Key Insights from GivingTuesday 2024

Originally conceived as an antidote to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, GivingTuesday’s purpose is to inspire meaningful acts of giving. However, over time, many have come to treat it like any other end-of-year appeal—a strategy that misses the true potential of the day itself.

While asking for financial contributions remains central to the majority of GivingTuesday campaigns, most participants pair their donations with other acts of generosity, like volunteering or community involvement. Nonprofits that embrace this fact—those who view GivingTuesday as a chance to strengthen community connections rather than focusing solely on dollars—are leading the way in effective, impactful fundraising.

Today, fundraisers are returning to the day’s origins as a celebration of collective goodwill. Ignore this shift at your own risk! GivingTuesday is most effective when treated as part of a larger community-building effort and not simply an appeal.

Here’s a look at how this impacted nonprofits in 2024.

GivingTuesday 2024 by the Numbers

Most leading headlines focus solely on the overall total dollars raised on GivingTuesday. Instead of taking that approach, we’ll focus on the practical “in the weeds” analysis that can support you as you make data-driven decisions that go well beyond this time of year. Where appropriate, we’ll also draw out some conclusions and comparisons to help contextualize where and how GivingTuesday can fit into your nonprofit’s overall strategy.

We’ll also spotlight the winners of our first-ever Neon One Generosity Awards, a special live-streamed event where we celebrate five nonprofits excelling at creating magical generosity experiences for their communities.

Key GivingTuesday 2024 Metrics

Here are some of the top highlights from this year’s GivingTuesday:

Overall revenue raised by Neon One clients was up 7% compared to 2023
Both online and offline revenue grew, with online revenue increasing 8.4% compared to last year
The number of overall donors who participated in GivingTuesday declined from 2023, but the number of new donors increased
Neon CRM users sent 1,586 emails to over 6.8 million people on GivingTuesday itself
Email click-through rates were at 2.57%, a 58% improvement over historical benchmarks on GivingTuesday
The average online donation was $199, and the average offline donation was $1,147, an improvement over the previous year
5% of all new donors chose to become a recurring donor

These data points come directly from nonprofits using Neon One’s tools—including Neon CRM and Neon Fundraise—and are the same data points we share every year with the GivingTuesday Data Commons.

Exploring the Full Scope of GivingTuesday Engagement

On GivingTuesday, the least common behavior among donors is simply giving money. While monetary donations remain a primary form of support, it’s essential to recognize that generosity goes beyond financial contributions. In 2022, for instance, 36% of GivingTuesday participants in the U.S. donated money, 20% donated goods, and 18% volunteered their time.

This highlights that many individuals engage in multiple forms of giving, which collectively add to the overall impact of GivingTuesday. Understanding these different forms of generosity is crucial for nonprofits who want to foster a culture of giving and community involvement.

Need an example? The nonprofit 11 Day Power Play used a peer-to-peer campaign strategy for GivingTuesday 2024 by engaging supporters in multiple ways beyond the financial:

Direct Giving: They encouraged recipients to make donations on their website.
Facebook Fundraisers: Supporters were asked to create their own fundraisers on Facebook to raise additional funds.
Social Media Engagement: They urged followers to engage on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, sharing cause-related posts and inviting friends to learn more.
Hashtags for Visibility: The campaign leveraged hashtags like #GivingTuesday, #11DPP, and #PutCancerOnIce to increase visibility and engagement.

11th Day Power Play included this graphic in an email appeal announcing their campaign

By encouraging supporters to participate in community-building and spreading the word, they created a broad network of advocates to help further their mission of supporting families battling cancer in western New York.

Donor Behavior and Trends

Understanding where and when donors are contributing is just as important as knowing why they gave. While each donor is unique, grasping larger behavioral patterns can give you insight into what strategies and tactics will work best for your nonprofit.

Not all communities respond the same way, so let’s start our breakdown geographically. Just for context, Neon One clients were represented in all 50 states and all 10 Canadian provinces, and they attracted support from 97 different countries.

United States

Largest Number of Nonprofits Participating	California, New York, and Illinois
Largest Number of Donors Giving	California, New York, and Illinois
Largest Sum of Dollars Given	California, Nebraska, Massachusetts
Highest Donations Per Capita	Michigan, Nebraska, California
Most Generous Zip Codes (Sum Total)	Omaha, NE \| Boston, MA \| Williamsburg, VA
Most Generous Zip Codes (Per Capita)	Omaha, NE \| Williamsburg, VA \| Boston, MA

Canada

Largest Number of Nonprofits Participating	Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta
Largest Number of Donors Giving	Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta
Largest Sum of Dollars Given	Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta
Highest Donations Per Capita	Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan
Most Generous Zip Codes (Sum Total)	Kelowna, BC \| Toronto, ON \| Lake Country, BC
Most Generous Zip Codes (Per Capita)	Lake Country, BC \| Kelowna, BC \| Toronto, ON

Across each time zone, online giving experienced three distinct peaks throughout the day, regardless of geography. The first occurs between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., followed by the highest peak from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.. A final surge in giving takes place around 6:00 p.m.

This is a line graph that shows the number of processed payments per hour on GivingTuesday 2024. The spikes in the morning, late afternoon, and early evening are pretty clearly defined. — *Here’s a snapshot of Neon CRM transaction volumes on GivingTuesday 2024—that 2:00 a.m. spike is scheduled transactions.*

This indicates that there are multiple opportunities throughout the day to engage donors. Matching gift incentives can also lead to further impact of these initial gifts.

For example, Alzheimer’s San Diego actively engaged donors by promoting matching gift opportunities, effectively doubling or even tripling the impact of individual contributions. Using the Double the Donation integration with Neon CRM, they were able to provide clear instructions for how donors could request matching gifts from their employers.

*A few minutes after the initial transaction receipt from Neon CRM, the Double the Donation integration follows up with instructions on matching donations.*

Let’s now explore other ways nonprofits engaged donors throughout GivingTuesday.

How Nonprofits Engaged Donors on GivingTuesday 2024

GivingTuesday 2024 proved once again that email is the backbone of nonprofit fundraising. Nonprofits leveraged the power of email campaigns to connect with donors, boost engagement, and drive donations. By examining this year’s data, we can uncover the best tactics—and those needing some improvement.

Overall, email campaigns saw a solid performance with an average open rate of 21.56%—which was lower than previous years—and a click-through rate of 2.57%, which is above the benchmark established in The Nonprofit Email Report: Data-Backed Insights for GivingTuesday and Year-End.

That increased click-through rate suggests that, although it was harder to capture people’s attention, those who engaged with emails were motivated to take action. Notably, nonprofits that sent fewer, more targeted emails saw better results, underscoring the importance of personalized, impactful messaging.

GivingTuesday 2024 also highlighted clear engagement trends across different cause categories. While email engagement varied from cause to cause, certain sectors saw stronger performances in both open rates and click-through rates.

For Arts, Culture, and Humanities organizations, emails performed exceptionally well—they saw an average open rate of 25.54% and a click-through rate of 4.05%. Campaigns in this category often used familiar and emotionally resonant messaging, which likely contributed to their higher engagement levels.

Religion-related nonprofits also saw strong engagement, achieving an open rate of 26.46%. These campaigns typically focused on gratitude and community, which resonated deeply with supporters and led to higher-than-average engagement.

On the other hand, Housing and Shelter organizations struggled with a lower open rate of 14.28%, suggesting that messaging may have lacked urgency or a clear connection to donor interests. Similarly, Environmental and Social Justice causes faced challenges with email performance, with open rates hovering around 18-19%. This indicates that these causes may need to refine their messaging to better capture donor attention.

Overall, personalization, clarity of impact, and emotional resonance were key drivers of success across the board. Nonprofits that focused on tangible outcomes and creating a sense of urgency performed better than those with more generic or broad messaging.

Don’t count out direct mail regarding GivingTuesday and overall year-end engagement! While Canadian nonprofits are feeling the impact of the postal strike, nonprofits in the United States are sending out campaigns that are both formal appeals or personal notes. One example would be the note that IPH sent to recurring donors celebrating their anniversary of joining their Key Club program, which proves that not every touchpoint needs to be an appeal.

*An example provided by Megan Meyerson, Director of Donor Experience at IPH*

How Did Donors Support Nonprofits Financially?

Neon One clients experienced a 7% increase in overall revenue compared to 2023, with online donations rising by 8.4% and offline contributions also showing improvement. Despite a decline in the total number of donors, the number of new donors increased. This indicates that GivingTuesday remains a significant opportunity for acquiring new supporters.

The average online donation was $199, and the median was $76. Offline donations averaged $1,147 with a median of $108. Average and median gift sizes for both online and offline donations reflect growth over the previous year.

Notably, 5% of new donors became recurring contributors, which underscores the potential for sustained support through monthly giving programs.

These trends align with findings from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP), which reported a 3.7% increase in total dollars raised during the second quarter of 2024, despite a 3.9% decrease in the number of donors and a 4.5% decline in retention rates. This suggests that, while fewer individuals are donating to nonprofits, those who do so are giving more generously.

Since approximately 30% of new donors make their first contributions in November and December, it’s important to plan donor retention strategies that transform these year-end contributors into long-term supporters. Doing this will help you ensure that the time and effort you put into your GivingTuesday and year-end campaigns will result in sustained impact and financial stability into 2025 and beyond.

GivingTuesday’s Evolving Role in the Generosity Ecosystem

GivingTuesday is a global celebration of generosity, and adopting data-informed donor engagement strategies will help you unlock its full potential. Sure, there may be some criticisms about the volume of emails and the difficulty of small nonprofits to stand out on GivingTuesday. But the data actually paints a much different picture. Beyond dollars raised, GivingTuesday is an opportunity to celebrate diverse expressions of generosity every day of the year.

Nonprofits that succeed on GivingTuesday are those that align their strategies with their supporters’ values to create relevant, emotionally resonant experiences. By paying attention to key metrics such as donation trends, email performance, and geographic engagement and using that data to inform their campaigns, nonprofit organizations can optimize GivingTuesday and build meaningful supporter relationships all year.

Generosity thrives when nonprofits use data as a compass to guide their efforts. GivingTuesday is not just a moment for fundraising. It’s an opportunity to strengthen connections, celebrate shared values, and lay the foundation for long-term impact.

You can create experiences that inspire trust, foster community, and drive sustained growth by treating this day as a critical part of the larger generosity ecosystem.

Neon One Generosity Awards

To keep with the theme of celebrating generosity, we used GivingTuesday to celebrate some Neon One users who do an outstanding job of fostering generosity in their own communities. We are so proud of the work of all Neon One clients, so choosing only five nonprofits to celebrate through a special awards ceremony on GivingTuesday 2024 was tough.

The Neon One Generosity Awards align with our company’s values, and we used a special set of metrics to identify nonprofits that are doing really remarkable work beyond simple monetary contributions. Here are this year’s winners and their stories.

Make Good Happen: Recognizes organizations maximizing Neon One’s tools, from workflows to financial integrations.

Winner: Institute for Public Relations