From Lagging to Leading: What We Learned from Giving Tuesday 2025
In the weeks leading up to Giving Tuesday, something felt off. The early signals were unmistakable. Pre-Giving Tuesday — or “Early Access” — matching gift challenge emails landed with a thud as they tried to break through crowded inboxes, and paid media click-throughs and conversions were soft across nearly every sector. Content that normally sparks engagement felt strangely quiet.
Some of this was structural — a year of economic anxiety, rising costs, furloughs, and donor fatigue. But some of it was simply the reality that donors were acting only when they feel the moment truly matters.
That moment didn’t arrive during pre-Giving Tuesday campaigns as we have seen in years past. It arrived on Giving Tuesday itself.
When the sun came up on Giving Tuesday, everything changed — but not for everyone in the same way. For some nonprofits, it was electric.
By mid-morning, conversions rolled in at a pace not witnessed all month. Donors responded quickly to urgency, matches, and real-time need. While average gifts were lower — a trend we’ve been watching steadily — the sheer number of donors made up the difference. Some organizations ended the day stunned at how strong the results were after such a sluggish start.
One of our nonprofit partners saw overall revenue increase by more than 125%—driven by several strategic shifts that strengthened both timing and targeting:
Moving the Save the Date closer to Giving Tuesday, sending it one week out instead of two, which created tighter urgency and stronger momentum heading into the day.
Consistent use of the 3X match throughout the entire campaign; and
Revamped audience segmentation to ensure the right donors were receiving the right messages at the right time.
But the most consequential change was optimizing send times. After analyzing send times for this organization across the year, the team adopted best-practice deployment windows on Giving Tuesday. These optimizations — especially the disciplined approach to timing — worked together to drive stronger engagement and ultimately helped more than double revenue year over year.
For others, the energy never fully materialized in email.
The opens were there. The interest was there. But the conversion button? It just didn’t get the workout it needed.
It wasn’t for lack of quality or effort. The messaging was sound. The timing was strategic. The segmentation was right. But the email audience — fatigued, cautious, or simply distracted — didn’t show up in the way we’ve seen in past years.
Yet oddly, that didn’t mean the day was lost as paid media stepped in to deliver. One of the clearest storylines this year was how much paid media quietly carried the day for organizations whose email results lagged — echoing the same trend we saw in 2024.
Just like last year, video remained a standout format. Video ads again led META performance, driving strong engagement that translated directly into donations. Warm retargeting audiences performed reliably, pulling in cost-efficient gifts even when email slowed. And this year, just like last year, META bounced back from earlier dips in ROAS.
Meanwhile, SEM continued to anchor high-intent giving. Google Ads (particularly Performance Max) delivered better-than-expected CPAs and steady returns. Microsoft Ads once again outperformed Google in ROAS, demonstrating its unique and still-underutilized donor audience.
All in all, while inbox performance may fluctuated, multi-channel pathways ensured donors still found their way to the donate button.
What Giving Tuesday 2025 Really Told Us
If you zoom out, Giving Tuesday 2025 wasn’t about one big win or loss. It wasn’t even about revenue alone. It was about behavior — and how quickly donor behavior can shift beneath our feet.
This year showed us that:
Donors are waiting for the moment, not every moment.
Confirmed the inbox is no longer the single strongest driver — it’s part of an ecosystem.
Video and SEM continue to be heavy hitters across paid media.
Lower average gifts don’t signal disengagement — they reflect a new giving norm.
Momentum can look flat … right up until it isn’t.
Giving Tuesday 2025 came with an important reminder: even the strongest playbook needs room to bend. A slow warm-up doesn’t dictate the final outcome, just as a strong finish doesn’t erase the deeper shifts happening in donor behavior. This year’s top performers weren’t simply the ones who executed flawlessly — they were the ones agile enough to meet donors wherever they decided to engage.
If you’re looking for partners to help ensure success across all channels — including your digital fundraising program during critical times in the year — reach out to us here!