02 Nov Giving Tuesday: Great Reasons for Your Church to Participate

Churches and other nonprofits are always in need of financial support, but in recent years there’s a particular Tuesday in November that sparks giving and generates eye-popping donation totals.

It’s called Giving Tuesday. It’s the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and this year it’s on November 29.

For your church, Giving Tuesday is an opportunity. It’s a great way to galvanize your members in support of your mission in particular and philanthropy more broadly.

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 at the Belfar Center for Innovation & Social Impact in New York City. The idea was simple: Let’s pinpoint one day out of the year that encourages people to do good.

Since then, Giving Tuesday has become a global movement, inspiring hundreds of millions of people the world over to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. In the United States alone, 35 million people donated on Giving Tuesday in 2021.

In 2022, nonprofit digital agency Whole Whale projects that in the U.S., Giving Tuesday donations will surpass $3.2 billion—an 18 percent increase over 2021’s record-breaking $2.7 billion.

Reasons for Your Church to Participate

As the Giving Tuesday movement has multiplied, more and more people are becoming aware of it, paying attention, and giving. Those people include your church members! Here are some great reasons to give them the opportunity to donate to your church on November 29.

1. People like joining together.

It’s human nature to want to feel part of something big. Special days and celebrations that unify people across the country or the world are especially compelling. Think Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. When members give to your church on Giving Tuesday, they feel like they’re supporting a particular organization while also joining together with millions of other people in a much larger effort.

2. It’s just one day.

With all the media constantly vying for our attention these days, it’s easy to develop attention and decision fatigue. But Giving Tuesday is simple! It’s just one day. And if you reach out to your members reminding them to give on that one day, it’s an easy decision for them.

3. You can generate targeted funds.

If you have a special fundraising initiative, Giving Tuesday is a great time to ask for donations to meet the goal. While you can also use Giving Tuesday for general giving that will help you round out 2022, a specific need can feel time-sensitive to members. This heightens urgency and gives people a concrete picture of how their donations will be used. And if it’s an initiative that will benefit the community more broadly, you may be able to attract donations from non-members, as well, which can in turn boost church membership.

4. You can engage younger members, too.

Giving Tuesday is an online phenomenon, mostly via mobile phones. When you reach out via mobileAxept’s GiveNow, you’ll be engaging with your members of all ages in a medium that almost are comfortable with now and the younger generations relies on completely.

5. Generosity is a Christian value.

Giving Tuesday is all about generosity and helping people who need help. As Christians, Jesus called on us to love our neighbors. He also asked us to support the church financially in addition to practicing justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Christian organizations should be core champions of Giving Tuesday because it’s who we are.

Now is the time to plan for your church’s Giving Tuesday efforts! All you have to do is decide how donations will be used, create goals for amounts to raise and number of people to engage, and get the word out via all your normal channels for a week or two leading up to November 29. In your social media posts, don’t forget to use the hashtag #givingtuesday.

On the day itself, reach out often and give people live updates, telethon-style, about the donations coming in, to heighten the excitement.

Text giving and communications are especially effective for Giving Tuesday, so don’t forget to deploy mobileAxept to help you reach as many people as possible and exceed your goals!

For more information or to get started contact sales.