GivingTuesday, which started in 2012, is a global giving day that inspires millions to support causes they care about. In 2024 alone, GivingTuesday raised $3.6 billion in the U.S., highlighting just how impactful this one day can be for nonprofits. It’s a chance to connect with supporters, reach new audiences, and make a big difference—all within 24 hours.
With this year’s GivingTuesday quickly approaching on Dec 2, 2025, choosing the right fundraising platform is more important than ever. The platform you use affects how easy it is for donors to give, how smoothly you can manage the campaign, and how successful your efforts will be.
In this article, we’ll cover the must-have features to look for your GivingTuesday fundraising platform, so you’re set up for success.
Download the 2025 Ultimate Guide to GivingTuesday and Year-End Fundraising:
Ease of Use
Choosing a GivingTuesday fundraising platform that’s easy for both your team and your donors to use will make your campaign run smoothly and encourage more people to give. Here are some key features that make a platform user-friendly:
Donor Experience
The donor’s journey is at the heart of any successful GivingTuesday campaign. If the donation process is confusing, even the most motivated donor might give up. A few features that can make a big difference include:
- Seamless Donation Flow: The donation process should be straightforward with minimal steps, reducing friction and allowing donors to complete their gifts quickly.
- Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Strong, visually appealing CTAs guide users to take action. Well-designed CTAs can be the difference between a completed donation and someone leaving the page.
The “donate” button in red and all caps above is a great example of a clear CTA.
Staff’s Ability to Navigate The Platform
Your team’s experience with the platform is just as important as the donor’s. If the backend is overly complex, it can make it difficult to make quick adjustments, send updates, or keep everything running smoothly. A user-friendly interface lets your staff handle tasks with ease and pivot quickly to any changes.
Mobile Friendliness: Meeting Your Donors Where They Are
With over 50% of online donations coming from mobile devices, a mobile-friendly platform isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential for GivingTuesday. Your donors should have an effortless experience, no matter what device they’re using. Here are the features to keep in mind:
Mobile Optimization
Your GivingTuesday campaign needs to look great and work seamlessly on every device. A platform that automatically adjusts donation pages for different screen sizes—whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop—will ensure that your content is always accessible and easy to interact with. But it’s not just about resizing. Your branding should stay intact, with consistent fonts, images, and messaging, so donors feel confident they’re in the right place. Features like fast loading, intuitive navigation, and clear calls-to-action are crucial for keeping users engaged and driving them to complete their donations.
Mobile Wallets
Convenience is everything when it comes to donations. Platforms that support mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo make it easy for donors to give with just a few taps. This quick process reduces the chance of drop-offs and encourages more completed donations. Venmo, in particular, can appeal to younger audiences who already use it frequently, helping you reach and engage new supporters more effectively.
Customization
GivingTuesday is your chance to show the world who you are, so your campaign should feel authentic to your brand.
Branding and Page Layout
Your donation page is often the first introduction many donors have to your campaign, so it should reflect the heart of your mission. That means using your organization’s colors, logos, and fonts to create a consistent look that instantly tells people, “Yes, I’m in the right place”. Platforms like CauseVox make this simple with drag-and-drop tools, letting you easily adjust the layout, add impactful visuals, and highlight key messages.
(CauseVox’s drag-and-drop editor)
Remember, a well-customized page builds trust. Donors are 75% more likely to give when the page reflects your unique brand, making them feel confident and more likely to complete their donation.
Donation Counter and Visual Appeal
Visual elements like a real-time donation counter can make a huge difference in driving engagement. Seeing contributions add up in real time creates excitement and a sense of momentum, almost like watching a goal come to life.
Spur Local’s GivingTuesday campaign counter showing over $1.1 million raised from nearly 5,000 donations.
Customizing these elements—matching them with your campaign’s colors and messaging—helps convey urgency and shows how every contribution matters. This kind of progress can motivate people to join in, knowing their support is making an immediate impact.
Optimized Donation Form
Another crucial part of customization is your donation form. A well-optimized form can be the deciding factor between someone completing their donation or dropping off halfway through. Here are a few key things to include:
- Suggested Donation Amounts: Providing suggested gift amounts helps donors decide quickly on how much to give, and they’re often inspired to choose a slightly higher amount when prompted.
- Recurring Donation Options: Always make recurring gifts visible as an option. Many people want to support causes long-term, and simply highlighting this option can convert one-time donors into lifelong supporters.
- Minimal Fields: Only ask for what you absolutely need. The more fields someone has to fill out, the more likely they are to abandon the process.
Capabilities to Use Different Fundraising Methods
GivingTuesday is a time to leverage various fundraising methods to boost engagement and donations. A platform that has flexibility in how you raise funds can mean more ways to reach different segments of your audience.
Matching Gifts
Matching gifts are a powerful way to boost donations during GivingTuesday, leveraging the sense of urgency and excitement to drive significant contributions. By partnering with a donor or sponsor willing to match contributions up to a certain amount, you effectively double the impact of every donation, which can be highly motivating for supporters.
The power of CauseVox’s automated matching in action
Look for platforms that support automated matching gifts, making it easy to set up, promote, and track these valuable opportunities. Using language like “Every dollar you donate today will be matched, doubling your impact for our cause!” can create a strong incentive for donors to give, knowing their contribution will go even further.
Event Ticketing
If you’d like to incorporate an event, consider using a platform that supports event ticketing. GivingTuesday adjacent events can create a buzz and rally your community around your cause. Hosting special events—whether in-person gatherings or virtual meetups—helps to build excitement on or around this impactful day and gives people a reason to engage beyond just donating.
The Foundation For Developmental Disabilities is using event ticketing with CauseVox for their GivingTuesday fundraiser.
A platform with integrated event ticketing ensures a seamless process for supporters to sign up, make contributions, and participate. This not only enhances their overall experience but also maximizes the engagement potential on GivingTuesday, driving further donations and deepening community connections.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising is another powerful way to amplify your reach on GivingTuesday by leveraging the enthusiasm of your supporters. By empowering your most passionate advocates to create their own fundraising pages, you can expand your campaign beyond your immediate network, tapping into the connections of your volunteers, donors, and champions.
Notre Dame San Jose used peer-to-peer individual and team fundraising pages to raise almost $140,000.
Select a GivingTuesday fundraising platform that provides user-friendly tools for setting up these peer-to-peer pages—ideally with customizable options that reflect your campaign’s branding and messaging. This makes it simple for supporters to share your cause with their own friends and family, creating a ripple effect of generosity and expanding your impact on GivingTuesday far beyond what your organization could achieve on its own.
Reporting and Analytics: Understanding Your Impact
Data is key to understanding how well your campaign is performing and where you can make improvements. Make sure your platform offers comprehensive reporting features.
Access to Donor Data Throughout and After the Campaign
The ability to access donor data in real time, as well as after the campaign, ensures you can follow up promptly, thank donors, and even plan next year’s campaign more effectively.
Running Specific Reports
Your platform should make it easy to run specific reports on donations, matching gifts, donor demographics, and more. Having access to detailed reporting helps you measure your campaign’s success in meaningful ways. For example, you could look at the average donation size to determine the effectiveness of your suggested giving levels, or generate a report on donor acquisition to see how well your campaign attracted new supporters. You could also analyze matching gift data to identify which matching opportunities had the greatest impact. These insights are crucial not only for assessing your GivingTuesday performance but also for refining your approach for future fundraising events, allowing you to improve your outcomes.
CRM Integration
A successful GivingTuesday campaign isn’t just about raising funds, it’s about what happens after the donation. The right platform should help you capture supporter information, follow up meaningfully, and turn one-time givers into lifelong advocates.
If your platform doesn’t connect smoothly with your CRM, managing this process can get complicated. In that case, having a built-in CRM that supports your fundraising workflow is key.
What this looks like in practice:
Unified Donor Profiles
Every donation, event registration, and peer-to-peer gift is automatically linked, giving you a complete view of each supporter. That means when you look up a donor, you can see their entire history with your organization in one place. This holistic view helps your team personalize outreach and strengthen donor relationships beyond GivingTuesday.
Real-time Syncing and Deduplication
Instead of spending hours cleaning spreadsheets or merging duplicate contacts, a CRM keeps everything updated as gifts come in. Real-time syncing ensures every donor interaction is reflected instantly. Automated deduplication helps maintain accurate records so your reports and follow-ups are always based on reliable data.
Segmentation and Tagging
A CRM should let you easily tag and segment supporters (first-time givers, returning donors, peer-to-peer fundraisers, etc) so you can send the right message to the right audience. That level of personalization can make a big difference in your donor retention and relationships.
Tasks and Stewardship Reminders
Staying organized during and after GivingTuesday can be challenging, especially for small teams. Built-in task management and reminders in your CRM can help ensure no donor falls through the cracks. You can assign follow-ups, set reminders to send thank-yous, or track moves toward a larger gift.
Easily set task reminders for your team with CauseVox’s CRM.
Email and SMS Communication
Reaching out quickly after a gift is crucial for donor retention. A good CRM should include built-in tools for sending personalized thank yous or updates directly.
Dashboards and Reporting
GivingTuesday campaigns move fast, and having clear, real-time insight into progress can help you make quick decisions. A CRM’s dashboard should let you monitor donations as they come in, track donor activity, and measure engagement. After the campaign, you can generate reports to evaluate what worked and use those insights to plan your next outreach or appeal.
During GivingTuesday, these features make it easier to thank donors promptly, identify first-time donors, and invite them to stay involved. With organized data and built-in communication tools, your team can spend less time juggling systems and more time deepening connections that turn one-day generosity into long-term support.
How CauseVox CRM Makes It Simple
CauseVox’s built-in CRM includes all these capabilities so your team can manage every aspect of donor engagement in one place. From personalized thank you’s to task reminders and campaign dashboards, CauseVox enables you to streamline follow-up and nurture relationships all year long.
Support and Resources
A platform with reliable support is key to ensuring your GivingTuesday campaign runs smoothly, even when challenges arise.
Availability of Customer Support
It would be a nightmare if something went wrong on GivingTuesday and you couldn’t get it fixed quickly. In moments like that, you need reliable customer support that’s available immediately. Platforms with live chat support are your best bet, as they allow you to get real-time help when it counts the most. The right support can make all the difference between salvaging those crucial donations or losing them entirely when every second matters.
Educational Materials and Resources
In addition to real-time support, having access to educational resources like guides, webinars, and how-to articles can help you stay ahead of potential problems. These tools can empower your team to learn the platform, troubleshoot independently, and make informed decisions throughout the campaign. When a platform offers robust learning materials, it ensures that you’re not left in the dark and that you’ll be well-prepared to handle any challenge.
Payment Processing and Fees
How donations are processed and what fees are involved can significantly impact the funds you ultimately receive.
Multiple Payment Options
Choose a platform that supports a variety of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, ACH transfers, PayPal, and other secure digital options. Even if you’ve enabled mobile wallets for convenience, having additional methods available ensures donors can give in whatever way works best for them. This flexibility not only accommodates different preferences but can also lead to more completed donations and higher overall participation.
Donors can check out easily with multiple payment methods.
Donation Tipping
Some platforms allow donors to cover transaction fees by adding a tip. This helps ensure more of each donation goes directly to your cause, which can be a great feature for GivingTuesday campaigns.
Ensure donation tipping is enabled so that donors can cover the platform fees.
Make Your Choice and Prepare for Success
Choosing the right GivingTuesday fundraising platform is about aligning with your nonprofit’s needs and goals. A platform that offers ease of use, excellent donor experience, mobile optimization, customization options, and powerful fundraising tools will help you maximize your impact.
CauseVox brings all of these features together in one platform, with a powerful built-in CRM to help you manage donors seamlessly. With the right tools in place, your 2025 GivingTuesday campaign can spark generosity on the day and build lasting relationships well beyond December 2.
Get started with creating your GivingTuesday campaign on CauseVox today!
Download the 2025 Ultimate Guide to GivingTuesday and Year-End Fundraising:
This post was originally published in October 2024 and was updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in October 2025.
