Report Reveals Truth about Giving Tuesday: It’s a ‘New Donor’ Gold Mine
Don’t Wait Until November. Plan Your #GivingTuesday Campaign NOW
Remember, remember, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving which is usually in – November.
Okay, not quite as poetic as the original. But that Tuesday has become very special to the nonprofit community. Giving Tuesday has become an annual donation surge for nonprofits around the world. But it’s also become a bit of a controversy among certain fundraisers.
Does Giving Tuesday really lift long term growth for nonprofits?
Or does it just siphon off donations that would have been given anyway at other times?
In Classy’s 2018 Modern Philanthropy report, the truth about Giving Tuesday is revealed. There were a number of bombshell revelations, but here’s the top dog:
Nonprofits acquire 3 to 5 times more new donors on Giving Tuesday compared to normal days.
But the controversialists will say, “Sure, but what about the end of the year?”
And they have a good point. Since Giving Tuesday comes so near to the end of the year, it’s very reasonable to wonder if people who would have given at the end of the year are choosing instead to just give on Giving Tuesday.
But Classy’s report suggests otherwise. Giving Tuesday may be opening up new donor channels that wouldn’t have opened using other appeals. The report found that nonprofits get twice as many new donors on Giving Tuesday as they do on December 31st, the biggest donation day of the year.
Why does this matter so much?
Because new donors are always harder to acquire than getting existing donors to give again. New donors are costly.
So if this Tuesday in November has somehow broken through one of the toughest barriers of fundraising growth, are we really going to resist it? (And the shocking truth is that it may have broken through two barriers. Keep reading…)
But first, more Giving Tuesday revelations from Classy’s report:
More Recurring Donors
15% of donors acquired on Giving Tuesday gave again – before Giving Tuesday the following year.
This matters because it means they responded to a campaign other than Giving Tuesday for their second gift. This means loyalty has taken hold. Classy’s report found these donors were more likely to give again than first-time donors acquired through other events and campaigns.
What about end-of-year donors?
More first-time donors who give on December 31st gave again than first-time donors who gave on Giving Tuesday. But – and this is really important – most Giving Tuesday first-timers gave on a day other than the next Giving Tuesday. End of year donors, on the other hand, were more likely to give again at the next end of year.
Classy believes the December 31st givers are mostly motivated by taxes. This is a subset of your overall donors – and not one to be neglected. But it’s a subset. These people are actually harder to motivate to give in other situations throughout the year than Giving Tuesday donors.
To put it another way: You’re still going to get more new donors on December 31st than you will on Giving Tuesday. For now. But more of your Giving Tuesday new donors will give again to other campaigns throughout the year.
That means your mission and message and impact inspired them in a different way from your end of year donors. Still not convinced of that? Read the next one…
More P2P Fundraisers
Giving Tuesday first-time donors are 3 to 4 times more likely to become peer-to-peer fundraisers than year-end donors, and 70% more likely than first-timers acquired during disaster relief.
This supports the belief about end of year donors just mentioned. P2P fundraisers are champions for your cause. They believe in it so much they’re willing to go out and ask their friends, family, coworkers, and even total strangers to give to your charity.
So the fact that many more first-time donors on Giving Tuesday become P2P fundraisers says something about the type of person who responds to a Giving Tuesday appeal.
This is a different segment of donors. A new segment, under-reached by traditional (or untraditional) end of year fundraising.
More Money Every Year
On Classy’s platform, nonprofits raised 50% more in 2017 than they did the previous year on Giving Tuesday. The numbers go up every year.
You need to plan your Giving Tuesday campaign earlier this year so you can out in front of the other charities.
I’ve read some fundraisers who say to confine your Giving Tuesday campaign just to the week before Giving Tuesday.
My experience and data says differently.
I recommend to my clients to begin a month before, with emails and social posts once a week at first, then building up to a crescendo the week before leading up to the Big Day.
And now, here’s the final revelation from the Giving Tuesday report. And it’s a shocker!
Shocker! Giving Tuesday Donors Are Younger!
The average age of Giving Tuesday donors is 25 years old. The average for other days is 37. That’s a 12 year difference!
As you probably know, conventional wisdom (and the data) says that the bulk of donors come from upper age brackets. You will get more money, and more recurring money, from older donors.
And despite heroic (or misguided?) efforts by many, getting younger people to consistently give has proven difficult. We won’t go into the reasons for that here.
But that’s what makes this Giving Tuesday data so earth-shattering. This day – mostly online – has broken through the age barrier. On this day, the younger people give in far greater numbers than other days.
So when you combine that fact with the previous ones, a picture starts to emerge.
Giving Tuesday donors are a different slice of the population than donors on other days. You are not borrowing from December 31st to collect on Giving Tuesday. The data suggests these groups of donors are different.
And therefore, to neglect either is to sacrifice donations you could have earned.
Giving Tuesday donors are:
- Younger
- More likely to become peer-to-peer fundraisers
- More likely to give again to other campaigns
- More like to be first-time donors than on any other day – including December 31st
Add all this up and a single conclusion emerges:
Giving Tuesday is the best opportunity of the year to win new donors.
Want more content? Get weekly nonprofit fundraising and copywriting tips, strategies, and motivations in the ProActive Insights newsletter.
