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Rachel Burris Rodriguez on Aug 12, 2026, 9:15:00 AM
GivingTuesday raises billions every year, and the donors who give on that day aren't usually meeting an organization for the first time. They're responding to months of showing up, telling a consistent story, and making the mission feel real before any ask arrives.
This week is about doing that work now, whether you're building toward GivingTuesday or creating a giving day that's entirely your own.
The take-home template
September is for laying the groundwork. October is for building content. November is for locking in campaigns and getting segmentation right. December is for execution. Our free year-end planning calendar tells you exactly what to do each month, including when to get tracking code on your website, when to start warming up your email list, and when to shift from planning mode to full send.
Snackable snippets
How to plan a giving day that's built for your community 📖
GivingTuesday gets most of the attention, but it's not the only option. For some nonprofits, it's not even the best one. A giving day built around your own mission, a community anniversary, or a time-sensitive campaign gives you full control over the branding, messaging, and timing, without competing in the national noise. The building blocks are the same either way. A clear goal, some form of match or challenge, people who will spread the word, and a follow-up plan that turns one-day donors into something longer.
What these giving days get right + what we can borrow 📖
This one was written for higher ed, but the giving day principles apply well beyond campus. Without a story at the center, a giving day is really just a deadline with a donate button. The campaigns that drive the highest participation give their community a reason to feel something, sequence challenges to create urgency at multiple points throughout the day, and meet different audiences where they are.
Why your giving day page isn't converting 📖
When donors land on your giving day page, fund names rarely move them. "Give to the Emergency Fund" is accurate, but it doesn't tell anyone why it matters. Rewriting around the outcome does, such as "Ensure no one in our community has to walk away because of an unexpected expense they couldn't cover." Before your next giving day goes live, audit your CTAs and personalize them around the person they help or the problem they solve.
For your inspiration folder
March of Dimes sends a reminder email a full month before their August 27 Giving Day, with a countdown timer, an early giving option, and a clear answer to the question most donors don't think to ask: why give before the actual day?
The email lays out exactly what a gift funds across six program areas, then makes the case that early dollars help the organization plan and prepare, not just hit a number on August 27. It's a useful model for any nonprofit that wants to treat Giving Day as a campaign with a runway rather than a single-day sprint.
