How do I plan a GivingTuesday campaign step by step?

Plan a GivingTuesday campaign in seven steps: goal, audience, one giving page, a timeline to 1 December 2026, emails, sharing and thanking donors.

Plan a GivingTuesday campaign by working backwards from the day itself, 1 December 2026: choose one goal, build one place to give, start warming people up four to six weeks ahead, be visible on the day and thank people quickly afterwards. Below is a step-by-step plan that a small charity with a few volunteers can manage.

Step 1: what do you want to achieve?

Pick one goal and one number. GivingTuesday itself lists possible aims: more total donations, more individual givers, a higher average gift, or changed giving behaviour. Choose one. An invented example: "150 new donors and 3,000 euros to cook a meal every week for a year". A goal you can explain in one sentence is a goal your supporters can pass on.

Step 2: who will you ask?

Make three lists: existing donors, people who follow you or read your newsletter, and people your supporters know. The first list gives fastest, the third grows most. Decide too who you will ask to be ambassadors: board members, volunteers, a local business owner.

Step 3: build one place to give

People drop out at the first detour. Make one page with your story, your goal and a form that is quick on a phone. With WeGlow.world you create a campaign page with a donation form where you set the amounts and a label per amount, for one-off and monthly gifts. The form asks for first name and email address. Glowie can draft a campaign for you; you review it and confirm before it goes live.

Step 4: plan backwards from 1 December

The official GivingTuesday guide suggests a timeline of steps in the weeks before the day. A version for a small organisation (our own layout):

Now, 8 weeks ahead: choose the goal, build the page, ask ambassadors, put the date in your supporters' calendars.
4 weeks ahead: share a first story, look for a possible match funder (see our article on matching gifts), contact local press.
2 weeks ahead: prepare posts, let supporters start their own fundraiser page, test everything on a phone.
1 week ahead: reminder email, countdown posts.
1 December: post, email, reply, show the running total.
2 to 7 December: thank people personally, share the result.

Step 5: let supporters work with you

Your own reach is small. On WeGlow supporters can start their own fundraiser page for your campaign and share it via Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or a copied link, among others. Give them ready-made text and a photo. One volunteer sharing their own page with forty friends often does more than ten posts from the organisation.

Step 6: email and social media on the day

The GivingTuesday guide names email as the channel with the highest conversion and suggests two to three emails on the day, and short visuals such as Stories and Reels over static graphics. Use that as a starting point and adapt it to your audience.

With WeGlow Mail you build an email from blocks, send a test to yourself first and schedule sending for a date and time you choose. In the "Check" step the system tests your sending settings beforehand. Mail is free up to 250 contacts; with the Pro platform plan (€40 per month or €400 per year, excl. VAT) mailing is included up to 2,500 contacts. Check current prices in your dashboard.

Step 7: thank and measure

WeGlow's thank-you email is sent automatically if your organisation has filled in a thank-you text, so do that in advance. Then send a second, more personal thank-you and show what the day achieved. Note what worked: which channels, which hour, which message. Make it a habit and each campaign gets easier than the last.

Checklist before you start

One goal, one number, one page.
Thank-you text filled in.
Permission for photos and names.
At least three ambassadors.
Posts and emails ready before 1 December.
Tested on a phone.

Common mistakes

Three things often go wrong. First, wanting too much at once, with five goals and three pages. Second, only starting to communicate on the day itself, when supporters need time to prepare. Third, going silent afterwards. If you thank people and show the result, you have less to explain next year.

Frequently asked questions

How much time do I need?

As a rule of thumb, a few hours a week during the last month, shared between two or three people.

Can I take part without a budget?

Yes. Most steps cost time, not money. A campaign page, a good story and keen supporters are the core.

Should I name a target amount?

It helps, because a visible running total motivates. Choose a goal you find achievable and explain what the amount makes possible.

Sources

GivingTuesday Toolkit for Nonprofits: timeline, email and social media tips.
How to Organize a Match for GivingTuesday: possible campaign goals.
GivingTuesday, About: date 1 December 2026.

All sources checked on 2 October 2026. Prices: check current prices in your WeGlow dashboard.