplify its impact.

The Impact of Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday has seen significant growth since its inception in 2012. The movement has expanded globally, involving millions of people across various countries. In terms of financial impact, billions of dollars have been raised for charitable organizations over the years. in 2020 alone, Giving Tuesday generated around $2.47 billion in charitable donations in the United States.

In the critical end-of-year fundraising season for nonprofits, which starts right after Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday stands out as a pivotal day. According to previous data published in the 2023 M&R Benchmarks report, Giving Tuesday in 2022 accounted for 3% of the year's total online revenue for nonprofits that contributed to this year's report.

The event's impact is not just monetary; it also includes countless volunteer hours and acts of kindness, making it a multifaceted effort to promote philanthropy and community engagement.

When is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is observed on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving in the United States. Here are the next four Giving Tuesday dates:

• November 28, 2023
• December 3, 2024
• December 2, 2025
• December 1, 2026

How to Build Your Giving Tuesday Strategy on Facebook

While Giving Tuesday takes place on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving each year, it’s essential to begin your planning several months in advance. As you craft your Facebook Giving Tuesday strategy, follow these basic steps to set your nonprofit up for success:

1. Set your Facebook Giving Tuesday goals.

As with any fundraising strategy, starting with specific goals in mind allows your team to move forward with confidence and purpose. For instance, are you looking to fund a specific project, or simply seeking general financial support?

Depending on your nonprofit’s priorities and resources, you may choose to set goals related to:

• Raising a specific amount of money to cover a program’s expenses.
• Acquiring a certain number of new donors.
• Gaining new Facebook followers to strengthen your social media presence.
• Encouraging supporters to start peer-to-peer fundraisers on the platform.

If your nonprofit has participated in Giving Tuesday in the past, take a look at your previous years’ data to set goals that are both inspiring and achievable.

2. Identify your target audience on the platform.

Develop Giving Tuesday messages that resonate with potential and existing supporters by pinpointing your target audience on Facebook. This is where your donor data comes in handy. Some key characteristics to note include:

• Age
• Location
• Interests
• Reasons for giving
• Additional causes they support

Furthermore, take the time to evaluate which types of content and approaches have worked well in the past. If you’re missing some important details, consider sending out a poll or surveying users who have opted into hearing from your nonprofit on Facebook Messenger.

3. Create engaging Facebook Giving Tuesday content.

According to 360MatchPro, just last year, Giving Tuesday received 20.1 billion social media impressions. This makes the giving day an ideal opportunity to catch the attention of new supporters and re-inspire your current donors.

To stand out among all the Giving Tuesday content from other nonprofits, you’ll need to plan a series of eye-catching, impactful Facebook posts. Consider these ideas leading up to Giving Tuesday and on the day itself:

• Countdowns. Create a sense of excitement and urgency among supporters by publishing Facebook posts that countdown the days or hours leading up to Giving Tuesday. Remind users of your fundraising goal in this content to motivate them to take action.
• Impact stories. Cultivate an emotional connection between supporters and your cause by featuring stories of those your nonprofit has helped. With their permission, include a photo and share how, thanks to the generosity of donors, your organization made a positive difference in their lives.
• Behind-the-scenes posts. Give people a glimpse into all the work your staff and volunteers put into furthering your mission. This allows them to better understand your on-the-ground impact, beyond mere numbers and statements.

In all of your posts, be sure to include a clear call to action so that users know exactly what to do when they feel compelled to support your cause. For instance, you might direct them to share your content with their personal networks or visit your Facebook Page fundraiser to make a gift.

4. Design a thank-you plan for supporters.

While compelling content goes a long way toward inspiring people to support your nonprofit on Giving Tuesday, remember that your fundraising efforts extend beyond the giving day. Therefore, you’ll want to nurture lasting relationships through the end of the year and beyond by developing a Facebook thank-you plan.

Decide on several ways you’ll express gratitude on the platform, such as:

• Posting a thank-you comment on Facebook fundraisers created on your nonprofit’s behalf.
• Spotlighting supporters in separate posts and including their personal quotes on why your cause is important to them.
• Sending out a general update following Giving Tuesday, explaining everything that you’ll be able to achieve with the funds you’ve raised.

Be sure to send these thank-you messages promptly to show supporters just how much you value their contributions. Additionally, consider following up with a survey to gather any feedback on your Giving Tuesday content or communications to improve your future efforts.

5. Determine how you’ll measure success.

Round off your Facebook Giving Tuesday strategy by identifying metrics for evaluating your nonprofit’s performance. This way, you’ll be able to analyze what worked well and what could be improved for next year. For instance, your team may choose to keep an eye on data such as:

• Engagement. Keep an eye on which Facebook posts received the most likes, comments, and shares to inform your content strategy moving forward. Additionally, examine metrics such as click-through rate and response rate to determine how effectively your nonprofit engaged its supporters on Messenger and gain insights into how to refine your approach.
• Leads. Calculate the number of net new leads your Giving Tuesday campaign generated and be sure to add key information about your new supporters into your database, including their contact information and demographic details. This ensures that you can make the most of the connections you’ve cultivated during your campaign.
• Fundraising Revenue. Note the total amount of revenue your nonprofit secured on Giving Tuesday, so you can measure your campaign performance year after year. Furthermore, it can be helpful to identify the average amount of funds raised by each individual user’s Facebook fundraiser to determine how you can better support their efforts in the future.

These details are not only useful for guiding your future Giving Tuesday efforts on Facebook but they can also be shared with supporters as a means of communicating the level of success your campaign achieved.

How to Register for Giving Tuesday Facebook Fundraising Tools

Once you have your Giving Tuesday strategy in place, it’s time to equip your nonprofit with everything it needs to effectively raise funds and engage donors on Facebook. The platform offers a host of tools that empower charitable organizations to create Facebook fundraisers, accept tax-deductible donations, view fundraising reports, and more.

If your nonprofit is not already signed up for Facebook’s giving tools, you’ll need to submit an application, which typically takes around three weeks to process. While the eligibility criteria vary depending on which country your organization is located in, the basic requirements include:

• Being based in the United States, Puerto Rico, or certain countries in Europe.
• Being registered with an acceptable nonprofit registry in your country.
• Having a published Facebook Page that is at least two days old.
• Featuring at least one post on your Page.
• Setting your Facebook page’s category to “Nonprofit Organization” or “Charity Organization”
• Incorporating your nonprofit’s address into the “About” section of the Page.
• Adding a cover photo and a profile picture.

Furthermore, you’ll need to provide information such as your organization’s contact information, tax ID, CEO details, and a bank statement dated within the past six months.

7 Facebook Giving Tuesday Tools to Leverage

Around the world, fundraisers on Facebook and Instagram have generated over $7 billion for charitable causes. To maximize your Giving Tuesday results on Facebook, it’s necessary to first have an understanding of the various tools at your disposal, such as:

• Page Fundraisers: You can easily set up a Giving Tuesday fundraiser on your nonprofit’s Facebook Page and start collecting donations. This allows users who come across your fundraiser to give without having to navigate off the platform.
• Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers: Tap into your supporters’ personal networks by encouraging them to create Facebook fundraisers on your nonprofit’s behalf. Make the process as simple and streamlined for them as possible by providing messaging templates and high-quality images that they can incorporate into their individual fundraisers with just a few clicks.
• Ads: Consider investing in Facebook ads to increase your Facebook Giving Tuesday fundraiser’s visibility. Targeted ads can expand your nonprofit’s reach and help you get in front of users who might not otherwise come across your Giving Tuesday content.
• Challenges: Engage supporters on Giving Tuesday by starting a 24-hour Facebook Challenge that invites participants to complete a silly or exciting task—all while raising funds for a worthy cause. Plus, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships with users on the platform by creating a Facebook Group to connect everyone involved in the Challenge.
• Events: Create an official Facebook Giving Tuesday event for your nonprofit and invite all of your existing supporters. This is a stellar way to centralize your efforts on the platform, send reminders leading up to the giving day, and celebrate your success afterward.
• Messenger: Facilitate real-time, meaningful conversations with your Facebook supporters by reaching out to them via Messenger. Set up automated responses and encourage users to opt into receiving communications from your nonprofit. From there, you can connect with supporters by sending them fundraising tips, updating them, and thanking them for their contributions.
• Livestreaming: On Giving Tuesday, host a livestream to directly interact with supporters on the platform, answer questions, and inspire them to contribute toward your fundraising goal. You can even add a donate button to your Facebook Live video to make giving easy.

Take a look at your nonprofit’s Facebook Giving Tuesday strategy to determine which of these tools will be most useful in helping you achieve your goals.

Facebook Giving Tuesday Timeline for Nonprofits

Ready to put the finishing touches on your Facebook campaign for Giving Tuesday? Use this basic timeline as a jumping-off point:

• Now: Sign up for Facebook’s fundraising tools to ensure that there’s enough time to process your application. Plus, it’s never too early to gain access to these powerful tools, since you can leverage them at any time of the year.
• One Month Before: Create a Facebook Giving Tuesday event for your nonprofit and post about your campaign, encouraging supporters to spread the word.
• Two Weeks Before: Start your Giving Tuesday Page fundraiser, inviting users to donate or create their own fundraisers on your nonprofit’s behalf. Share countdown posts to get supporters excited about the upcoming day and engage with them through comments and Messenger.
• One Week Before: Prepare your Facebook Giving Tuesday materials and schedule your posts throughout the week to maintain engagement.
• One Day Before: Send out final reminders to your supporters and provide key details for contributing to your nonprofit on the following day, such as how to participate in your Facebook Challenge.
• On Giving Tuesday: Go on Facebook Live to interact with your supporters and post updates on your Giving Tuesday fundraising efforts throughout the day. Send last-minute reminders in the hours before the giving day ends.
• After Giving Tuesday: Within a week or two after your Giving Tuesday campaign, be sure to thank everyone who contributed, including staff members, volunteers, and donors. Share the impact of donations raised, including how your nonprofit plans to put the funds to good use.

Preparation is vital to the success of your Giving Tuesday efforts on Facebook, so make sure that everyone on your team is aligned on what needs to be done and when.

5 Best Practices for Giving Tuesday on Facebook

When approached with a thoughtful strategy, Giving Tuesday has the potential to bring in significant revenue for your nonprofit. In fact, the GivingTuesday Data Commons estimates that giving in the United States alone totaled $3.1 billion in 2022, representing a 15% increase compared to 2021.

To make the most of your efforts, follow these Giving Tuesday on Facebook best practices:

1. Emphasize the impact of Giving Tuesday donations. At its heart, Giving Tuesday is all about celebrating generosity and doing good. Inspire Facebook users to get involved by specifying how their contributions will make an impact. For instance, a nonprofit dedicated to pairing service dogs with individuals in need might post that all funds will go toward its training program, covering costs such as food and veterinary care.
2. Offer a variety of ways for supporters to get involved. There are numerous ways for people to participate in Giving Tuesday. For those who may not have the financial capacity to give to your nonprofit, suggest other ways they can support your cause, such as volunteering, donating items, or advocating for your cause online.
3. Send out frequent Facebook updates on Giving Tuesday. Keep the momentum going throughout the giving day by sharing frequent fundraising updates with your Facebook followers. You can also use these opportunities to communicate important reminders, such as prompting donors to amplify the impact of their gifts by submitting matching gift requests to their employers.
4. Expand your Giving Tuesday efforts to multiple platforms. Promote your nonprofit Facebook fundraiser in emails and text messages to your supporters leading up to Giving Tuesday. This ensures that you spread as much awareness as possible surrounding your campaign, regardless of differing communication preferences among donors.
5. Continue engaging with supporters after Giving Tuesday. Your fundraising progress doesn’t need to stop once Giving Tuesday is over. Year-end is another vital time for engaging supporters, with 10% of all annual donations occurring in the last three days of the year. Keep the energy going after Giving Tuesday by continuing to post updates on your nonprofit’s impact, thanking donors, and interacting with users on the platform.

Take advantage of your Giving Tuesday success by making an effort to sustain and strengthen the relationships you’ve built through your campaign. Secure year-round support by encouraging your supporters to create birthday fundraisers for your nonprofit and participate in other Challenges you host until next November rolls around.

Wrapping Up: Unlocking the Power of Facebook Fundraising

While Facebook’s fundraising tools are impactful resources at any time of the year, leveraging them for Giving Tuesday can significantly boost your results. If your nonprofit is looking for more ways to optimize your social media strategy, consider investing in a marketing automation platform like GoodUnited to access custom messaging templates and detailed analytics that support all of your Facebook fundraising needs.

Ready to become a Facebook expert for your nonprofit? Explore these additional resources for more expert tips and best practices:

• Facebook Fundraising for Nonprofits: A Comprehensive Guide. Learn the ins and outs of Facebook fundraising, along with how to build an effective strategy for your nonprofit in this guide.
• The Definitive Guide to Challenges on Facebook for Nonprofits. Get inspired by these engaging Facebook Challenge ideas and examples of successful Challenges hosted by nonprofits.
• Meta and the PayPal Giving Fund: A Guide to Facebook Payment Processing for Nonprofits. What happens after donors give to your nonprofit’s Facebook fundraiser? Learn all the latest details about Facebook donation processing in this guide.