I realize that Giving Tuesday is MANY months away, but I recently participated in a workshop offered by Gravyty which unpacked Giving Tuesday 2025 data. Over the next three weeks, I want to share their insights with you.

First up: Timing, Forms & Friction – The Infrastructure of a Winning Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is emotional.

But it’s also mechanical.

During Gravyty’s workshop, one thing became clear:

The organizations that performed best didn’t just “tell good stories.”

They removed friction and optimized timing.

Here’s what that means for you.

1️⃣ Timing Isn’t Random — It’s Strategic

Donor activity clustered around three windows:

  • Late Morning
  • Midday
  • Early Evening

That means:

If your campaign went out at 6:00 AM and you stayed quiet until the next day… you likely missed momentum.

What smart organizations did:

  • Scheduled emails to land in feeds during peak windows
  • Posted social updates around lunch breaks
  • Used early evening for:
    • “Rush Hour” matching challenges
    • Livestream updates
    • Leaderboard pushes
  • Sent ambassador progress updates during peak activity hours
  • Tested midnight launch emails – This can be automated! You don’t have to be awake to push send at midnight 🙂

💗  Love Note: Giving Tuesday is a rhythm day. You have to show up when your donors are scrolling.

2️⃣ Your Giving Form Is Either a Bridge or a Barrier

Here’s what the data showed:

The simpler the form, the stronger the conversion.

Winning forms:

  • Required minimal fields
  • Offered multiple payment options
  • Made the ask specific
  • Highlighted just a few campaign priorities. Don’t overwhelm them with choices.

Payment flexibility mattered more than many expected:

  • Credit card
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Mobile wallets
  • Stripe links (which saves info for easier repeat gifts)

And here’s the big one:

Don’t collect information you don’t need. Every extra question = potential abandonment.

💗  Love Note: If you want generosity, make giving feel easy.

3️⃣ Friction Compounds

Mobile optimization isn’t optional anymore.

Test your donation page on your own phone so you can see what your donors experience. Then ask your ambassadors to test it too.

If it:

  • Loads slowly
  • Requires excessive typing
  • Doesn’t support digital wallets
  • Has unclear confirmation messaging

You’re quietly losing donors. And friction compounds over the course of the day.

Ask yourself…

Based on how you approached Giving Tuesday:

  • Did your emails hit inboxes at the right time?
  • Would your giving form convert?
  • Is your mobile giving seamless?

If not, then you know what to improve as you craft this year’s campaign.

Next week in Part 2  we’ll unpack which campaigns actually resonated in 2025 — and how emotional framing drove giving.

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