Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement to transform communities and the world. The goal is just to do good — which is what Shop for Good by DailyKarma is all about! So we’re offering some fun + effective quick win ideas for Giving Tuesday that you can launch in minutes 
This holiday falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving — that’s November 30 in 2021. Since its inception in 2012, it has grown into a global movement that draws hundreds of millions of people to come together and give for a better world.
Cause marketing is a big deal and has been proven time and again to sway customers, not to mention make a difference for important causes. After Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM), Giving Tuesday gives brands another opportunity to make a big impact before we hit 2022. (P.S. Here’s how to run an impactful and memorable BFCM campaign.)
Giving Tuesday Quick Win Ideas for You
Many brands this year will donate their proceeds (or a portion of them) to nonprofits. But not all brands can afford to give away so much of their proceeds — and that’s exactly why the Shop for Good donation app offers so many ways to get involved in philanthropy!
We truly democratize giving because we allow brands to get customers involved in your giving without having to give profits away.
Apart from our % of Sales campaign, which allows a brand to donate, we offer these five other fresh ways to give back:
- Donation Tiers – preset three donation amounts and even let shoppers enter a custom donation amount. Invite shoppers to give and feel good when you endorse a cause they believe in (example: dessert company Milkbar):
- Round-Up – let customers round up their order to charity at cart or checkout.
- Round-Up with Custom Donations – let customers round up their order to charity and increase their donation amount by $1 increments to a custom amount at cart or checkout (example: Selena Gomez’s cosmetics line Rare Beauty — add any item to cart and head to the final payment checkout screen to view our widget):
- Donate for Discount – our flagship donation campaign allows you to offer a discount in exchange for a donation.
- Matching – consider matching donations tied to other Shop for Good campaigns during the holidays, especially BFCM and/or Giving Tuesday (let us know and we manage this for you). See how dog kennel brand Gunner combined Donate for Discount (without an incentive) with matching and runs it year-round:
Giving Tuesday campaign ideas for giving back
Donate a portion of proceeds with % of Sales
Organic skincare brand John Masters Organics launched an ambitious effort benefiting the Black Lives Matter movement that you can borrow for Giving Tuesday: for 24 hours, they donated 100% of online sales to three amazing charities.
Not only did sales jump by 247% from the previous day, but also U.S. store sessions jumped by 30% and 44% of customers were new. These exciting numbers show that % of Sales can be used a new customer acquisition strategy!
During April 2020, clean beauty brand Biossance did a similar thing, donating 100% of proceeds for 24 hours to Direct Relief in support of Covid-19 efforts. The brand raised a whopping $112,110 worth of donations to charity that day.
Run a feel-good sale with Donate for Discount
Socially conscious apparel company Ivory Ella ran a Donate for Discount campaign for 48 hours during Giving Tuesday 2019 where they offered a 25% discount and a free tote when customers donated $10 to Save the Elephants (read the case study here):
And as part of its mission, Ivory Ella keeps the giving going year-round by donating 10% of net profits to Save the Elephants. And giving gives back: Ivory Ella has lifted AOV by 18% and one particular campaign even lifted cart conversions by 65% in 24 hours.
Also for Giving Tuesday 2019, bold cosmetics brand Dragun Beauty ran a Donate for Discount campaign. They offered customers the ability to save 20% on their order when donating $5 to Dragun Beauty’s selected nonprofits (Los Angeles LGBT Center, Point Foundation, and The Trevor Project):
Pro tip: if you don’t want Donate for Discount to compete with other sales, we recommend triggering this earlier in November and then again after the holidays to keep everyone motivated to keep shopping.
Other smart giving ideas for the holidays
Our Shop for Good campaigns are amazing in and of themselves — and you can take them to an even higher level when you leverage third-party tools! For example, other quick win ideas for Giving Tuesday (and beyond) include:
- Tag the Shop for Good donation products through your email marketing service (e.g., Klaviyo or Omnisend) so that you can follow up with customers who donate and send them an extra special email with a discount code for the next time they shop.
- Use referral software like Smile.io (which integrates with Shop for Good!) to let your customers earn points for each donation they make and reward them.
- Social media/email marketing: Now is a great time to be sharing your brand’s connections with your selected causes – make sure to let your community know how you are giving back and inviting your audience to make an impact with every purchase. Make sure your community is clear on how they can be giving back with you.
- If your website’s home page real estate allows, don’t be afraid to highlight the nonprofit(s) you’re supporting there as well and how people can support the mission. Are they donating at checkout? Are you offering a discount when they donate? Spell it out. (Check out our other great ways and best practices to promote your giving.)
Giving as a form of connection
The lowest prices or fastest shipping are no longer enough.
We know that, given similar price and quality of products, 91% of consumers said they would likely switch to purchasing from a brand that supports a cause they believe in, according to a Cone/Echo Global CSR Study.
And if your brand focuses on millennials or Gen Z, trends and studies (such as the surveys from DoSomething Strategic) show these customers choose to put their money where their values are and support brands with purpose. And particularly so when those companies focus on connecting with their audience through a genuine, deep commitment to a cause (rather than running a one-off, short-lived campaign — although this can also yield good results).
Let’s finish off 2021 strong. Use these quick win Giving Tuesday campaign ideas to spark the joy of giving in your customers and yourself.
