Partner Spotlight: FrontStream’s Guide to a Stronger Giving Tuesday
United Way NEXT is proud to partner with organizations that share our commitment to strengthening the nonprofit community and the greater United Way network!
Today we’re featuring an article from our Event Programming Sponsor, FrontStream, highlighting 5 tips from their Giving Tuesday Playbook. Paired with their recent webinar Giving Tuesday Made Simple, we hope these insights help you prepare for one of the biggest giving days of the year. As a bonus, FrontStream is offering nonprofits the opportunity to request a free Giving Tuesday campaign page to make getting started even easier!
In 2024, Giving Tuesday supporters in the U.S. donated $3.6 billion in a single day, a 16% jump over the previous year. The awareness is there. And the opportunity is huge. But so is the competition.
We asked Heidi McMahon, FrontStream’s Director of Account Management and Professional Services, to share her Giving Tuesday playbook honed over 13 years advising thousands of nonprofits. Here are her Giving Tuesday campaign tips – all designed to cut down on admin work and focus on donors.
1. Follow the Three S’s of Giving Tuesday
Heidi’s core advice? Simple. Story. Supporters.
Keep it simple.
Start with the basics: a clean donation page, a compelling email, and text messages if you can. Instead of building complicated campaign tactics, spend the vast majority of your time communicating with your supporters.
Tell your story.
The format of your Giving Tuesday campaign matters less than the “why.” Instead of calling it “Our Giving Tuesday Campaign,” connect it to the tangible impact of the gift:
For example, “Fuel 1,000 School Breakfasts” is more motivating than a generic name.
Highlight the urgency — after all, this is a "one-day" campaign! (More on that below.)
And explain exactly how gifts will be used, such as “$25 provides 12 fruit bowls”.
Mobilize your supporters.
Remember, people give to people. Ask board members, top volunteers, and passionate donors to personally invite new supporters to your cause. Even a short Zoom briefing with your board can spark personal outreach that drives donations.
2. Get Creative With Your Campaign Format
A Giving Tuesday fundraiser doesn’t have to be “just” a donation page. Heidi has seen innovative ideas like:
Peer-to-Peer Challenges: One university rallied its athletic teams to compete for donations, raising $150,000 in its first year.
Auctions & Raffles: Offer game tickets, VIP experiences, or “intangibles” like a day of service.
Volunteer or In-Kind Drives: Use the day to collect food, supplies, or volunteer commitments.
Pay-It-Forward Campaigns: Encourage each donor to invite five friends to give.
Virtual Games & Livestreams: Host a bingo night, fitness challenge, or live auction to engage donors in real time.
The key is to pick a concept that fits your mission — and then keep the mechanics easy.
3. Optimize Your Donation Page for Conversions
Once you’ve captured attention, make giving frictionless:
Use suggested giving amounts with impact descriptions (“$50 provides a week of after-school snacks”).
Enable Apple Pay or Google Pay for one-click mobile giving.
Keep required fields to a minimum — every extra question lowers conversion rates.
Choose a high-contrast donate button color to catch the eye.
Always include a heartfelt thank-you page and email follow-up, ideally with an impact story or video.
4. Move Up Your Marketing Calendar
Don’t wait until Giving Tuesday morning to start the campaign. Instead, plan a full week of communications across social, email, and text:
Monday/Tuesday of Thanksgiving week: Launch your donation page, announce the campaign, and share your goals.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday: Nudge supporters to balance shopping with giving.
Giving Tuesday: Send at least two emails (morning launch + evening progress update), plus live social updates and donation thermometer posts.
The Wednesday after: Share final results and invite “top-up” gifts from those who missed the big day.
If you have texting capabilities, many younger donors prefer a quick text to an email. It's also a great way to send fundraising progress updates and impact stories, so you're not just constantly appealing for donations.
5. Show Impact and Gratitude
Urgency drives action, but gratitude keeps donors coming back. Share updates during the day, celebrate milestones on social media, and send follow-up emails and texts with photos or videos of the impact their gifts will create.
Frontstream’s fundraising tools—donation forms, peer-to-peer pages, auctions, and text-to-give—are built to help nonprofits launch quickly and raise more. Get started by taking a tour >
If you haven't already, we highly recommend downloading the Giving Tuesday Resource Bundle, watching the Giving Tuesday Prep Session, and requesting your free Giving Tuesday campaign page today!
Not only is FrontStream an incredible partner, but an incredible resource too! If you have any questions about how FrontStream can benefit UW NEXT members, please check out our Sponsors page. And if your organization is interested in partnering with United Way NEXT, we'd love to hear from you too!