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10 Giving Tuesday Email Examples That Donors Will Love
Giving Tuesday has become one of the most significant fundraising moments of the year, with organizations worldwide mobilizing their communities to give back. For educational institutions, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with alumni, celebrate school spirit, and fund programs that directly impact students. The average email open rate on Giving Tuesday 2024 was 21.56%, with a click-through rate of 2.57%, indicating strong donor engagement via email campaigns.
In this blog, we’ll explore ten real-world Giving Tuesday email examples from schools and nonprofits, examine what makes them effective, and share practical tips you can use to boost donor engagement this year.
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity that takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It began in 2012 as a social movement encouraging people to do good, and has since grown into a worldwide event involving individuals, nonprofits, and educational institutions. It evolved as a response to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, inviting individuals and organizations to give back to causes they care about.
For schools and universities, it’s a moment to also celebrate community impact, highlight student stories, and engage alumni around shared values. Campaigns that tie giving to real outcomes, such as scholarships, research opportunities, or student welfare, tend to resonate the most.
10 Giving Tuesday Emails that Boost Donor Response
1. The countdown email
Countdown emails are a great way to not just promote your cause but also to inform your potential donors of your upcoming plans for Giving Tuesday. You should ideally have multiple emails (30 days away, 14 days away, 7 days away, etc. for example) as the day gets closer. This is also particularly great if you have an in-person or online event attached to your event.
💡If you are planning an event, add a button that allows your recipient to add the event to their calendar.
2. The thank-you email
A core part of any fundraiser, thank-you emails are nowadays a necessity. You can keep it simple with a personalized thank you note, or you can provide readers with the opportunity to find resources they might like, join communities and events with like-minded people, or see how their donations will be used in the future.
3. The personal story email
Personal stories are a great way to tell heartfelt and impactful stories to inspire giving. You can zoom in on an individual’s story to give your recipients a glimpse into the lives they are impacting through their gift. Remember that when it comes to raising funds, you can never underestimate the impact of a powerful story.
4. Emails with videos
Whether it’s a simple hyperlinked thumbnail or an embedded video, giving your readers more to go on beyond just words can go a long way in setting your ask apart. Since it’s possible for certain email clients or apps to block embedded media, it would probably be best to do this for contacts that are already in touch such as past donors or active alumni members.
5. Community-focused emails
If your Giving Tuesday fundraiser has a strong connection to particular chapters, affinity groups, or geography locations, you can center your emails around building a supportive community aligned to common causes. The goal is to make donors feel like they can be a part of a bigger family of like-minded supporters.
6. Impact-focused emails
You can highlight the support you’ve garnered and how that has translated into real-world impact in your emails. Think graphs, journeys, percentages, and impact numbers that give your recipients confidence in how their contributions will be used.
7. Matching gift announcements
Matching gifts not only increase your funds raised but also inspire giving from eligible potential donors. This email should be sent just before or as the campaign launches, prominently featuring the match to create urgency and double the perceived impact of a donation.
8. Recurring gift email
Targeting your most engaged one-time donors, this email focuses on the power of a monthly donation to create sustained, long-term impact. Highlight the total annual impact of a small monthly gift and explain why sustained funding is critical to your long-term mission.
9. A non-monetary ask
Not everyone can donate, but they can still help. This email encourages advocates to share the campaign with their network or contribute in equally important ways. Leverage your existing community for peer-to-peer sharing and invite volunteers to help out.
10. The results update email
After your thank you email, the next email you send should probably have something to do with how your Giving Tuesday went, including key numbers such as how many funds were raised, some key shoutouts, and of course, a couple of words of gratitude. These are just the basics and your institution or organization’s own email can be as minimal or as detailed as you need it to be.
Tips for Writing Effective Giving Tuesday Emails
While inspiration matters, execution drives results. Here are tested ways to strengthen your Giving Tuesday emails:
1. Segment your audience.
Avoid sending the same message to everyone. Segment by alumni, parents, students, or past donors. Alumni may respond better to nostalgic stories, while parents might engage more with student success narratives.
2. Personalize your message.
Use merge tags to include names, past donation amounts, or causes supported. Referencing a donor’s previous impact (“Your gift last year helped fund...”) can increase click-through rates and repeat giving.
3. Make your CTA unmistakable.
Your call-to-action button should be clear, visible, and direct: “Give Now”, “Support Students Today”, or “Double Your Impact”. Keep the design mobile-friendly, as most users read these emails on their phones.
4. Mobile-first design.
Design emails primarily for smartphones since most recipients check messages on mobile devices. A clean, responsive layout ensures readability and higher engagement.
5. Short, urgent subject lines.
Keep subject lines short and use action-oriented language, e.g., “Match alert: Give by noon to double your impact!” This grabs attention and encourages quick action.
6. Clear impact statements.
Show donors exactly what their contributions accomplish. Concrete examples, like “$25 provides one week of meals for a student”,make giving tangible and motivating.
How Almabase Empowers Schools & Universities for Giving Tuesday
Running a Giving Tuesday campaign shouldn't feel like juggling ten different tools at once. That's where Almabase comes in. It brings your communication, donations, and reporting together in one streamlined platform, so your advancement team can focus on what matters most: connecting with donors.
You can segment your alumni by class year, giving history, or engagement level, then craft messages that actually speak to them. And because Almabase syncs seamlessly with systems like Blackbaud RE NXT, every gift is tracked automatically: no manual entry, no spreadsheet chaos.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, the best Giving Tuesday campaigns feel genuine. They're clear about their goals, relevant to their audience, and authentic in their ask.
Before launch day, test your subject lines, preview your emails on mobile, and schedule follow-ups for the week after. With thoughtful planning and the right tools, your Giving Tuesday campaign can do more than raise funds and strengthen your school’s community for years to come.
About the author
Kiran is an educator and pedagogy enthusiast, passionate about the transformative impact of education, kindness, and creativity on individuals and communities.
As an artist, she brings a unique perspective to her work and is committed to inspiring growth, empathy, and understanding
Giving Tuesday has become one of the most significant fundraising moments of the year, with organizations worldwide mobilizing their communities to give back. For educational institutions, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with alumni, celebrate school spirit, and fund programs that directly impact students. The average email open rate on Giving Tuesday 2024 was 21.56%, with a click-through rate of 2.57%, indicating strong donor engagement via email campaigns.
In this blog, we’ll explore ten real-world Giving Tuesday email examples from schools and nonprofits, examine what makes them effective, and share practical tips you can use to boost donor engagement this year.
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity that takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It began in 2012 as a social movement encouraging people to do good, and has since grown into a worldwide event involving individuals, nonprofits, and educational institutions. It evolved as a response to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, inviting individuals and organizations to give back to causes they care about.
For schools and universities, it’s a moment to also celebrate community impact, highlight student stories, and engage alumni around shared values. Campaigns that tie giving to real outcomes, such as scholarships, research opportunities, or student welfare, tend to resonate the most.
10 Giving Tuesday Emails that Boost Donor Response
1. The countdown email
Countdown emails are a great way to not just promote your cause but also to inform your potential donors of your upcoming plans for Giving Tuesday. You should ideally have multiple emails (30 days away, 14 days away, 7 days away, etc. for example) as the day gets closer. This is also particularly great if you have an in-person or online event attached to your event.
💡If you are planning an event, add a button that allows your recipient to add the event to their calendar.
2. The thank-you email
A core part of any fundraiser, thank-you emails are nowadays a necessity. You can keep it simple with a personalized thank you note, or you can provide readers with the opportunity to find resources they might like, join communities and events with like-minded people, or see how their donations will be used in the future.
3. The personal story email
Personal stories are a great way to tell heartfelt and impactful stories to inspire giving. You can zoom in on an individual’s story to give your recipients a glimpse into the lives they are impacting through their gift. Remember that when it comes to raising funds, you can never underestimate the impact of a powerful story.
4. Emails with videos
Whether it’s a simple hyperlinked thumbnail or an embedded video, giving your readers more to go on beyond just words can go a long way in setting your ask apart. Since it’s possible for certain email clients or apps to block embedded media, it would probably be best to do this for contacts that are already in touch such as past donors or active alumni members.
5. Community-focused emails
If your Giving Tuesday fundraiser has a strong connection to particular chapters, affinity groups, or geography locations, you can center your emails around building a supportive community aligned to common causes. The goal is to make donors feel like they can be a part of a bigger family of like-minded supporters.
6. Impact-focused emails
You can highlight the support you’ve garnered and how that has translated into real-world impact in your emails. Think graphs, journeys, percentages, and impact numbers that give your recipients confidence in how their contributions will be used.
7. Matching gift announcements
Matching gifts not only increase your funds raised but also inspire giving from eligible potential donors. This email should be sent just before or as the campaign launches, prominently featuring the match to create urgency and double the perceived impact of a donation.
8. Recurring gift email
Targeting your most engaged one-time donors, this email focuses on the power of a monthly donation to create sustained, long-term impact. Highlight the total annual impact of a small monthly gift and explain why sustained funding is critical to your long-term mission.
9. A non-monetary ask
Not everyone can donate, but they can still help. This email encourages advocates to share the campaign with their network or contribute in equally important ways. Leverage your existing community for peer-to-peer sharing and invite volunteers to help out.
10. The results update email
After your thank you email, the next email you send should probably have something to do with how your Giving Tuesday went, including key numbers such as how many funds were raised, some key shoutouts, and of course, a couple of words of gratitude. These are just the basics and your institution or organization’s own email can be as minimal or as detailed as you need it to be.
Tips for Writing Effective Giving Tuesday Emails
While inspiration matters, execution drives results. Here are tested ways to strengthen your Giving Tuesday emails:
1. Segment your audience.
Avoid sending the same message to everyone. Segment by alumni, parents, students, or past donors. Alumni may respond better to nostalgic stories, while parents might engage more with student success narratives.
2. Personalize your message.
Use merge tags to include names, past donation amounts, or causes supported. Referencing a donor’s previous impact (“Your gift last year helped fund...”) can increase click-through rates and repeat giving.
3. Make your CTA unmistakable.
Your call-to-action button should be clear, visible, and direct: “Give Now”, “Support Students Today”, or “Double Your Impact”. Keep the design mobile-friendly, as most users read these emails on their phones.
4. Mobile-first design.
Design emails primarily for smartphones since most recipients check messages on mobile devices. A clean, responsive layout ensures readability and higher engagement.
5. Short, urgent subject lines.
Keep subject lines short and use action-oriented language, e.g., “Match alert: Give by noon to double your impact!” This grabs attention and encourages quick action.
6. Clear impact statements.
Show donors exactly what their contributions accomplish. Concrete examples, like “$25 provides one week of meals for a student”,make giving tangible and motivating.
How Almabase Empowers Schools & Universities for Giving Tuesday
Running a Giving Tuesday campaign shouldn't feel like juggling ten different tools at once. That's where Almabase comes in. It brings your communication, donations, and reporting together in one streamlined platform, so your advancement team can focus on what matters most: connecting with donors.
You can segment your alumni by class year, giving history, or engagement level, then craft messages that actually speak to them. And because Almabase syncs seamlessly with systems like Blackbaud RE NXT, every gift is tracked automatically: no manual entry, no spreadsheet chaos.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, the best Giving Tuesday campaigns feel genuine. They're clear about their goals, relevant to their audience, and authentic in their ask.
Before launch day, test your subject lines, preview your emails on mobile, and schedule follow-ups for the week after. With thoughtful planning and the right tools, your Giving Tuesday campaign can do more than raise funds and strengthen your school’s community for years to come.
About the author
Kiran is an educator and pedagogy enthusiast, passionate about the transformative impact of education, kindness, and creativity on individuals and communities.
As an artist, she brings a unique perspective to her work and is committed to inspiring growth, empathy, and understanding
Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, and Almabase, the digital-first alumni engagement solution, have announced the expansion of their partnership to the education sectors of Canada and the United Kingdom. The partnership will provide institutions with a modern, digital-first solution to improve constituent data, drive self-serve engagement, and boost event participation.
A Unified Vision
The partnership aligns with Blackbaud’s commitment to customer-centric innovation across digital engagement, Advancement CRM, and financials.
“Partners bring integrated capabilities that extend capabilities and outcomes for Blackbaud customers. We are thrilled that Almabase’s offering, integrated with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® and leveraging Blackbaud’s best-in-class payment solution, Blackbaud Merchant Services™, is now available to even more of our customers around the world.”
- Liz Price, Sr. Director of Global Partners at Blackbaud
