Giving Tuesday 2022 in review: Another record-breaking year

Please note that this blog post was originally published in November 2022 and may contain outdated information. Visit our Giving Tuesday hub to learn more about Givebutter Gives Back and see the latest Giving Tuesday resources from Givebutter.

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Here at Givebutter, Giving Tuesday creates a buzz that we can only assume parallels what the staff of E! must feel during the Oscars red carpet. But instead of gushing over Hollywood stars’ getups, we get to celebrate the thousands of changemakers who use the Givebutter platform to raise money for good causes. 🤩 

We’ve been counting down the days to this global celebration of generosity, and we must say, 2022 was one of the most memorable Giving Tuesdays yet.

The numbers

This year, the Givebutter community broke Giving Tuesday records across the board. Organizations of all sizes submitted more than 800 campaigns to be considered for our $50K Givebutter Gives Back initiative, where we donated $5K to eight of the Most Creative Campaigns and $500 to the 20 of the Most Active Campaigns.

But it was the number of campaigns, individual supporters, and final amount raised that really had our jaws dropping. We saw $4.85M raised across the platform for 3.8K awesome campaigns thanks to the generosity of 29.6K supporters. 💛

Plus, our unflappable Support Team was standing by with extended hours on Giving Tuesday to lend a hand to anyone who had questions. We’re extremely proud of these wonderful butter slices—so we’re going to brag a little about their stats, too!

When it comes to how amazing our Support Team is, these numbers can definitely speak for themselves. But, you don’t have to just take our word for it! Here are some of the responses users gave to our Support Team on Giving Tuesday that made us absolutely melt: 

“Quick responses and fast processing even on Giving Tuesday. What a team they must be!”

“Super attentive even on probably the busiest day of the year!”

“Thank you sooo much for answering my question after hours! You guys are awesome!!!”

“All of the help I have received from Givebutter—both chat and phone—has been great. I could not have done it without them.”

‍“Absolutely excellent. I felt like I talked with a person who cared.”

The changemakers that inspired us 

There’s nothing we love more than celebrating changemakers who are working hard to make the world a better place.

This Giving Tuesday, Givebutter got to #spreadthebutter to 28 different organizations who totally crushed it, whether they rallied the most supporters or put a creative spin on their campaign and made the most of the platform’s wide range of fundraising features. 

Most Creative Campaigns 

We were blown away by the ingenuity of the eight organizations selected for the Most Creative Campaigns, both in how they told the story of their impact as well as the channels they used to spread the word.

We were honored to make a donation of $5K to each of these nonprofits and lift up their critical work on our social media channels. Way to go, changemakers! 💪

• 👁️ Hope Booth hosted a 12-hour telethon on Givebutter alongside a team fundraising campaign and social media posts that featured photos, videos, and graphics to showcase the impact of their interactive “Hope Booths,” which are refurbished telephone booth exhibits that enable participants “to be seen, experience hope, find help, and walk in freedom.” Hope-A-Thon 2022 is well on its way to reaching its $50K goal to create permanent homes for these connection-making installations worldwide.  
• 🌈 For their Giving Tuesday campaign, Arts for Life created an interactive digital community mural, encouraging community members to submit their own works of art and share screenshots on the supporter feed and on social media. Fill The World with Arts For Life has raised nearly all of the $10K it needs to bring more arts engagement programs into pediatric hospitals across North Carolina. 
  

• 🍲 A mission of Carlisa, Inc., Drexell and Honeybees Donations-Only Restaurant customized their donation form to show supporters exactly what impact their financial contribution will have. They also actively thanked donors and fostered lots of engagement in their supporter feed. With photos and videos shared through their fundraising page, email, and social media, this inspiring volunteer-run restaurant in Brewton, AL—which does not charge its customers—is more than halfway to its $10K goal to #FeedTheNeed and keep bringing dignity and joy to their community.
  

• 🎨 To expand their mission of strengthening communities in Massachusetts through design, Beyond Walls showcased photos and videos of their incredible murals and community arts projects through their fundraising page, supporter feed, social media channels, and email. Beyond Walls End-Of-Year Giving Campaign is off to a strong start toward its $100K goal!
  

• 🇵🇷 Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción (Puerto Rican Minds in Action) sold tickets to their in-person wine and cheese event alongside a team fundraising campaign to launch #EnAcción, a new civic action program to develop young leaders working for social change in Puerto Rico. Posicionando el Cambio (Positioning the Change) is more than halfway to its $20K goal to lift up a new generation of conscious, sensitive, and effective changemakers. 
  

• 🧈 The Hope for PDCD Foundation launched the #EatButterGiveButter Challenge to raise funds for scientific research to battle PDCD—a fatal, progressive disease in children for which a high fat, low protein, and low carb diet is currently the only treatment (hence the butter!). The Eat Butter. Save Lives. campaign has already raised nearly 20% of its $500K goal, but we have a feeling this clever social media campaign will keep on growing. 
  

• 🚴 To bring in more recurring donations, Cycles of Change organized a sustaining member drive to expand bike access for East Oakland, CA and beyond. The Recommit to Community in 2023 with Cycles of Change campaign is raising thousands to empower youth and communities of color through powerful videos and photos, some pretty awesome swag incentives, and ticket sales to a community bike ride.
• 🏆 We didn’t know there was a Taylor-Swift-themed-Giving-Tuesday-campaign-shaped hole in our hearts, but thanks to an incredible women’s coworking and childcare space in San Diego, The Well Community for Women, we are now complete. Giving 22sday has raised almost 50% of its $22K goal through its hilarious peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, which The Well kicked off with an epic Swiftie karaoke party (livestreamed to their Givebutter page!).

Givebutter announced the eight Most Creative Campaigns during our live Giving Tuesday Celebration, and each donation recipient was able to join for a brief conversation with Floyd about their work and impact in their community. 

Hit play and watch the entire livestream recording to see what you missed or simply relive the magic. Just make sure to grab a box of tissues—it’s a real tear-jerker! 

Most Active Campaigns 

These 20 nonprofits hustled to bring in the most individual donations (not necessarily the most $) in a four-hour window on Giving Tuesday, and we got to announce the Most Active Campaign recipients in four rounds throughout the day.

Each organization got a $500 donation from Givebutter and a spotlight on social media. Check them out! 

Round 1: 6 am to 10 am (Eastern)

• ✈️ Wings of Rescue 
• 🍎 Wayne Township Education Foundation
• 💜 Blankets of Hope, Inc.
• 🐶 Bow Wow Buddies Foundation
• 🙏 Guruji Sangat Foundation

Round 2: 10 am to 2 pm

• 🔴 Girls Helping Girls. Period.
• 📚 Liberty Education Foundation 
• 💛 The Change Reaction
• 🙆 Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges
• ⚽ Phoenix Rising FC Youth Soccer

Round 3: 2 pm to 6 pm

• 🐱 Animal Rescue League of Boston
• 🐕 Animal Protective Association of Missouri (APA)
• 🇮🇱 Emunah of America
• ✊ Solidarity Sandy Springs Inc.
• 🐈 Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh

Round 4: 6 pm to 10 pm 

• 🏘️ Frosted Faces Foundation
• 🐈‍⬛ SNARR Northeast
• ⚙️ SparkShop
• 💡 King County Library System Foundation
• 😃 Simple Gifts Project* 

*Selected in partnership with Sabrina Walker Hernandez

The work doesn’t end here

We’re still buzzing from our celebration of generosity, but for all the organizations out there pounding the pavement (or virtual pavement), we know the work is just beginning!

From thanking new donors in a meaningful way to keeping the momentum of year-end giving campaigns going, we’re here to help you keep that cycle of donor engagement moving. 

You’re invited to a free fireside chat with the Givebutter Fam on December 7 at 2 pm EST. We’ll be donning ugly holiday sweaters, providing moral support, and sharing our top tips for how to automate your fundraising through the end of the year—so you can actually log off during the holidays for a well-deserved break! 💛

Your fundraising community for Giving Tuesday and beyond 

As we reflect on what an inspiring #GivingTuesday it was and our hopes for the future, it’s also critical to think about how big giving days—and really the entire system around nonprofit fundraising—can mirror and even reinforce inequality. We all have a part to play in creating a more level and equitable playing field—not just on Giving Tuesday, but all year long. 

Givebutter is proud to be a hub for nonprofits big and small as they raise the funds necessary to power their missions and make the world a butter place. Whether you’re thinking about next Giving Tuesday or a fundraising drive coming around the corner, we’ve got a vast library of free tools and resources to help you reach your goals without breaking the bank.

But it’s our community of changemakers that really makes Givebutter so special. Thank you for helping us unleash generosity this Giving Tuesday. See you next year!