8 Creative GivingTuesday campaign ideas to boost donations and maximise impact

Most people in the philanthropy industry know how important the end of the year is for donations. This generosity of the season kicks off with GivingTuesday, the global holiday that inspires millions of people to give back to the causes and organisations they care about. In fact, GivingTuesday is so popular that just last year alone, the holiday raised $3.1 billion.

For philanthropic organisations, this generosity is great news. But, because the day is so popular for giving, lots of nonprofits end up competing for the attention of donors, finding it impossible to stand out.

In this blog, we’ll cover the best and most creative GivingTuesday campaigns for grantmaking foundations so your charity can grab the attention of supporters, bring in some major funds and maximise impact.

Creative campaign ideas for GivingTuesday

1. Create a community storytelling campaign

Storytelling is one of the best ways to share crucial data and increase impact at the same time. Unlike just sharing statistics and numbers, storytelling appeals to donors’ emotions and drives a deeper connection between them and your cause.

While lots of nonprofits know this, here’s how you can stand out: This GivingTuesday, create a multi-platform narrative series (email, social media etc.) highlighting past grantees and what they’ve been able to achieve through funding. Consider using short video profiles, Instagram stories and written testimonials to show direct connections between donor contributions and community transformation.

2. Launch a “multiplier match” challenge

Offering matching gifts is one of the best ways to encourage more donations. But, despite how crucial they are for raising funds, an estimated  $4–$7 billion in matching gift funds go unclaimed per year. 

In order to reclaim those funds, try and get a bit more creative with your matching gift campaign this year. Instead of a traditional dollar-for-dollar match, create a tiered matching strategy. For example, the first $10,000 is matched at 2x, the next $15,000 is matched at 1.5x and so on. 

Not only will this create a bit of urgency for people to give, but it will generate some excitement, too.

3. Consider a regranting campaign

Regranting has emerged as a popular way to expand one-off grant funding by making the funding process more like a domino effect—a funded nonprofit distributes funds to other, often smaller grassroots nonprofits for expanded impact. 

A great way to spread funding, empower organisations and create community at the same time, a regranting campaign is ideal for GivingTuesday. To do this creatively, design a regranting program specifically focused on a theme (i.e., emerging social entrepreneurs or young community leaders). While soliciting funds for GivingTuesday, communicate that your donor’s money will go much, much farther than they think—trickling down to several community-led organisations.

4. Focus on your place(s) 

Another emerging trend in the philanthropy industry is place-based philanthropy. Place-based philanthropy is all about providing tailored support based on an organisation’s geographic location.

When preparing for GivingTuesday, create a map of all of the organisations you’ve funded and the specific ways in which you’ve supported them, based on where they’re located. You might also allow donors to “fund” specific project areas or neighbourhood initiatives.

5. Host a micro-grant live pitch competition

Really want to stand out this GivingTuesday? Host a live pitching competition where emerging nonprofit leaders pitch projects and their causes.

Here’s how to create this GivingTuesday campaign: Invite audience and community members to join this live stream event, and have them donate their money (or “vote”) on preferred projects.

Not only does this allow the public to get involved in a fun and engaging way, but it also gives nonprofits a platform to speak to the public, spread awareness and connect with other organisations.

6. Encourage innovation

While most nonprofits ask for monetary donations on GivingTuesday, non-financial giving can be just as important. Plus, it gives donors the opportunity to engage and give back in a new way.

To capitalise on this, design a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program that challenges corporate partners to develop innovative solutions to specific community challenges. Because CSR initiatives are a GivingTuesday trend—likely one that will remain popular for quite some time—targeting these donors is crucial.  The public, community nonprofits and community partners could vote on the winner’s projects.

Or invite the public to partake in this innovation competition, presenting their ideas for community impact in person or through a live-streamed event.

7. Get specific

One of the best ways to stand out on GivingTuesday is by making your appeal very specific. Instead of asking for funds for operating expenses or for general initiatives, be very clear about why your foundation is looking for donations (i.e., to fund BIPOC grassroots organisations in our city) and why—including how it will impact the community in both the short term and the long term.

To encourage giving, consider offering legacy giving options or even creating giving levels with meaningful names. Doing so can help motivate donors, making them feel special and acknowledged for their contributions.

8. Advertise a giving sprint

Want to create urgency and generate excitement? Challenge your community and donors to a giving sprint in which they have a dedicated amount of time to raise a specific amount of money.

Offer incentives (like prizes and swag) for the top donors and use a fundraising thermometer and a countdown timer to make it engaging and exciting.

Stand out and get creative on GivingTuesday

No matter what campaign your grantmaking foundation is going to run this GivingTuesday, be sure to leverage storytelling, compelling visuals, transparency about donations and emphasise the long-lasting community impact contributions will have.