Giving Tuesday 2026 falls on Tuesday, December 1, seven weeks from now. That's enough time to plan a strong campaign, as long as the planning starts this month. Last year's Giving Tuesday set a record in the U.S., and many of your supporters will expect to hear from you that day.
Most Giving Tuesday guides stop at the thank-you email. This one goes further. Below you'll find a week-by-week timeline, five email templates you can adapt, a checklist for tracking gifts in your CRM, and a plan for the part most nonprofits skip: turning first-time Giving Tuesday donors into second-time donors.
In This Guide
Giving Tuesday by the Numbers
Sources: GivingTuesday 2025 results (U.S. giving and participation); Fundraising Effectiveness Project Q4 2025 report (overall donor retention, all giving).
According to GivingTuesday's 2025 results, Americans gave $4.0 billion on Giving Tuesday 2025, up 13% from the year before. Participation went beyond money: 38.1 million people took part, including 11.1 million who volunteered and 20.9 million who spoke out for causes, up 26%.
Giving Tuesday also opens the most important month of the online giving year. The M+R Benchmarks 2026 study found that nonprofits received 37% of all 2025 online revenue in December. A Giving Tuesday campaign that's planned well sets up the rest of that month.
The third number is the one to plan around. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project found overall donor retention was 43.3% in 2025, and called the first-year problem out directly:
"Converting a first gift into a second remains the most consequential unsolved problem in the donor pipeline."
Fundraising Effectiveness Project, Q4 2025 report, via AFPGiving Tuesday brings in a lot of first gifts. What you do in the weeks after December 1 decides how many of those donors give again.
Pick a Goal and a Campaign Type
A specific goal gives every email and post a reason to exist. Pick a dollar amount, a donor count, or a number of new monthly donors, and tie it to something concrete your supporters can picture. Then choose the campaign type that fits your list and your capacity.
- Matching or challenge gift: A board member, major donor, or local business agrees to match gifts up to a set amount. Lock in the match early so it can anchor every message. If your donors' employers offer matching gifts, a matching gift lookup on your form adds a second match on top.
- Single-project campaign: One clear need with one price tag, such as a van, a semester of tutoring, or a month of meals. Specific asks are easier to share and easier to report back on.
- Monthly donor drive: Make the goal new sustaining donors instead of dollars. This trades a smaller day-one total for steadier revenue all year.
- More ways to take part: Not everyone can give money on December 1. A volunteer sign-up, a petition, or a short letter to an elected official gives the rest of your list a way to act. If advocacy is part of your mission, see how nonprofits engage supporters beyond donations.
Running a gala or holiday event this season too? How to Turn Your Fall Event Into a Year-End Giving Engine covers how to make event night and Giving Tuesday part of one campaign. If you're hosting a Giving Tuesday watch party or office event, Live Displays, included with Soapbox Engage Donations, can put gifts and progress toward your goal on screen as they come in.
Set Up Tracking Before You Send Anything
Giving Tuesday moves fast, and the reporting questions come later: which email worked, how many donors were new, how many gave again. You can only answer them if tracking is in place before the first message goes out. Whatever CRM you use, set up these pieces in the first two weeks.
- Create a Giving Tuesday 2026 campaign in your CRM, so gifts can be reported as one group.
- Give each email, social post, and text its own source code or tracked link, so you can see which message drove which gift.
- Build saved reports or list views for new donors, returning donors, lapsed donors who came back, and new monthly donors.
- Record match details (sponsor, cap, and gifts counted toward it) where your team can see them on December 1.
- Run a test gift through the form and confirm it lands on the right campaign, fund, and donor record.
Soapbox Engage Donations syncs each gift to Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics in real time, with the campaign and source code attached. On Giving Tuesday, that means your team can watch new donors and totals in the CRM during the day, not after an export the following week.
Your Giving Tuesday 2026 Timeline
This timeline starts the week of October 12 and runs through the end of the year. If you're starting later, compress the planning weeks, but keep the post-campaign steps. They're where retention happens.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Oct. 12–25 | Set the goal and campaign type. Confirm a match sponsor. Create the CRM campaign and source codes. |
| Oct. 26–Nov. 8 | Build or update the donation page. Set up donor segments. Run test gifts and check how they land in your CRM. |
| Nov. 9–22 | Write and schedule emails, social posts, and thank-yous. Brief staff and board on their role for the day. |
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Send the one-week teaser email. Share the goal and the match. |
| Mon., Nov. 30 | Send a short reminder for tomorrow. Post on social. |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Send a morning launch email, a midday progress update, and an evening last call. Post progress on social through the day. |
| Dec. 2–3 | Send thank-yous within 48 hours. Share the results publicly. |
| Dec. 7–18 | Send an impact update to new donors. Invite them to give monthly. |
| Dec. 28–31 | Send your year-end appeal. Use a softer version for people who just gave. |
| January | Start a second-gift path for new donors. Review results by source code and segment. |
Get Your Donation Page Ready
Every message you send on December 1 points to one page. Small improvements there pay off across the whole campaign. Before you schedule anything, check that your donation page:
- Loads fast and works on a phone. Supporters will often open your link from an email or social post on their phone. Open the page on your own phone and give a test gift.
- Opens in place. A donation pop-up lets supporters give without leaving the page they're reading. See how donation modals increase online giving.
- Asks about monthly giving. A prompt after a one-time gift is chosen gives donors an easy path to monthly support. How recurring upsells work explains the setup.
- Offers fee coverage. Let donors add the processing fee to their gift, so more of it reaches your work.
- Accepts the ways people pay. Offer card, ACH, PayPal, and Apple Pay. DAFpay gives donors with donor-advised funds an easy way to recommend a year-end grant from the same form.
- Shows the match and the goal. Name the match sponsor and the cap at the top of the page. If gifts can go to more than one fund, donation designations let donors choose without a second form.
Soapbox Engage Donations includes recurring upsells, fee coverage, and DAFpay on one form.
Five Giving Tuesday Email Templates
Adapt these to your voice and your campaign. Replace the bracketed text, and use merge fields for names and gift amounts where your email tool supports them. Keep each email short, with one ask and one button.
Hi [First Name],
Next Tuesday, December 1, is Giving Tuesday. This year, [Match Sponsor] will match gifts to [Organization], up to [$Match Amount].
Our goal is [$Goal] to [specific outcome, e.g., "keep our after-school program open through spring"]. We'll send you a reminder that morning.
Can't wait? You can give now and it will count toward the match: [Button: Give Today]
Thank you,
[Sender Name]
Hi [First Name],
Today is Giving Tuesday, and gifts to [Organization] will be matched until midnight, up to [$Match Amount].
Here's what your gift does: [one sentence, one concrete outcome, e.g., "$50 covers a week of meals for a family of four"].
[Button: Double My Gift]
Thank you for being part of this,
[Sender Name]
Hi [First Name],
So far today, [Number] supporters have given [$Amount] toward our [$Goal] goal. That's [X]% of the way there.
[$Remaining] stands between us and [specific outcome]. Your gift today is still being matched.
[Button: Help Close the Gap]
[Sender Name]
Hi [First Name],
The match ends at midnight tonight. We're at [$Amount] of our [$Goal] goal.
If you've been meaning to give, now's the time. Your gift will be doubled.
[Button: Give Before Midnight]
Thank you,
[Sender Name]
Hi [First Name],
Thank you. Yesterday, [Number] supporters gave [$Total] to [Organization], including your gift of [$Gift Amount]. With the match, that means [specific outcome].
Over the next few weeks, we'll send you a short update on what your gift is doing. No ask, just the results.
With gratitude,
[Sender Name]
Send the thank-you to donors only, and send a separate results note to everyone else on your list. Non-donors can still feel part of the day, and some of them will give at year-end.
After December 1: Keep the Donors You Just Met
The weeks after Giving Tuesday matter as much as the day itself. A first-time donor who hears nothing but another appeal three weeks later has little reason to give again. A donor who gets a quick thank-you, a real update, and a well-timed second ask has a clear reason to stay.
- Thank within 48 hours. Use the template above, and add a personal touch for first-time donors and larger gifts: a handwritten card, a short video, or a call from a board member.
- Send an impact update with no ask. Two to three weeks after Giving Tuesday, show what the money did. A photo and three sentences are enough.
- Invite new donors to give monthly. Someone who gave on Giving Tuesday has already shown interest. A monthly invitation in mid-December is a natural next step.
- Soften the year-end appeal for recent donors. Acknowledge their Giving Tuesday gift in the first line, rather than sending the same appeal everyone else gets.
- Start a second-gift path in January. Use the new-donor segment you built to send a short welcome series, then a specific second ask in the first quarter.
Giving Tuesday is also a good time to win back past donors. Pull a segment of supporters who gave in earlier years but not in 2025 and give them their own message. How to Re-Engage Lapsed Donors During Fundraising Campaigns covers what to say. For more thank-you ideas, see How to Thank Donors After a Fundraising Event.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Giving Tuesday 2026?
Giving Tuesday 2026 is Tuesday, December 1. It falls on the Tuesday after U.S. Thanksgiving each year, following Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Is it "Giving Tuesday" or "GivingTuesday"?
Both are common. The organization behind the day writes it as one word, GivingTuesday. Most people search for and write "Giving Tuesday," and either spelling is fine in your own campaign.
How many emails should we send for Giving Tuesday?
A common plan is one teaser the week before, a reminder the day before, and three emails on the day itself: a morning launch, a midday progress update, and an evening last call. Then send a thank-you to donors within 48 hours. Adjust to your list. Smaller lists that rarely hear from you may do better with fewer.
Is Giving Tuesday worth it for small nonprofits?
Yes, if you keep the plan simple. One goal, one donation page, a short email series, and a strong thank-you can work for a small team. A matching gift from a board member or local business helps, even a modest one.
How do we track Giving Tuesday donations in our CRM?
Create a dedicated Giving Tuesday campaign in your CRM before you launch, give each email and post its own source code or tracked link, and test a gift to confirm it lands on the right campaign and donor record. Donation tools that sync to the CRM in real time let you see results during the day instead of after an import.
How do we keep Giving Tuesday donors giving?
Thank them within 48 hours, send an impact update with no ask, invite new donors to give monthly, and start a second-gift path in January. Treat first-time donors as their own segment instead of folding them into your general list.
Get Your Giving Page Ready
Soapbox Engage Donations turns Giving Tuesday gifts into tracked, CRM-ready donor records.
Related Reading:
- How to Turn Your Fall Event Into a Year-End Giving Engine
- How Recurring Upsells Help Nonprofits Turn One-Time Gifts Into Monthly Support
- How to Re-Engage Lapsed Donors During Fundraising Campaigns
- Donation Popups: How Modals Increase Online Giving Conversion Rates
- How to Thank Donors After a Fundraising Event: A Follow-Up Playbook
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