Why text messaging matters for Giving Tuesday
The way nonprofit constituents communicate is changing. Email, direct mail, and other channels can no longer be the sole communication channel for nonprofit organizations to engage with their supporters. For nonprofits, integrating texting into their omnichannel marketing strategy has become crucial. With a 99% open rate, texting offers a direct line of communication for nonprofits to engage with their constituents.
Especially during pivotal moments like Giving Tuesday and the year-end giving season, reaching potential donors in a direct and personalized manner can significantly amplify the impact of fundraising efforts.
Texting offers immediate and direct engagement that other communication channels might not provide. This ensures that your message not only reaches the recipient but is likely to be seen within just a few minutes of being sent. On days like Giving Tuesday, when nonprofits are vying for the attention of potential donors, this immediacy can make the difference between a missed opportunity and a successful donation.
Additionally, texting allows for a more personal touch, even in mass communications. Tailored messages, which can be personalized based on previous interactions or donor history, can make recipients feel seen and valued. Personalization not only enhances the donor's experience but also increases the likelihood of engagement and contribution.
By segmenting your audience and crafting messages that resonate specifically with them, nonprofits can foster a stronger connection and long-term relationship and cultivate a sense of loyalty to their organization.
The integration of texting into an omnichannel marketing strategy bolsters the continuity and consistency of the donor journey. For example, a donor might first hear about a campaign on social media, receive an email update about its progress, and then, if they opt in, get a text message prompting them for a year-end contribution. This cohesive strategy ensures that the message is reinforced across platforms, thereby increasing the chances of a positive donor response.
As the end of the year approaches and many constituents are considering where to allocate their charitable gifts, a well-timed and direct text can serve as a timely reminder, leading to higher engagement and donations for nonprofits.
The broader GivingTuesday movement — which has grown into a global campaign spanning more than 80 countries — has amplified the urgency for nonprofits to meet donors where they are. On a day when billions of dollars in charitable giving are at stake, the organizations that reach donors fastest and most directly have a significant advantage. Text messaging provides exactly that advantage.
Below, we highlight several nonprofits who have used text message fundraising to achieve their Giving Tuesday and year-end giving goals.
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Book a demo →March of Dimes: building a subscriber base from scratch
March of Dimes launched its text messaging program with a unique focus on leveraging easy-to-use and proven text messaging to achieve fundraising results. The organization wanted to increase the performance of their fundraising efforts and was intrigued by the immediacy and engagement that texting could provide.
When searching for an effective and engaging channel to improve donor engagement and fundraising performance, March of Dimes turned to SMS. The results were remarkable:
- Grew their list of subscribers from zero to hundreds of thousands
- Increased annual giving day results by 32% year over year
- Texting accounted for 10% of total Giving Day revenue with an average gift of $70+
What made March of Dimes' approach particularly effective was their commitment to list building as a year-round activity, not a last-minute scramble before giving day. They added text opt-in opportunities to every donor touchpoint — online donation confirmations, event registrations, email signatures, and their website. By the time their annual giving day arrived, they had a large, engaged subscriber base ready to receive the appeal.
The $70+ average gift size is also notable. Text-to-give campaigns sometimes get a reputation for driving small donations, but March of Dimes' experience shows that when the list is built intentionally — with donors who have a genuine relationship with the organization — text appeals can generate gifts that rival or exceed email averages.
The lesson: start building your text list now. Even if Giving Tuesday is months away, every subscriber you add today is a potential donor when the campaign launches.
International Medical Corps: a stewardship-first approach
Giving Tuesday 2022 was International Medical Corps' first foray into using text fundraising as a strategy, rather than simply asking for a donation once or twice a year as they had done previously. With a strategic SMS platform, they were able to engage donors more effectively.
International Medical Corps created a text fundraising strategy that put stewardship first. By sending three messages, with a donation ask on text two, donors felt valued, were reminded of the story and mission of the organization, and were encouraged to give.
"We wanted to steward our donor base. Our goal is to add value, not just ask for donations." — Jessica Smit, Manager, Direct Marketing at International Medical Corps
This three-message structure is worth examining in detail because it illustrates a principle that applies far beyond Giving Tuesday: donors give more when they feel valued before being asked. The first message in International Medical Corps' sequence was purely engagement — a story about their work, a thank-you for past support, or an update on a specific program. The second message made the ask, tying the donation to the story shared in message one. The third message thanked donors and shared results.
This approach flips the typical nonprofit SMS pattern, which often starts with the ask and follows up with a thank-you. By leading with stewardship, International Medical Corps created a context where the donation request felt like a natural extension of the relationship, not an interruption. The result was higher engagement rates and higher average gift sizes compared to organizations that led with a cold ask.
The lesson: cultivation before the ask. Organizations that send engagement messages before fundraising texts consistently see higher average gift sizes. See our guide to Giving Tuesday campaign strategies for the full framework.
World Hope International: segmentation and integration
World Hope International (WHI) is a faith-based relief and development organization working with vulnerable and exploited communities to alleviate poverty, suffering, and injustice. Their vision is to provide those in need with opportunity, dignity, and hope so they can possess the tools for change in themselves, their family, and their community.
One of WHI's top priorities was to add a strategic text channel in order to engage with donors. World Hope International had three main goals for its text messaging channel:
- Increase giving from their year-end, Giving Tuesday, disaster response, and other fundraising campaigns
- Acquire and retain younger demographic segments
- Grow their text messaging list
WHI used CRM integration to segment their year-end text messages, including suppressing recent donors from Giving Tuesday and end-of-year campaign messages. The integration also showed the number of donations and the amount raised for each text message sent.
Short code applications typically take time to be approved by phone carriers. With a responsive onboarding team, WHI gained approval in as little as three weeks, meaning they could begin utilizing the new channel in time for Giving Tuesday.
The customer success team's responsiveness and expertise were key to accelerating the onboarding process. They had World Hope's channel live much earlier than expected. The World Hope team exceeded their Giving Tuesday goal by 37% across all channels.
WHI's use of suppression lists is a detail worth highlighting. After a donor gave on Giving Tuesday, WHI removed them from the first wave of their December year-end appeal, instead sending a stewardship message thanking them for their Giving Tuesday gift and previewing the organization's plans for the year ahead. When the year-end appeal did reach those donors — in a later wave, with adjusted messaging — response rates were higher because donors did not feel bombarded by back-to-back asks.
This kind of segmentation is only possible when your SMS platform integrates with your CRM or donor management system. Without integration, you are guessing which donors have given recently and which have not. With integration, you can automate suppression rules, personalize messages based on giving history, and track revenue attribution down to the individual text message.
The lesson: segmentation and integration are not luxuries — they are what separate good campaigns from great ones.
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Book a demo →Common patterns across these success stories
- Start with list growth. Every successful program started by investing in subscriber acquisition before campaign season.
- Steward before you ask. Engagement messages before donation asks produce higher average gifts.
- Segment aggressively. Even basic segmentation (Giving Tuesday donors vs. non-donors, active vs. lapsed) improves results.
- Coordinate across channels. SMS works best when integrated with email, social media, and your CRM.
- Close the loop. Post-campaign thank-you messages set up the next giving moment.
How to apply these lessons to your organization
These success stories are instructive, but the question most nonprofit teams ask is: "How do we get started?" Here is a practical roadmap based on what worked for these organizations:
Phase 1: Foundation (3–6 months before Giving Tuesday). Select your SMS platform and get your short code approved. Begin building your subscriber list by adding opt-in opportunities to every donor touchpoint — donation confirmation pages, event registrations, email signatures, website pop-ups, and social media bios. Set a realistic list growth goal and track it weekly.
Phase 2: Strategy (6–8 weeks before Giving Tuesday). Define your campaign goal and matching gift partners. Plan your message sequence — how many messages, on which days, with what content. Segment your list by engagement level (new subscribers, active donors, lapsed donors) and draft tailored messages for each segment. Integrate your SMS platform with your CRM so you can track donations by message and automate suppression rules.
Phase 3: Execution (Giving Tuesday week). Send a warm-up message 3–5 days before Giving Tuesday previewing the campaign. On the day itself, follow the proven three-message cadence: morning launch, afternoon progress update, evening final push. Monitor results in real time and adjust if needed — if the morning message underperforms, test a different angle for the afternoon update.
Phase 4: Follow-up (day after through December 31). Send a thank-you message with results the morning after Giving Tuesday. Suppress Giving Tuesday donors from your first December appeal or send them a stewardship message instead. When you do include them in year-end messaging, reference their Giving Tuesday gift and frame the year-end ask as a continuation of their support.
Phase 5: Analysis (first two weeks of January). Review your results by message, segment, and channel. Calculate your cost per dollar raised for SMS compared to email and social media. Identify what worked and what to improve for next year. Share results with your team and board to build internal support for continued investment in the channel.
Write your own Giving Tuesday success story
When used as part of an omnichannel approach, text messaging can be an innovative and effective way to engage constituents and increase donations. momoGood Messaging provides the segmentation, integrations, and analytics that make these results possible.
Whether you are launching your first text program or optimizing an established one, momoGood can help you achieve your Giving Tuesday and year-end goals. Talk to our team to get started.
Achieve your Giving Tuesday goals.
momoGood Messaging provides the tools behind these success stories — segmentation, integration, and real-time analytics.