Top tips for Giving Tuesday social media success (free template!)

Your social media followers can be a valuable source of donations and engagement—especially on Giving Tuesday. With more than 50% of followers actively showing their support, it’s the perfect opportunity to harness that attention and use it for good.

In this guide, we’ll share expert advice on how to get the most from your social media content this Giving Tuesday. Get our best ideas and tips for each platform, and download our free social media calendar for organized campaign planning.

Invite engagement with these Giving Tuesday post ideas

Giving Tuesday can be noisy, with plenty of nonprofits trying to catch their supporters’ attention and encourage donations. Not to mention, it’s the holiday season, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday are in full swing. Stand out and make it easy for your loyal followers and new supporters to connect with you using these Giving Tuesday ideas.

• Encourage supporters to share an unselfie 🤳 Taking a selfie is quick and easy, and a #unselfie is a fun take on this. Ask your supporters to make a sign saying how they’re giving back, snap a photo with it, share it on social media, and tag you in the post.
• Coordinate with Giving Tuesday partners 🕜 Team up with your Giving Tuesday collaborators to share content ideas, assets, resources, and timelines so you can work together to get more eyes on your campaign. 
• Update your website and social media profiles ✨ There will be an influx of people checking out your website and social media pages, so make sure they’re updated and easy to navigate. Add your Giving Tuesday campaign link to the bio or "About Me" section of all your social media channels. Also, embed a can't-miss donate button or other eye-catching widgets on your organization's website, so it's easy for followers to support your cause.
• Ask your community to elevate your campaign 📣 Equip your nonprofit’s most engaged volunteers with a fundraising toolkit that includes all the social media images, Giving Tuesday captions, videos, and hashtags they can use to spread the word. Supporters can help drive more social media engagement by using Givebutter's one-click social sharing feature.
• Interact with tagged content 💛 As people engage with your organization on Giving Tuesday, be sure to return the love. Comment, like, share, and respond to tags and direct messages throughout the day. Whenever someone tags your organization in a great photo, ask for their permission to use it. Gather Giving Tuesday social posts throughout the day to repurpose in the future.
• Share updates and go live 🎬 Supporters want to hear from you before, during, and after Giving Tuesday. It's okay to increase your usual posting frequency during your campaign. Use live videos and campaign updates in the supporter feed of your Givebutter campaign to keep the momentum going all day long. 
• Say thank you the next day 🙏 You'll be gaining a lot of traction before and during Giving Tuesday. Finish strong with a big ol' thank-you post. Share the outcome of your campaign and thank everyone who made it possible. You can send personal thank-you notes later, but don't miss this opportunity to publicly recognize your supporters and share your gratitude! 

Get more attention with the right Giving Tuesday hashtags

The #GivingTuesday hashtag gets billions of impressions every year on social media. This global day of giving, more than any other, allows you to reach tons of new supporters. It’s not the only one though, so it’s worth knowing about all the best hashtags for Giving Tuesday to use in your social media posts:

• #GivingTuesday: Keep it simple with the official hashtag. Don't hit publish without it. 
• #MyGivingStory: Ask your supporters to share videos or written posts about why they contribute to your cause. The prompt can be as simple as "I give because…" Encourage them to tag your organization and include a link to your campaign. 
• #UNselfie: Supporters (and social media algorithms!) respond well to human faces. The Giving Tuesday #unselfie encourages people to share their smiling faces and information about your campaign. Customize and share a printable template to make it easy for folks to join in on this engagement booster.

You don't need to go overboard with hashtags. If your organization or campaign has a themed hashtag (like #Make20Matter), add it to your posts with a couple of hashtags specific to Giving Tuesday. The compelling story you tell with photos, graphics, and captions will do the rest.  

Dive deeper

Explore the Giving Tuesday guide for nonprofits: What it is and how to participate →

Get ideas on what to post with these Giving Tuesday social media post examples

Before you know it, Giving Tuesday will be here and it’ll feel busier than ever. Get ahead of the rush by planning your social media content. You’ll still need to engage on the day, but having your content ready in advance allows you to focus on real-time interactions with supporters.

Here are some Giving Tuesday example posts to inspire you. 

1. Save the date or teaser

🗓️ When to send: One month before Giving Tuesday

Let your supporters know that Giving Tuesday is coming up soon and that your organization is participating. Share your campaign focus, any hashtags you’ll be using, and your goal amount. Invite them to “save the date” and take part in the day with you.

2. Countdown to Giving Tuesday

🗓️ When to send: Starting two weeks before Giving Tuesday

Post a countdown to Giving Tuesday starting two weeks before the event. Share a new post every couple of days (or every day, if that’s your typical posting frequency) highlighting a campaign story or a new reason to give. Use Thanksgiving as an anchor point for giving and gratitude.  

3. Before Giving Tuesday

🗓️ When to send: The day before Giving Tuesday

Call on the support of your social media audience the day before with an eye-catching post that builds anticipation. If you’re hosting live events, share your schedule so supporters can tune in right away. Encourage early donations to get a head start on reaching your fundraising goal.

4. On Giving Tuesday

🗓️ When to send: On Giving Tuesday

Plan consistent content for the giving day, starting with posts celebrating the kickoff and continuing throughout the event. If possible, host a live video to welcome your supporters to Giving Tuesday and to re-introduce your organization and your goals. Share fundraising updates along with reminders on how and where to donate. Near the end of the day, give a final call to capture any last-minute donations. 

5. After Giving Tuesday

🗓️ When to send: The day after Giving Tuesday

Schedule a thank-you post on your social media accounts for the day after Giving Tuesday. Express gratitude towards your partners, ambassadors, influencers, and donors, and share the final amount raised. Let your supporters know they can still donate to your organization’s other year-end or continuous fundraising campaigns, and offer a link to your donation form or page.

Download our free Giving Tuesday social media toolkit and content calendar

The easiest way to manage your Giving Tuesday social media campaign is with a content calendar. You can quickly see at a glance what you have planned, which resources you have or need, and when to schedule or engage with the content. 

You don’t need to start from scratch though—we’ve created a social media calendar template based on the Giving Tuesday post examples above that includes:

• The date and time of each post
• The purpose of each post (teaser, announcement, countdown, invitation, update, last-chance reminder, post-campaign report, or thank-you)
• Captions that align with your Giving Tuesday goals
• Accompanying images, videos, GIFs, or links
• Accounts you need to tag (e.g., sponsors)
• Hashtags like #GivingTuesday
• The staff or volunteer responsible for each

Freebie alert!

Download your free Giving Tuesday social media calendar template ->

Shortcut your way to engagement with Giving Tuesday social media templates

You don't need to hire a graphic designer to make your posts stand out. Design templates can save time and align the aesthetic of your posts with the greater Giving Tuesday movement.

Canva is easy to use and has thousands of free social media templates you can customize with logos, photos, text, and brand colors. Your Giving Tuesday social media graphics can maintain consistent imagery across channels—just be sure to adjust to the optimal size for each platform. The best part? Nonprofits can access Canva Pro for free!

The official GivingTuesday organization provides several Canva social media templates sized for Instagram, Facebook, and X. Their logos and sharable graphics (and some delightful GIFs) are also available for download. They even have a library of free stock photos if you don’t have any imagery of your own to use.

More ideas for your Giving Tuesday social media posts by platform

The social media platforms you use depend on your audience and goals, and some nonprofits will favor one over another. Here are some of our favorite Giving Tuesday social media ideas for each of the popular apps. 

Facebook for Giving Tuesday

Fundraisers on Facebook have become one of the highest drivers of Giving Tuesday donations. Get more eyes on your campaign by boosting popular posts, tagging partners and participants, using hashtags, and sharing in Facebook groups. While it’s beneficial to increase your posting frequency on Giving Tuesday, try not to post more than 1-2 times a day leading up to the event or you will likely see a drop in engagement. 

Facebook Live is one of the most effective tools to engage your audience during Giving Tuesday. Your followers receive an alert when you go live and can interact directly with your video through live response emojis and comments. Supporters can also share your live feed on their pages. With Givebutter, you can display your Facebook Livestream directly on your fundraising page for even greater engagement. 

Giving Tuesday on Instagram

Instagram Stories are a fantastic way to reach and engage a larger audience than traditional Giving Tuesday Instagram posts. With Stories, you can add clickable URLs and repost content from other pages (this is a great way to share #unselfie photos from your supporters!). 

With Instagram Live, you can invite a partner organization or individual to join you for real-time engagement with followers. Similar to Facebook Live, Instagram notifies all your followers when you start streaming. Include your Giving Tuesday donation page link as in your bio, so it's just one click to donate. 

Giving Tuesday on X (Twitter)

With a timeline that moves faster than other social media platforms, it’s okay to share more content on your X (Twitter) page than other apps. Keep content short and sweet, and don’t be afraid to use abbreviations—informal is acceptable on X. 

You can also use threads to share your entire Giving Tuesday narrative. Make your posts more dynamic by tagging partners and including links, graphics, hashtags, and photos. Create a thread to share updates as you get closer to your fundraising goal or to share participant photos throughout the day.

Giving Tuesday on LinkedIn

While it used to be for serious business only, LinkedIn now feels more open and casual—making it an ideal place to promote your Giving Tuesday campaign. Use LinkedIn to reach out to individuals and corporate donors with a series of messages that highlight the impact your organization makes and how they can help you do even more. 

Share photos and short videos on LinkedIn, along with a story that resonates with your audience. Many people find the algorithm doesn’t favor link-heavy posts, so include a link to your campaign page in a comment instead.

Giving Tuesday on YouTube

YouTube offers nonprofits several ways to engage with audiences—through long-form videos, YouTube Shorts, and livestream events or webinars. Release a campaign video before the big day, film a series of shareable Shorts, or host a livestream on Giving Tuesday itself.

Givebutter helps you turn your YouTube videos and livestreams into easy donation opportunities for your supporters. Our YouTube integration allows you to add Giving Tuesday fundraisers to videos, embed your videos on campaign pages, and connect with supporters in real time.

TikTok for Giving Tuesday

If you're ready to create short-form video content, TikTok is ideal for expanding your reach to new supporters and potential donors. Create your own videos, use the hashtag #GivingTuesday, and share them with the world.

Invite your supporters to join in with a custom campaign hashtag, call to action, or a trend they can tag you in. Encourage them to turn their #unselfie into a video and see the impact it creates. 

Plan your way to a successful Giving Tuesday with Givebutter

Givebutter is proud to empower changemakers with all the powerful tools and resources they need to run successful, engaging Giving Tuesday campaigns. Use this guide alongside our Giving Tuesday resource hub and Giving Tuesday toolkit to plan and run your most successful campaign yet.

Whether you want to host a YouTube livestream, share Facebook updates on your campaign page, or enable supporters to share your donation page on social media, Givebutter can help you do it all with free, feature-packed donation forms, fundraising pages, and events that will help your Giving Tuesday campaign shine. 

Make Givebutter your online fundraising hub this Giving Tuesday—sign up for free today.

Pssst! 👋 Did we mention that we're giving back $25K to nonprofits this Giving Tuesday? Submit your campaign for a chance to receive a $5K matching donation from Givebutter!