Special Report
GivingTuesday x
Blackbaud Institute
GivingTuesday isn’t only a giving day—it’s your launchpad for lasting support. Are you making the most of it?
The Blackbaud Institute and GivingTuesday are combining our data expertise to help organizations drive long-lasting success on GivingTuesday. Read on for a detailed look at the power of GivingTuesday donors and the best strategies to secure their support.
Note: This report draws exclusively from the Blackbaud philanthropic dataset, unless otherwise noted.
Introduction
GivingTuesday is a global movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
With 16% of GivingTuesday donors using this global day of generosity to make their first gift to organizations, it presents not only a massive opportunity for donor engagement but cultivation as well.
As we’ll explore in this report, donors who give on GivingTuesday—including first-time givers—have a higher retention rate than those who give earlier in the year.
Looking ahead to GivingTuesday 2025 on December 2, what can we expect from donors on the day and year-round?
Investing in Individual Givers = Investing in Resiliency
According to a recent study of nonprofit and educational institutions, 65% of professionals plan to increase their focus on individual giving in 2026; part of a wider effort to diversify revenue streams and build resiliency (Blackbaud Institute, Risk Readiness: A Report on Leading with Confidence in Uncertain Times). Roughly 34% of all giving to organizations comes in the final three months of the year (Blackbaud Institute, 2024 Trends in Giving). Year-end fundraising is pivotal to setting up organizational budgets for the year ahead and GivingTuesday kicks off the spirit of generosity that defines the giving season.
Using data-backed strategies for stewarding GivingTuesday donors, you can leverage this movement into long-term, sustainable growth. Here’s how:
Who Gives on GivingTuesday—And What Can I Expect From Them Year-Round?
When analyzing the value of GivingTuesday donors, it’s a matter of quality over quantity. While only 2.4% of all donors in 2024 gave on GivingTuesday that year, their track record for retention sets them apart.
Donors contributing exclusively on GivingTuesday show a higher likelihood of donating again in the next calendar year compared to donors who give exclusively earlier in the year. The only segment with a marginally higher recurrence rate is those who only donate after GivingTuesday, during the year-end period. When we consider those who may give at multiple points before, during, and after GivingTuesday; those who give on GivingTuesday still show a higher retention rate than those who only give earlier in the year.
According to data from the Blackbaud Philanthropic dataset, the average rate of donors who gave a repeat gift in 2024 was 52%—GivingTuesday donors come in 10 points ahead at 65%! When we consider all donors who give on GivingTuesday—including those who give at other times throughout the year—their repeat gift rate has remained stable at 65% for the last five years.
These trends are remarkably steady, even when considering the increase in GivingTuesday donations in 2020 and 2021. This shows that while extenuating circumstances may convince a donor to give on GivingTuesday, once they make that gift, they are just as likely to stick around.
GivingTuesday individual giving patterns have been trending upward in the last five years:
TIP: BE STRATEGIC IN YOUR ASK AMOUNTS
As we see the mean and median gifts on GivingTuesday continue to rise, this is an opportunity to optimize your donation forms and ensure that you are customizing your ask amount for each of your donor segments.
Expert Insights with Woodrow Rosenbaum
Doing More with Less—With AI
By Woodrow Rosenbaum, Chief Data Officer, GivingTuesday
The phrase “in the current context” has become shorthand for the challenges nonprofits face today: budget constraints, staff turnover, and the persistent decline in donor participation. Yet within these constraints and amid the rapid emergence of AI technologies lies an unprecedented opportunity and inflection point for our sector. The question isn’t whether AI will transform nonprofit fundraising, but whether we’ll use it to amplify our existing limitations or break through them entirely.
Too many organizations are adopting AI to do mediocre things faster. This approach misses transformational potential of these tools. If we’re more efficient at engaging fewer donors with less personalized outreach, we’re optimizing for the wrong outcomes.
Consider what the data tells us about GivingTuesday donors: they have a 65% retention rate compared to 52% for all donors, yet we’re not meaningfully changing how we acquire new supporters year-round. The percentage of new donors who start as recurring givers has remained stuck at just below 2% for five years. These patterns point to opportunities where AI could help organizations engage supporters in entirely new ways.
The $52 Billion Opportunity
Our recent research at the GivingTuesday Data Commons identified three major opportunities where nonprofits could unlock an estimated $52B more in charitable giving each year. The potential includes deseasonalizing giving beyond year-end ($23B), growing recurring giving programs ($10B to $20B), and reaching people who aren’t currently being asked to give ($19B to $46B).
These opportunities exist because people are generous, but we haven’t created the right conditions for everyone to exercise their generous actions. In other sectors, people pay for monthly subscriptions without hesitation, engage with brands all year, and respond to personalized outreach. The nonprofit sector simply hasn’t had the tools to apply these same strategies effectively.
AI isn’t the only solution to this opportunity, but this is where AI’s true potential emerges. AI offers organizations the chance to inform our outreach in ways that weren’t feasible before. The technology can help identify giving patterns we’ve overlooked, craft messages that resonate with different donor segments, and create natural pathways to deeper engagement throughout the year.
Building on Strong Foundations
While we often hear concerns about AI perpetuating bias—which are valid given that these systems learn from existing data patterns and human behavior—this challenge also presents an opportunity. Current fundraising approaches have concentrated dollars into fewer hands, while leaving more people out of the nonprofit experience each year—even as the problems we’re trying to solve have only grown.
AI offers us the chance to reverse these trends, but only if we value different outcomes. The technology could enable organizations to engage authentically with diverse communities at scale, to offer multiple entry points for generosity, and to build genuine relationships with supporters who currently feel excluded from our work. Rather than replacing human connection, the technology can make more meaningful connections possible.
Looking Ahead
The path forward doesn’t require a complete organizational overhaul. Through GivingTuesday’s Generosity AI Working Group, we often hear nonprofits unsure of where to begin with AI adoption at their organization. Begin with AI tools that address real pain points. For example, informed by the generational data to follow in this report, you could test using AI to craft tailored messaging for each generational segment in your donor base, drawing on the specific behavioral insights about each. At GivingTuesday, we’re offering 12 weeks of resources and tips in the lead-up to December 2, including an AI Corner with prompts and resources for you to experiment with AI while you are building your GivingTuesday and giving-season campaigns.
As we get more comfortable using AI in our work, organizations are beginning to see it not as a threat to human connection, but as a tool to enable more meaningful relationships at scale. Rather than creating restrictive policies, the most successful organizations are fostering internal learning communities where staff can experiment responsibly and share discoveries in safe environments.
The AI models and technology show promise. The question is whether we’ll move fast enough to unlock these opportunities when our sector needs them most.
The choice isn’t between people and productivity—it’s between transformation and status quo. AI can help us build the sustainable, community-driven support models our missions require, but only if we’re willing to think beyond making our current approaches more efficient.
The technology is ready. The data shows the path forward. The question that remains is: are we ready to expand our imagination?
GivingTuesday Donors by Generation
Gen Z: 1997-2010
Gen Z’s giving potential is emerging as they enter the workforce. As of 2024 they represented less than 4% of all GivingTuesday donors—an opportunity for growth.
Target Your Ask Amount
In 2024, nearly 60% of all gifts from Gen Z on GivingTuesday were between $1—$50. Gen Z’s giving boosted from a median of $25 to $50 in 2020 and has remained stable since.
Cultivating Gen Z Donors
While Gen Z represents the smallest percentage of GivingTuesday donors, those organizations willing to put in the effort now will see lasting rewards. This generation is just emerging within the philanthropic sector, with 84% supporting causes in some way and 1/3 of Gen Z donors hoping to increase their giving (Blackbaud Institute, Gen Z at the Table).
Analysis from GivingTuesday’s GivingPulse research shows that the percentage of young people (age 18 to 24) who recently either used crowdfunding; advocated for a cause; or engaged in online activism was 1.8x that of older adults. Overall, 38% of those 18 to 24 appear to regularly engage on social matters facilitated by online networks and platforms, compared to 21% of older adults.
Additionally in 2024, instances of donating money to registered nonprofits increased among Gen Z and Gen X, while decreasing among Millennials and Baby Boomers. Informal volunteering declined from 2023. As was the case with Canada, the volunteer rate is highest among Gen Z and drops with each older generation (GivingTuesday, State of Generosity Report 2024).
Find ways to bring your GivingTuesday campaign into the flow of Gen Z’s daily lives through:
- Showing up where they are: the workplace. A majority say both workplace giving and workplace volunteering are important. Among Gen Z whose employers offer these programs, 89% and 92% take part, respectively.
- This also means showing up on social channels and creating entry points for seamless online giving experiences.
- Partnerships with local or digital retailers that share your ideals, providing check-out donation options or cause-related purchases.
- In person and virtual events: bring this generation together around your cause and build community.
Millennials: 1981-1996
Millennials make up close to 13% of all GivingTuesday donors, ranking in line with their life stage: below Gen Xers but above Gen Z.
Target Your Ask Amount
In 2024, 45% of all gifts from Millennials on GivingTuesday were between $1-$50, with 22% in the $51-$100 range.
Cultivating Millennial Donors
Millennials tend to give more conservatively on GivingTuesday; this offers the opportunity to “invite them in” with asks around $50. There is growth potential for this generation, whose overall giving has increased 22% since 2015 and whose year-round household giving surpasses Gen X (GivingUSA, Giving by Generation 2024).
Meet Millennials in their established giving patterns through:
- “Invitation” asks around $50: Meet them at their comfort zone while acknowledging their growing capacity (median gift up 20% since 2019).
- Professional networks: Target through LinkedIn, workplace giving programs, and industry associations where they’re established in their careers.
- Year-round relationship building: With 48% likely to give again and 18% being first-time donors, cultivation of Millennials beyond GivingTuesday is crucial. Create ongoing touchpoints through email updates and impact stories that extend beyond the single day.
- In person and virtual events: bring this generation together around your cause and build community.
Gen X: 1965-1980
Gen X, represents close to 22% of all GivingTuesday donors, second only to Baby Boomers.
$53 in 2019.
Target Your Ask Amount
Gen Xers are more likely than other generations to distribute their giving amounts into the higher tiers, with nearly 20% of gifts from this generation falling in the $100 to $250 range.
Tap Into Gen X Generosity
Gen X is unique in their likelihood to donate at higher amounts. When focusing on your existing Gen X donors on GivingTuesday, don’t be afraid to situate your ask amount at $100 to maximize giving potential.
For first-time Gen X donors, you can expect a gift amount closer to $50. For first-time donors of all generations this was the high end of the most common gift amount, with 53% of first-time donors to an organization on GivingTuesday giving between $1 and $50 in 2024.
Baby Boomers: 1946-1964
Baby Boomers are the most active of any generation on GivingTuesday, with 41% of all donors coming from this group.
Target Your Ask Amount
They are most likely to give a gift of $50 or under, with 41% of all gifts within this range. However, their likelihood of giving up to $250 is significant.
Cultivating Baby Boomer Donors
Baby Boomers should be a high priority in not only your day-of campaign but your follow-up communications, to make the most of their long-term giving potential. As the majority of your GivingTuesday donors will likely come from this group, it is worth considering a targeted campaign to secure their support.
GivingTuesday offers a unique opportunity to secure that first-time gift from Baby Boomers who may be aware of you, but are not yet in your database. Check out First Impressions: Spontaneous Giving Insights for more tips on securing donors making their first, unplanned gift to your organization.
Silent Generation: 1928-1945
This is a small demographic of GivingTuesday donors, representing less than 10% of the total.
Target Your Ask Amount
Close to half contributed between $1-$50 in 2024, with a five-year history of a median gift size of around $50.
All About the Follow-Through
While the first-time giving potential is low, their retention rate is the highest of any other generation. Your follow-up communications with this demographic are critical to continued, year-round support.
GivingTuesday can be seen as an opportunity to engage this group ahead of your year-end appeal—tailoring your ask amount to around $50 (excluding major donor prospects).
Actions to Take This GivingTuesday
- Take the time to segment your audience this GivingTuesday. Target your ask amounts and channels to get the most of each donor group.
- Stand out from the crowd by connecting your GivingTuesday campaign to a clear outcome—then keep your GivingTuesday donors updated on your progress. By illustrating the impact that they’ve had beyond GivingTuesday, you are more likely to secure their support year-round.
- Partner with workplace giving and volunteer programs to reach Gen Z and Millennial donors; both generations have potential for long-term growth. Meet them where they are to get ahead of the game.
- GivingTuesday is an opportunity to ask and ask again. GivingPulse data suggests that “donor fatigue” is a function of the quality of the message and engagement rather than a question of frequency.
- Foster relationships with young donors by creating opportunities that don’t feel financially overwhelming. Young adults are most likely to say they are “definitely” inspired by GivingTuesday. Younger supporters are crucial for long-term growth, as they become bigger donors later in life.
- Provide opportunities for donors to participate in different kinds of giving. People who are aware of GivingTuesday and make plans to participate are more likely to volunteer and give recurring donations.
Additional Resources
GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform communities and the world. Created in 2012, it has grown into a worldwide movement inspiring hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. Learn more at www.givingtuesday.org.
The Blackbaud Institute develops leading-edge research and convenes expert voices to equip the social impact community with knowledge, insight, and confidence. The Institute draws from Blackbaud’s data set—the most comprehensive in the social impact community—and facilitates original research studies to provide actionable insights that help organizations strengthen their operations and increase their impact. Visit our full research library.
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