The numbers are in: #GivingTuesday fundraising trends revealed
5-7 minute read
Key takeaways:
Larger average gifts (+16%) offset a drop in total gifts (-7%), driving an overall 15% revenue increase.
Organic web was the top-performing channel, with revenue up 18% and giving levels up 17% YoY.
Email saw mixed results: Total revenue dropped 22% and clickthrough rates fell 36%, but conversion rates among those who clicked rose 19%.
Paid search investment surged (+85%), but rising costs (+102% CPC) limited ROI; Meta ad spend and returns also declined.
What the 2024 #GivingTuesday data reveals about donor behavior
Happy day after #GivingTuesday! Or, as the rest of the world calls it—just another Wednesday.
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In this post, we’ll unpack several key #GivingTuesday trends and takeaways based on cross-channel fundraising data from over a dozen nonprofit organizations spanning a variety of verticals, including health, environmental, rights, and international aid. Our aim is to give you a clear picture of how #GivingTuesday 2024 unfolded for the sector—and what it might signal for year-end performance.
While these insights reflect aggregated results across the nonprofit landscape, it’s important to note they’re not designed to represent the performance of specific verticals or individual organizations. Instead, consider them as a guide to the broader trends shaping our shared work.
Larger gifts! But, fewer of them. Once again, this year we saw an average YoY decrease in total gifts made to organizations on #GivingTuesday (-7%), but an increase in average gift (+16%). This resulted in total #GivingTuesday revenue increasing by an average of 15%.
Organic web FTW! Revenue received from organic web sources was the star of this year’s #GivingTuesday for many organizations. With an average increase in both revenue (+18%) and total giving levels (+17%), organic web helped to make up some of the revenue shortfall seen across other channels.
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Paid search investment was up big time. On average, organizations spent 85% more on Google and Microsoft search ads; however, this resulted in only a small average increase in revenue of 3% YoY due to ever-increasing costs. In fact, average CPCs went up 102% this #GivingTuesday!
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Strategies for end-of-year and beyond
Amplify high-performing channels.Highlight the channels that drove the most revenue or offered the best ROI. If possible, shift planned investments from lower-performing channels to higher performers.
Address underperforming areas.Identify any channels or strategies that didn’t perform as expected and suggest adjustments to your team. Use data on average gift, specific audience response rates, and tactic performance to guide end-of-year messaging. If your program struggled to hit email revenue goals, consider a larger investment in email acquisition and lead generation for 2025 to rebuild your file with new donors.
Optimize based on engagement metrics.Highlight email or ad engagement trends in your organization’s program to fine-tune end-of-year strategies. Lean into ad and email creative that promotes immediate action. When possible, tie messaging back to the urgency of end-of-year fundraising to inspire gifts.
Prepare for end-of-year giving peaks. If your email sends were delayed this #GivingTuesday due to high volume on eCRM servers (cough, Luminate), consider scheduling emails to send earlier or using static lists so that the sends can process faster.
Whether this #GivingTuesday was a record-breaking day for your organization or presented new challenges, we hope these insights can help you make the most of your upcoming end-of-year fundraising efforts.
Now it’s your turn. What trends did you see on #GivingTuesday? We’d love to hear how your campaigns performed and explore ways we can help you achieve your goals for next year. Send us a note and let’s keep the momentum going.
*Note: Where possible, median rather than mean average was used in calculating percentage trends to avoid outliers artificially inflating or deflating metrics.
Insights
Insight
5 key SEO content optimization strategies for nonprofits
If you are in the fundraising space, you’ve likely been catching your breath after the incredible effort you put into making #GivingTuesday a success for your organization. At Interactive Strategies, we have been diving deep into the data. This year’s results reveal important GivingTuesday fundraising trends that shed light on the current state of nonprofit giving—especially amidst a challenging landscape where charitable donations have declined for the past two years. For many organizations, #GivingTuesday remains critical to meeting budget projections and sustaining momentum toward growth goals.
Email competition is rising. This year, email seemed to struggle under the weight of ever-increasing competition. Among the organizations we surveyed, email revenue was down 22% and donations made via email were down 24%. Though it was a mixed bag, with a few organizations seeing record growth in email this year, on average we saw a trend of organizations sending more emails with fewer dollars to show for it. We wouldn’t be surprised if many supporters are a bit fatigued after the glut of election-related fundraising emails over the past few months.
Email conversion rates up; click-throughs down. Email conversion rates paint an even more interesting story this year: While giving levels were down, conversion rates were up 19%. This statistic is a bit misleading on its face, however. The conversion rate increase was a side effect of a 36% decline in clickthrough rate. A lower percentage of recipients clicking through to the donation form was offset by a stronger intent to complete their donation by those who did click.
Less reliance on Meta.Given the continued shifts in the digital advertising landscape, it’s no surprise that organizations are becoming less reliant on Meta for their fundraising programs. This year, organizations spent an average of 32% less on Meta advertising compared to last #GivingTuesday. Performance was also down, with an average decrease in return on ad spend (ROAS) of 19%. However, similar to email, conversion rates were up, which may demonstrate a trend in overall donor intent.
