Early reports suggest Giving Tuesday 2025 got off to a solid start for many, and delivered a mixed bag for others.

The NonProfit Times’ early roundup noted that smaller donors are “stepping up with a few more dollars” while, as we predicted, overall donor counts are relatively flat.

In other words: the people who do show up are stretching, but there aren’t necessarily more of them.

Here’s what we know so far — and what emailers can learn from to take into the rest of year-end.

A peek into initial results
In 2024, GivingTuesday estimated that about $3.6 billion was raised in the United States on the day itself.

According to Giving Tuesday’s 2025 results, this year’s total climbed to $4.0 billion in the U.S. — a 13% increase over 2024 — with 19.1 million people making gifts, up 3% from last year. 

With many organizations still counting their final tallies and many of those same organizations extending campaigns through yesterday, I dug into The NonProfit Times’ reporting and also connected with other email practitioners for organization-level data:

  • American Heart Association: Midday results showed a 14% increase in total revenue, an 11% increase in the total number of gifts, and a 3% total increase in average gift size.

  • A national democracy nonprofit: By the end of the day, email revenue was up by nearly 30% in comparison to 2024. Total gifts decreased by 15%, and total average gift size increased by 5%. Gifts and revenue from SMS increased by 8% and 15% respectively.

  • GoFundMe: Historically, about a quarter of annual nonprofit giving on the platform happens between Giving Tuesday and December 31. This year, GoFundMe saw hourly giving volume exceed 2024 levels every single hour by midday.

  • A regional hunger nonprofit: The morning was painfully slow. But emails later in the day helped deliver an 15% increase in revenue over 2024, while gifts remained flat, up only 1% over last year. Notably, SMS revenue increased by 20%.

  • Neon One: Across Neon One users in the U.S. and Canada, the platform raised over $25 million from 50,169 donors — 13,807 of whom were first-time donors.

The power of a story: Email creative that popped
Plenty of emails had a lot to say about triple- or quadruple-matches, goals, and deadlines — but this year, we noticed more organizations taking a personal, storytelling-first approach.

Take this appeal from the Union of Concerned Scientists from a climate scientist and new mom, personalizing the importance of the organization’s work:

Or this appeal from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, appealing directly to their supporters with a recollection of an aha! moment that sparked a love of birdwatching:

Or this appeal from Environment America about the return of salmon to Tongass National Forest — and the imminent threat of the return to logging in Tongass and other national forests like it.

No doubt — donor-backed matches, goals, and deadlines deliver a sense of urgency for your donors and potential donors to give at a critical time. 

But in an increasingly crowded inbox, a personal appeal paired with tangible impact can really break through.

The bottom line
The early story from Giving Tuesday 2025 is encouraging: revenue is up across many organizations, especially among those that invested in storytelling, testing, and a truly multichannel approach.

But the structural picture hasn’t really changed. We’re still in a world of fewer donors and bigger gifts, which makes what you do after Giving Tuesday just as important as what you did that day. 

If this day was your test lab and launchpad, not a one-off holiday, you’re in a strong position: you’ve learned what resonates and you have just enough time left in the year to turn a good Giving Tuesday into a great December.

Industry events

Check our events list for more or reply to this email to submit one for consideration.

Quick hits

  • Adam Bonica, a Stanford professor who has researched Democrats' email spam problem, spoke with WNYC on the consequences of this strategy.

  • NextAfter compiled ten smart ideas for year-end email and donation form tests.

  • The National Audubon Society is hiring a Senior Manager of Brand Marketing to help plan and execute multichannel marketing campaigns, including email.

'Til next time!
Sara

P.S. How did Giving Tuesday go for you? We’d love to hear about your results. Reply to this email if you’d like to share.

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