Giving Tuesday Campaign Timeline

Five months to go

• Set a goal. Would you like to recruit more volunteers? Raise awareness of your cause? Thank your supporters? Raise more money for a campaign? Whatever your initiative, set a goal and give your staff and supporters something to aim for. 
  
  For some inspiration, take a look at how charities got involved in last year's campaign.


• Think about a match. If you are organising a fundraising campaign, talk to individual or corporate donors about providing a match or challenge grant to build extra excitement on Giving Tuesday.

Four months to go

• Confirm your campaign plan and goal. Map out a team timeline and share internally with your staff.


• Create a campaign page on your website. Use the page to announce your campaign and share updates. Set up an online donation form specifically for your campaign and add it to the page. Find out how you can do this using our fundraising tool, CAF Donate.


• Map out your content calendar. When will you announce your campaign? When will you email your supporters? What will your social media look like? Put all of this into a google doc or calendar to get a clear idea of what the next three months will look like. For more guidance, watch our webinar on creating a content calendar.


• Think about your evaluation strategy. How will you track and measure your campaign goal? What would you like to learn about from your Giving Tuesday campaign? Find a team member to oversee this evaluation.

three months to go

• Announce. Share your plan and goal in a press release or with a staff or supporters launch party, and start spreading the word about your plans for Giving Tuesday on social media. It’s best to announce early to get your supporters prepared and excited.


• Share your story. Write a blog post about your campaign and share it on your campaign webpage.


• Send a save the date. Schedule some regular social media messages and send a newsletter or e-blast to make sure your supporters have Tuesday 3 December marked on their calendar.

two months to go

• Turn up the dial. Start scheduling regular (2-3 times a week or more) social media messages to talk about your campaign.


• Pitch to your local press. Write a press release to share your campaign plans with local media. We see a lot of coverage for Giving Tuesday — don’t wait to pitch your story to TV, radio, and local newspapers.

ONE MONTH TO GO

• Go big on social media! There’s less than a month to go — tweet, post, snap, share and do whatever you can to get your campaign out there. Remember to use the hashtag #GivingTuesday in your messages so we can retweet and share your plans.
  
  For more inspiration watch our webinar on how charities can make the most of Instagram.
  
  

• Send a '1 Month to Go' email, newsletter and social media messages to make sure your board, staff, and supporters know that we are in the final countdown for Giving Tuesday!
  
  

• Continue pitching the press. Share your story to get your team and supporters excited. Email reminders to your staff and supporters leading up to Giving Tuesday. Make sure they are ready to give on the big day!

3 December – Giving Tuesday is here!

• Remember to update your supporters about your campaign throughout the day. Share where you are against your goal and use the buzz and momentum from the day to build excitement for your campaign.
  
  
• Wednesday 4 December — send out thank you messages in emails and on social media. Share any initial results.

• Report results from your campaign. Email the Giving Tuesday team at info@givingtuesday.org.uk any interesting findings, high-resolution photos, or announcements we can share.


• Say thank you to your staff, donors, volunteers, partners, faculty and supporters.


• Continue to use the momentum from Giving Tuesday to boost your Christmas fundraising campaigns.