Why You Should Promote Monthly Giving on GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday is more than a day to raise a bunch of money—although that can certainly happen. It’s really a day to engage your community, celebrate generosity, and connect with new and existing supporters alike.

That’s why promoting monthly giving on GivingTuesday is such a good idea.

Whether you have a zillion monthly donors or haven’t even thought about making it an option, GivingTuesday is an ideal opportunity to invite your supporters to support you this way.

You don’t have to take our word for it! Here’s what our data has to say about how people approach monthly giving on GivingTuesday and what you can do about it.

Will People Make Monthly Gifts on GivingTuesday?

Yes. In The Recurring Giving Report: Data-Backed Insights for Sustainable Generosity, we found that GivingTuesday is a great day to talk about your monthly giving program. 

GivingTuesday always falls in late November or early December. Monthly gifts initiated on that day account for around 12% of all monthly gifts initiated during the month in which GivingTuesday falls. That’s an even more significant figure when you remember that December and November are two of the three most popular months for setting up this kind of donation.

Promoting Monthly Giving on GivingTuesday Engages New and Returning Donors Alike

If you’re focusing on building and engaging your community this GivingTuesday, inviting people to set up monthly gifts will help you achieve that goal.

We looked at the performance of 1,854 nonprofits who processed monthly gifts on GivingTuesday in both 2022 and 2023. Check out these numbers:

• In 2022, 409 people set up monthly gifts to this group of nonprofits. 305 of them were returning donors; 104 of them were brand-new supporters.
• In 2023, the number of people making monthly gifts on GivingTuesday surged to 549. 384 were returning donors, and 165 were new ones.

There are a few things to take away from these statistics.

The first is that, yes, people are willing to make monthly giving part of their GivingTuesday plans. The second is that promoting your monthly giving program is a fantastic way to engage existing supporters. And the third is that there might be people who have never donated to you before who are willing to make a monthly gift.

Promoting Monthly Giving on GivingTuesday Won’t Hurt Your End-of-Year Fundraising

This concern—that asking for monthly gifts on GivingTuesday will discourage donors from giving to an end-of-year campaign—is a common one. But it’s not necessary.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: The people who choose to support you with monthly gifts are your biggest and most invested supporters. If you intentionally build relationships with them and make them feel like they’re part of a community who are doing important work, they’ll come through for you.

Look at what the data tell us:

• In 2022, 282 donors (68.95%) who initiated recurring gifts on GivingTuesday made another gift to the same organization by the end of the year.
• In 2023, 441 donors (80.33%) did the same.

When you promote monthly giving on GivingTuesday, the people who choose to make that kind of gift are telling you that they’re invested in your work. Spend some time cultivating those donors. Say “thank you.” Call out and celebrate their generosity. Tell them their impact. When the end of the year rolls around, make a case for why they should make an additional gift.

You may be amazed at the response.

Monthly Donors Stay Engaged After GivingTuesday

Running an effective GivingTuesday campaign—or any effective campaign, really—takes work and planning. When you retain the donors you acquire on that day, you can make sure you get the most of the time, energy, and resources you’ve invested.

We know from past research that monthly donors have much higher donor retention rates (and much longer donor lifetimes!) than one-time donors.

But is that true for people who make monthly gifts on GivingTuesday?

Yes! 

When we looked at donor retention rates in 2024, we found that 68.95% of donors who initiated monthly gifts on GivingTuesday in 2022 were still active—their monthly gifts were still ongoing almost two years later. For monthly donors from GivingTuesday 2023, that percentage is 73.22%.

These aren’t flash-in-the-pan supporters—they stay engaged for a long time! Promoting monthly giving on GivingTuesday is a really valuable way to build a base of steady, reliable revenue from highly engaged donors.

Resources for Making the Most of Monthly Giving on GivingTuesday

Together, all of these data points tell a story. People in your community, whether they’ve donated to you before or are brand new to your organization, are ready and willing to make monthly gifts on GivingTuesday. When they do, they’re very likely to support you for a long time—they’re even likely to give again before the end of the year!

But what do you actually do with this information? How do you get people excited about monthly giving on GivingTuesday? And how can you turn that excitement into actual gifts?

Here are some links and resources that will help.

Understanding Monthly Giving Programs

Recurring Donations 101: A Guide for Nonprofits: Not familiar with monthly giving? That’s okay! Here’s an intro to the topic.

How to Set Up a Monthly Giving Program: This article will walk you through the key parts of creating a monthly giving program, starting with finding a provider and ending with ideas for donor appreciation.

10 Tips for Monthly Giving Program Success: Monthly giving programs take a little work, but that work can have amazing outcomes. Here are some pointers for getting the best results.

Running a Monthly Giving Program

How to Choose a Monthly Giving Program Name (+ 4 Examples): People love being a part of a community, and choosing a cool name for your monthly giving program is a great way to get people excited about getting involved.

How to Craft the Perfect Recurring Donation Message (+ 7 Examples): Writing an appeal from scratch can be scary. Here are some tips for creating a great appeal, plus examples to get you started.

Recurring Giving Masterclass: How TSSUS Grew Its Recurring Donors From 11 to 500+: Need a little more inspiration? This masterclass from The Turner Syndrome Society of the United States is full of examples, tips, and ideas that will get you excited about promoting monthly giving on GivingTuesday.

Use These Resources to Promote Monthly Giving on GivingTuesday