8 #GivingTuesday Tips to Inspire Your Church to Give
Does your church need help with #GivingTuesday? Here are 8 tips you can use today.
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Giving Tuesday is a movement of generosity sweeping the globe—and your community.
In response to consumerism and to help boost donations to charities, Giving Tuesday started in 2012.
Every year, Giving Tuesday reaches many new givers and the amount of money donated continues to climb. In 2018, $380 million was donated, which marks a significant increase from 2017.
This spike in donations was not a one year fluke.
Based on Giving Tuesday trends, the amount of money raised continues to climb year-over-year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the amount donated this year will surpass $400 million.
As a church leader, #GivingTuesday isn’t an event you can let slip away.
By rallying the support of your church around a charity participating in Giving Tuesday, your church can experience a ripple effect of benefits, including:
- Reach new (and younger) givers
- Increase in your donor base
- Expand your social media reach
- Increase your church volunteers
- Boost online giving and mobile giving
If you haven’t previously participated in Giving Tuesday, commit to getting involved this year.
Giving Tuesday takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which falls after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, #GivingTuesday takes place on December 3.
Don’t worry about not having enough time to make this work
In this post, I’m going to share with you eight #GivingTuesday ideas for your church. At the end, you can also download a free eBook your church can use to create plan.
Let’s get started!
#1. Identify a charity
The first thing you need to do is pick what charity your church will support.
You can partner with a local organization or find a national or international group, like Operation Christmas Child, you can support.
#2. Set a goal
How much money do you want to raise?
Is there a physical project you can support?
Can you collaborate with a local charity?
After you’ve identified a charity, decide how your church can serve this organization. If you’re able, contact the charity you’re going to support and ask what is the best way you can help them.
#3. Get people on board
Rally your church around the charity you support.
To connect with your church and community, you can ...
- Make an announcement
- Send a mass text message
- Email your church
- Include it in your bulletin
- Send push notifications
- Share it on social media
Whatever you do, just don’t wait until the Sunday before #GivingTuesday to get people excited. It’s best to remind your church often ahead of time to prepare them for action.
Need help promoting #GivingTuesday?
Check out How to Quickly Create a Communication Strategy for Your Church.
#4. Make giving digital
GivingTuesday takes place on Tuesday.
I know I’m stating the obvious, but since this day occurs during the week, receiving cash or check donations will be challenging.
To make this work, you’ll need to lead your church to donate online.
With Tithe.ly, we make this super easy.
In 5 minutes, you can sign up for a free account and be ready for #GivingTuesday.
If you’re raising financial support for a charity, then, on #GivingTuesday, you’ll need to encourage your church to use …
- Online giving
- Mobile giving
- Text-to-give
- Church app
We’ll cover a plan in detail below. But think ahead of what you’ll need to share with people in person and online to compel them to give.
#5. Send updates
Keep the vision in front of your church from beginning to end.
Let them know where you’re at and how everyone can help meet your goal.
Most importantly, let your church specifically know how their donations will benefit people through the charity you’re supporting.
For example:
- Will you raise enough money to fund a water well to provide clean water for a community of 200 people?
- Will your financial support provide clothing, food, or shelter for the homeless or those in need?
- Are you raising financial support to provide Christmas gifts for children?
Help your church see how their financial contributions will be used to bless others.
#6. Leverage social media
#GivingTuesday is more than broadcasting promotional messages—you want to engage with people, too.
Encourage people to give.
Let donors know you’re thankful.
Share regular updates throughout the day.
Respond to posts and comments.
This takes time, so delegate this task to a volunteer or staff member dedicated to staying in touch with people on social media. This doesn’t have to be an all-day event. At a minimum, have someone review posts and comments once in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
#7. Create an incentive
Do you have the ability to provide a matching donation?
Will your pastor or church leader do something if a certain level of giving is matched — e.g., dunk tank?
These two ideas will get the creative juices flowing.
The main thing is to brainstorm ways your congregation can be encouraged to donate.
#8. Demonstrate donating
On Giving Tuesday, lead your church in making a donation.
The best way to do this is to demonstrate how easy it is to make a donation. Whether you do this on the Sunday before Giving Tuesday, record a video to share on social media, or use a Facebook Live to spread the word, show people how easy it is (ahem! with Tithe.ly) to make a mobile or online donation.
After the demonstration, remind people who you’re supporting and how their financial contributions will help others. If you share this on social media, be sure to include this note in the description of your post, too.
Plan for #GivingTuesday
Participating in #GivingTuesday can feel overwhelming.
Its after Thanksgiving, and right before Christmas.
Good timing, right?
But don’t let this become a heavy burden to carry.
#GivingTuesday can be a ton of fun for you and your church.
It’s an easy way for your congregation to help people through supporting a local or national charity.
To make it super easy to participate, we partnered with our good friends at Generis to create the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
In this toolkit, you’ll learn:
- The 5-reasons why your church should join this giving movement
- 3 simple steps to creating a promotional campaign
- The must-have technology for compelling people to give
- 3 storytelling tips to capture the heart of donors
- 2 easy ways to turn first-time givers into recurring givers
Click here to get a free copy of the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
Sign Up for Product Updates
Jesse Wisnewski likes to think of himself as one part marketer, one part team builder, and equal parts family man. He has held marketing roles at PhoneBurner, Tithe.ly, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, B&H Publishing Group, and a large nonprofit. When he's not immersed in marketing, he's chasing around his kids with his wife, grilling, exercising, and trying to be active members of their local church, as well.
Giving Tuesday is a movement of generosity sweeping the globe—and your community.
In response to consumerism and to help boost donations to charities, Giving Tuesday started in 2012.
Every year, Giving Tuesday reaches many new givers and the amount of money donated continues to climb. In 2018, $380 million was donated, which marks a significant increase from 2017.
This spike in donations was not a one year fluke.
Based on Giving Tuesday trends, the amount of money raised continues to climb year-over-year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the amount donated this year will surpass $400 million.
As a church leader, #GivingTuesday isn’t an event you can let slip away.
By rallying the support of your church around a charity participating in Giving Tuesday, your church can experience a ripple effect of benefits, including:
- Reach new (and younger) givers
- Increase in your donor base
- Expand your social media reach
- Increase your church volunteers
- Boost online giving and mobile giving
If you haven’t previously participated in Giving Tuesday, commit to getting involved this year.
Giving Tuesday takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which falls after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, #GivingTuesday takes place on December 3.
Don’t worry about not having enough time to make this work
In this post, I’m going to share with you eight #GivingTuesday ideas for your church. At the end, you can also download a free eBook your church can use to create plan.
Let’s get started!
#1. Identify a charity
The first thing you need to do is pick what charity your church will support.
You can partner with a local organization or find a national or international group, like Operation Christmas Child, you can support.
#2. Set a goal
How much money do you want to raise?
Is there a physical project you can support?
Can you collaborate with a local charity?
After you’ve identified a charity, decide how your church can serve this organization. If you’re able, contact the charity you’re going to support and ask what is the best way you can help them.
#3. Get people on board
Rally your church around the charity you support.
To connect with your church and community, you can ...
- Make an announcement
- Send a mass text message
- Email your church
- Include it in your bulletin
- Send push notifications
- Share it on social media
Whatever you do, just don’t wait until the Sunday before #GivingTuesday to get people excited. It’s best to remind your church often ahead of time to prepare them for action.
Need help promoting #GivingTuesday?
Check out How to Quickly Create a Communication Strategy for Your Church.
#4. Make giving digital
GivingTuesday takes place on Tuesday.
I know I’m stating the obvious, but since this day occurs during the week, receiving cash or check donations will be challenging.
To make this work, you’ll need to lead your church to donate online.
With Tithe.ly, we make this super easy.
In 5 minutes, you can sign up for a free account and be ready for #GivingTuesday.
If you’re raising financial support for a charity, then, on #GivingTuesday, you’ll need to encourage your church to use …
- Online giving
- Mobile giving
- Text-to-give
- Church app
We’ll cover a plan in detail below. But think ahead of what you’ll need to share with people in person and online to compel them to give.
#5. Send updates
Keep the vision in front of your church from beginning to end.
Let them know where you’re at and how everyone can help meet your goal.
Most importantly, let your church specifically know how their donations will benefit people through the charity you’re supporting.
For example:
- Will you raise enough money to fund a water well to provide clean water for a community of 200 people?
- Will your financial support provide clothing, food, or shelter for the homeless or those in need?
- Are you raising financial support to provide Christmas gifts for children?
Help your church see how their financial contributions will be used to bless others.
#6. Leverage social media
#GivingTuesday is more than broadcasting promotional messages—you want to engage with people, too.
Encourage people to give.
Let donors know you’re thankful.
Share regular updates throughout the day.
Respond to posts and comments.
This takes time, so delegate this task to a volunteer or staff member dedicated to staying in touch with people on social media. This doesn’t have to be an all-day event. At a minimum, have someone review posts and comments once in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
#7. Create an incentive
Do you have the ability to provide a matching donation?
Will your pastor or church leader do something if a certain level of giving is matched — e.g., dunk tank?
These two ideas will get the creative juices flowing.
The main thing is to brainstorm ways your congregation can be encouraged to donate.
#8. Demonstrate donating
On Giving Tuesday, lead your church in making a donation.
The best way to do this is to demonstrate how easy it is to make a donation. Whether you do this on the Sunday before Giving Tuesday, record a video to share on social media, or use a Facebook Live to spread the word, show people how easy it is (ahem! with Tithe.ly) to make a mobile or online donation.
After the demonstration, remind people who you’re supporting and how their financial contributions will help others. If you share this on social media, be sure to include this note in the description of your post, too.
Plan for #GivingTuesday
Participating in #GivingTuesday can feel overwhelming.
Its after Thanksgiving, and right before Christmas.
Good timing, right?
But don’t let this become a heavy burden to carry.
#GivingTuesday can be a ton of fun for you and your church.
It’s an easy way for your congregation to help people through supporting a local or national charity.
To make it super easy to participate, we partnered with our good friends at Generis to create the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
In this toolkit, you’ll learn:
- The 5-reasons why your church should join this giving movement
- 3 simple steps to creating a promotional campaign
- The must-have technology for compelling people to give
- 3 storytelling tips to capture the heart of donors
- 2 easy ways to turn first-time givers into recurring givers
Click here to get a free copy of the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
podcast transcript
Jesse Wisnewski likes to think of himself as one part marketer, one part team builder, and equal parts family man. He has held marketing roles at PhoneBurner, Tithe.ly, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, B&H Publishing Group, and a large nonprofit. When he's not immersed in marketing, he's chasing around his kids with his wife, grilling, exercising, and trying to be active members of their local church, as well.
Giving Tuesday is a movement of generosity sweeping the globe—and your community.
In response to consumerism and to help boost donations to charities, Giving Tuesday started in 2012.
Every year, Giving Tuesday reaches many new givers and the amount of money donated continues to climb. In 2018, $380 million was donated, which marks a significant increase from 2017.
This spike in donations was not a one year fluke.
Based on Giving Tuesday trends, the amount of money raised continues to climb year-over-year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the amount donated this year will surpass $400 million.
As a church leader, #GivingTuesday isn’t an event you can let slip away.
By rallying the support of your church around a charity participating in Giving Tuesday, your church can experience a ripple effect of benefits, including:
- Reach new (and younger) givers
- Increase in your donor base
- Expand your social media reach
- Increase your church volunteers
- Boost online giving and mobile giving
If you haven’t previously participated in Giving Tuesday, commit to getting involved this year.
Giving Tuesday takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which falls after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, #GivingTuesday takes place on December 3.
Don’t worry about not having enough time to make this work
In this post, I’m going to share with you eight #GivingTuesday ideas for your church. At the end, you can also download a free eBook your church can use to create plan.
Let’s get started!
#1. Identify a charity
The first thing you need to do is pick what charity your church will support.
You can partner with a local organization or find a national or international group, like Operation Christmas Child, you can support.
#2. Set a goal
How much money do you want to raise?
Is there a physical project you can support?
Can you collaborate with a local charity?
After you’ve identified a charity, decide how your church can serve this organization. If you’re able, contact the charity you’re going to support and ask what is the best way you can help them.
#3. Get people on board
Rally your church around the charity you support.
To connect with your church and community, you can ...
- Make an announcement
- Send a mass text message
- Email your church
- Include it in your bulletin
- Send push notifications
- Share it on social media
Whatever you do, just don’t wait until the Sunday before #GivingTuesday to get people excited. It’s best to remind your church often ahead of time to prepare them for action.
Need help promoting #GivingTuesday?
Check out How to Quickly Create a Communication Strategy for Your Church.
#4. Make giving digital
GivingTuesday takes place on Tuesday.
I know I’m stating the obvious, but since this day occurs during the week, receiving cash or check donations will be challenging.
To make this work, you’ll need to lead your church to donate online.
With Tithe.ly, we make this super easy.
In 5 minutes, you can sign up for a free account and be ready for #GivingTuesday.
If you’re raising financial support for a charity, then, on #GivingTuesday, you’ll need to encourage your church to use …
- Online giving
- Mobile giving
- Text-to-give
- Church app
We’ll cover a plan in detail below. But think ahead of what you’ll need to share with people in person and online to compel them to give.
#5. Send updates
Keep the vision in front of your church from beginning to end.
Let them know where you’re at and how everyone can help meet your goal.
Most importantly, let your church specifically know how their donations will benefit people through the charity you’re supporting.
For example:
- Will you raise enough money to fund a water well to provide clean water for a community of 200 people?
- Will your financial support provide clothing, food, or shelter for the homeless or those in need?
- Are you raising financial support to provide Christmas gifts for children?
Help your church see how their financial contributions will be used to bless others.
#6. Leverage social media
#GivingTuesday is more than broadcasting promotional messages—you want to engage with people, too.
Encourage people to give.
Let donors know you’re thankful.
Share regular updates throughout the day.
Respond to posts and comments.
This takes time, so delegate this task to a volunteer or staff member dedicated to staying in touch with people on social media. This doesn’t have to be an all-day event. At a minimum, have someone review posts and comments once in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
#7. Create an incentive
Do you have the ability to provide a matching donation?
Will your pastor or church leader do something if a certain level of giving is matched — e.g., dunk tank?
These two ideas will get the creative juices flowing.
The main thing is to brainstorm ways your congregation can be encouraged to donate.
#8. Demonstrate donating
On Giving Tuesday, lead your church in making a donation.
The best way to do this is to demonstrate how easy it is to make a donation. Whether you do this on the Sunday before Giving Tuesday, record a video to share on social media, or use a Facebook Live to spread the word, show people how easy it is (ahem! with Tithe.ly) to make a mobile or online donation.
After the demonstration, remind people who you’re supporting and how their financial contributions will help others. If you share this on social media, be sure to include this note in the description of your post, too.
Plan for #GivingTuesday
Participating in #GivingTuesday can feel overwhelming.
Its after Thanksgiving, and right before Christmas.
Good timing, right?
But don’t let this become a heavy burden to carry.
#GivingTuesday can be a ton of fun for you and your church.
It’s an easy way for your congregation to help people through supporting a local or national charity.
To make it super easy to participate, we partnered with our good friends at Generis to create the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
In this toolkit, you’ll learn:
- The 5-reasons why your church should join this giving movement
- 3 simple steps to creating a promotional campaign
- The must-have technology for compelling people to give
- 3 storytelling tips to capture the heart of donors
- 2 easy ways to turn first-time givers into recurring givers
Click here to get a free copy of the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
VIDEO transcript
Giving Tuesday is a movement of generosity sweeping the globe—and your community.
In response to consumerism and to help boost donations to charities, Giving Tuesday started in 2012.
Every year, Giving Tuesday reaches many new givers and the amount of money donated continues to climb. In 2018, $380 million was donated, which marks a significant increase from 2017.
This spike in donations was not a one year fluke.
Based on Giving Tuesday trends, the amount of money raised continues to climb year-over-year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the amount donated this year will surpass $400 million.
As a church leader, #GivingTuesday isn’t an event you can let slip away.
By rallying the support of your church around a charity participating in Giving Tuesday, your church can experience a ripple effect of benefits, including:
- Reach new (and younger) givers
- Increase in your donor base
- Expand your social media reach
- Increase your church volunteers
- Boost online giving and mobile giving
If you haven’t previously participated in Giving Tuesday, commit to getting involved this year.
Giving Tuesday takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which falls after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, #GivingTuesday takes place on December 3.
Don’t worry about not having enough time to make this work
In this post, I’m going to share with you eight #GivingTuesday ideas for your church. At the end, you can also download a free eBook your church can use to create plan.
Let’s get started!
#1. Identify a charity
The first thing you need to do is pick what charity your church will support.
You can partner with a local organization or find a national or international group, like Operation Christmas Child, you can support.
#2. Set a goal
How much money do you want to raise?
Is there a physical project you can support?
Can you collaborate with a local charity?
After you’ve identified a charity, decide how your church can serve this organization. If you’re able, contact the charity you’re going to support and ask what is the best way you can help them.
#3. Get people on board
Rally your church around the charity you support.
To connect with your church and community, you can ...
- Make an announcement
- Send a mass text message
- Email your church
- Include it in your bulletin
- Send push notifications
- Share it on social media
Whatever you do, just don’t wait until the Sunday before #GivingTuesday to get people excited. It’s best to remind your church often ahead of time to prepare them for action.
Need help promoting #GivingTuesday?
Check out How to Quickly Create a Communication Strategy for Your Church.
#4. Make giving digital
GivingTuesday takes place on Tuesday.
I know I’m stating the obvious, but since this day occurs during the week, receiving cash or check donations will be challenging.
To make this work, you’ll need to lead your church to donate online.
With Tithe.ly, we make this super easy.
In 5 minutes, you can sign up for a free account and be ready for #GivingTuesday.
If you’re raising financial support for a charity, then, on #GivingTuesday, you’ll need to encourage your church to use …
- Online giving
- Mobile giving
- Text-to-give
- Church app
We’ll cover a plan in detail below. But think ahead of what you’ll need to share with people in person and online to compel them to give.
#5. Send updates
Keep the vision in front of your church from beginning to end.
Let them know where you’re at and how everyone can help meet your goal.
Most importantly, let your church specifically know how their donations will benefit people through the charity you’re supporting.
For example:
- Will you raise enough money to fund a water well to provide clean water for a community of 200 people?
- Will your financial support provide clothing, food, or shelter for the homeless or those in need?
- Are you raising financial support to provide Christmas gifts for children?
Help your church see how their financial contributions will be used to bless others.
#6. Leverage social media
#GivingTuesday is more than broadcasting promotional messages—you want to engage with people, too.
Encourage people to give.
Let donors know you’re thankful.
Share regular updates throughout the day.
Respond to posts and comments.
This takes time, so delegate this task to a volunteer or staff member dedicated to staying in touch with people on social media. This doesn’t have to be an all-day event. At a minimum, have someone review posts and comments once in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
#7. Create an incentive
Do you have the ability to provide a matching donation?
Will your pastor or church leader do something if a certain level of giving is matched — e.g., dunk tank?
These two ideas will get the creative juices flowing.
The main thing is to brainstorm ways your congregation can be encouraged to donate.
#8. Demonstrate donating
On Giving Tuesday, lead your church in making a donation.
The best way to do this is to demonstrate how easy it is to make a donation. Whether you do this on the Sunday before Giving Tuesday, record a video to share on social media, or use a Facebook Live to spread the word, show people how easy it is (ahem! with Tithe.ly) to make a mobile or online donation.
After the demonstration, remind people who you’re supporting and how their financial contributions will help others. If you share this on social media, be sure to include this note in the description of your post, too.
Plan for #GivingTuesday
Participating in #GivingTuesday can feel overwhelming.
Its after Thanksgiving, and right before Christmas.
Good timing, right?
But don’t let this become a heavy burden to carry.
#GivingTuesday can be a ton of fun for you and your church.
It’s an easy way for your congregation to help people through supporting a local or national charity.
To make it super easy to participate, we partnered with our good friends at Generis to create the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
In this toolkit, you’ll learn:
- The 5-reasons why your church should join this giving movement
- 3 simple steps to creating a promotional campaign
- The must-have technology for compelling people to give
- 3 storytelling tips to capture the heart of donors
- 2 easy ways to turn first-time givers into recurring givers
Click here to get a free copy of the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for Churches.
Sign Up for Product Updates
Jesse Wisnewski likes to think of himself as one part marketer, one part team builder, and equal parts family man. He has held marketing roles at PhoneBurner, Tithe.ly, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, B&H Publishing Group, and a large nonprofit. When he's not immersed in marketing, he's chasing around his kids with his wife, grilling, exercising, and trying to be active members of their local church, as well.
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