Giving Tuesday texting and calling for nonprofits

The day

Giving Tuesday has doubled since 2019.

Americans gave $4.0 billion on Giving Tuesday 2025. It was the largest total on record, and 13% more than the year before.

Dollars given in the U.S. on Giving Tuesday

Billions of dollars, 2019 to 2025

Source: GivingTuesday's published results for each year. Totals are GivingTuesday estimates.

See the data

Year	Dollars given	Change	Took part in the U.S.	Source
2019	$1.97 billion			GivingTuesday
2020	$2.47 billion	Up 25%		GivingTuesday
2021	$2.7 billion	Up 9%	35 million adults	GivingTuesday
2022	$3.1 billion	Up 15%	37 million adults	GivingTuesday
2023	$3.1 billion	Up 0.6%	34 million adults	GivingTuesday
2024	$3.6 billion	Up 16%	36.1 million people	GivingTuesday
2025	$4.0 billion	Up 13%	38.1 million people	GivingTuesday

38.1M

people in the U.S. took part in Giving Tuesday 2025, up 6% from the year before.

Source: GivingTuesday 2025 results

13%

more dollars given than in 2024, on top of 16% growth the year before.

Source: GivingTuesday 2025 results

The problem

On Giving Tuesday, every inbox is full.

Nonprofits sent an average of 50 emails to each subscriber in 2025. A fundraising email brought in one gift for about every 2,000 sent.

A text lands differently. It comes from a named person, and it invites a reply. In the same study, fundraising texts earned about six times the click rate of fundraising emails, and more than three times the response rate.

Text lists are smaller than email lists, so email still raises more in total. That is the opening. Mobile messaging revenue grew 48% in 2025, about three times the 15% growth in online revenue overall, and it is still under 1% of what nonprofits raise online.

Clicked the link

Share of recipients, fundraising messages

Text3.7%

Email0.59%

About six times the click rate.

Made a gift

Response rate, fundraising messages

Text0.17%

Email0.05%

More than three times the response rate.

Source: M+R Benchmarks 2026, average rates for 2025. These are published averages, not guarantees. Results vary by organization, list, and execution.

The opening

Half of Americans don't remember being asked to give.

People are more likely to give when someone asks. A small development team can't text and call thousands of people in one day. A trained team can.

1 in 2

Americans don't remember being asked to give, in GivingTuesday's national survey for 2025.

Source: GivingTuesday GivingPulse, 2025

45 to 69%

more giving when Salvation Army bell ringers added a spoken "please give," in a randomized field experiment.

Source: Andreoni, Rao, and Trachtman, Journal of Political Economy, 2017

3.6%

fewer donors gave in 2025, even as total dollars rose 5.0%. Every supporter you keep counts for more.

Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project, 2025

The month that follows

December 1 opens the biggest month in online giving.

Nonprofits received 37% of their 2025 online revenue in December, and 10% in the last week of the year alone.

The supporters you talk with on Giving Tuesday are the ones you thank, update, and ask again before December 31.

When online revenue arrives

Share of nonprofits' 2025 online revenue

63%January through November

37%December

Source: M+R Benchmarks 2026

16%

of Giving Tuesday donors are making their first gift to that organization.

Source: GivingTuesday and Blackbaud Institute

65%

of Giving Tuesday donors gave again, compared with 52% of donors overall.

Source: GivingTuesday and Blackbaud Institute

What we run for you

Texts and calls, written, sent, and answered by our team.

We plug into your calendar and your voice, then take the sending, calling, and reply handling off your team's plate.

Peer to peer texts

Personal texts to your supporters on Giving Tuesday, each one sent by a real person, with a clear opt out in every program.

Every reply answered

Questions, pledges, and stories get a real answer in real time. Anyone your team should follow up with gets flagged.

Calls where they count

Warm, human calls to the people who know you best: top donors, lapsed supporters, and monthly givers.

A report you can use

Results, reply highlights, and donor notes your team can act on right away.

Nearly every adult in the U.S. owns a cellphone, 98%. In a 2020 survey, eight in ten Americans said they don't generally answer when an unknown number calls. That is why the text goes first, from a named person, and why calls go to the supporters who already know you.

Source: Pew Research Center, 2025 and 2020

Riverside Food BankGiving Tuesday

Hi Maria, it's Jess with Riverside Food Bank. Today is Giving Tuesday and every gift is matched until midnight. Can we count on you this year? Reply STOP to opt out.

Is the match still on tonight? I get paid at 5.

It is, right up to midnight. I can text you the link at 6 so it's easy to find.

Perfect. Count me in for $50.

Thank you, Maria. That becomes $100 for families this winter.

Sample conversation with a fictional organization

From today to December 1

Planned in 48 hours. Sending in about a week.

We can have your campaign organized and planned within 48 hours. Texting from a new number requires carrier registration, which usually takes about a week, so plan on roughly one week from kickoff to first send. If you already have a registered number, we can move faster.

Today

Plan and quote

Share your list size and goal. We send back a send plan and a clear quote within one business day.

Within 48 hours

Organized and planned

From kickoff, we organize your campaign, write scripts in your voice, segment your list, and start your texting registration.

About a week

Registered and approved

Your texting number clears carrier registration while you approve every script and we test the sends.

December 1

Send, answer, report

Our team sends every message and answers every reply in real time. You get results and donor notes for your year end follow up.

The team

Operators who have done this at scale.

Since 2024 we've recruited and trained a network of phone and text bankers and run high volume outreach programs across dozens of campaigns. Dial for Causes brings that same operation to nonprofits.

Manan Pandya

Founder, creative and strategy

Philadelphia creative director and strategist with more than 12 years in marketing, including creative leadership for an education nonprofit. Writes the scripts and shapes every program's voice.

Daniel Paulus

Founder, operations

Field organizer and project manager who builds and runs the texting and calling teams, and is your day to day contact from kickoff to report.

Dial for Causes is the nonprofit line from the team behind Dial for Campaigns. The two lines run separately, and your supporter data stays yours alone.

FAQ

Good questions, straight answers.

Is there still time to start for December 1?

Yes. We can have your campaign organized and planned within 48 hours, and carrier registration for a new texting number usually takes about a week. If your timeline gets too tight for texting, we can say so plainly and plan around phone and email instead.

What is in the free plan?

A short written plan for your list: who to reach, when to send, what registration takes, and a clear quote. It arrives within one business day, with no obligation and no long term contract.

Is texting our supporters legal and compliant?

Yes. Compliance is built into every program. We register your texting number with the carriers, and every message includes a clear way to opt out that we honor right away. We're glad to review consent with your team or work alongside your counsel.

We have never texted our supporters. Can we still do this?

Yes. If supporters gave you their mobile number, for example on a donation form or an event signup, there is a list to work with. We review consent with you before launch, handle registration, and write every script for your approval.

What does it cost?

We price each program around your list size and goals, with no long term contract. Texting platform costs are billed directly to your own account, so you always see exactly what you pay for. Your free plan comes with a clear quote.

Who does the texting and calling?

Our trained team sends every message, makes every call, and answers every reply. Our systems are built for that scale: registered numbers, managed sending, and reporting that ties every conversation back to your list, so a team of real people can reach thousands of supporters in a day.

Do you only work on Giving Tuesday?

No. Giving Tuesday is one day in a long season. We also run year end appeals, donor thank you calls, event turnout, and volunteer and advocacy pushes. The Dial for Causes home page covers the full list.

Giving Tuesday is December 1. The plan starts now.