Giving Tuesday 2025: What to watch

Giving Tuesday lands one week from today, and the stakes feel higher than usual.

We saw record-setting results in 2024, but this year’s annual day of giving arrives amid economic anxiety and stronger enforcement of bulk-sender requirements that could affect many campaigns.

Industry benchmarks tell a consistent story: fewer people are giving, but the ones who do are giving more — and they’re more likely to be mid-level, monthly, or DAF donors than they were a few years ago.

So what does that mix of optimism and constraint look like on December 2?

Here’s what we’re watching for on the big day:

1. Dollars up, donors flat (again)
The safest prediction: revenue climbs, donor counts don’t.

Your core supporters will probably show up, maybe even a little stronger than last year, while non-donors sit on the sidelines unless you give them a compelling reason to jump in.

What to watch: average gift size, mid-level and major gifts, and whether last year’s Giving Tuesday donors show up again. 

The real story won’t be how many people gave once — it’ll be who you can move into a longer relationship.

2. Email deliverability becomes the twist ending
This month, Google began ramping up enforcement of its bulk-sender requirements — including strong authentication for sending domains, one-click unsubscribes, and low spam rates.

Expect to see a clear split in results between compliant senders doing everything right and those who let deliverability standards fall by the wayside … along with their emails (and revenue goals) dying a slow death in the spam folder.

What to watch: List hygiene, smart segmentation, and inbox reputation may matter more than a subject line.

3. Giving Tuesday keeps sprawling into Giving Week(s)
We’re well past “just one day.” You can already see Giving Tuesday messaging creeping earlier (and later) each year: early match offers, “mark your calendar” nudges, soft launches that start in mid-November, or “match extensions.”

With GT falling on December 2, expect it to function as the emotional peak of a multi-week campaign arc, not a standalone event. 

What to watch: How much GT revenue lands before Tuesday, how many gifts roll in on Wednesday and beyond, and whether “extended” messaging boosts overall December results or just leads to fatigue.

4. Monthly giving and DAFs quietly win the day
As one-time giving flattens, industry benchmarks continue to point to monthly giving and donor-advised funds as the growth engines.

That makes Giving Tuesday a perfect testing ground for:

What to watch: how many GT donors start or upgrade a monthly gift, how much revenue comes in via DAFs, and whether those recurring/DAF donors stick around and outperform your one-time GT donors over the next 6–12 months.

5. The real GT metric: discovery and loyalty
There’s a strong case that Giving Tuesday is as much about discovery as it is about day-of revenue. 

Donors are sometimes searching to support causes they’ve never supported before.

The highest-ROI teams will treat GT as a loyalty and discovery engine: tight welcome sequences for GT-acquired donors, distinct segmentation, and a clear plan to plug them into year-end and your 2026 calendar.

What to watch: how many first-time GT donors convert to a second gift, whether GT-acquired names are opening and clicking beyond your thank-you series, and if those “discovery day” supporters are still with you by the time you hit 2026.

The bottom line
If you’re only tracking how much you raise on December 2, you’re missing the plot. 

Plan for fewer donors but bigger gifts, treat deliverability as a core strategy choice, and consider Giving Tuesday as a discovery and upgrade moment that sets up stronger monthly, DAF, and loyal donor revenue well into 2026.

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

'Til next time!
Sara

P.S. Looking to add donors to your email list before year-end comes knocking? See how Civic Shout can help.