The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) recently found the median private K-12 school raised $1.7 million during the 2023-24 year, an amount equating to roughly $4,000 per student. Imagine the impact this could have on your school operations, classroom resources, or aid awarding. 

For many schools, the largest fundraising opportunity comes on Giving Tuesday, which takes place on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. This year, the event will occur on December 1, 2026, making now an excellent time to begin planning. After the shopping frenzies that occur on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this day dedicated to philanthropy offers your community a chance to give back. 

Regardless of whether this is your first Giving Tuesday or twentieth, this blog will provide you with innovative tips and tricks to maximize fundraising during this campaign and others. 

RELATED: Leveraging Donor-Advised Funds to Secure Funding for Private Schools 

What Is Giving Tuesday for Independent Schools?

Also referred to as the #GivingTuesday campaign, this global day of giving provides mission-based nonprofits with a dedicated day of philanthropy. Since the inception of the event, thousands of educational institutions have joined in to increase donations for targeted campaigns and annual funds. 

Giving Tuesday leverages the power of social media to inspire millions across the world to give back and support the issues and causes that matter most to them, with education being a primary focus for many donors. The goal of Giving Tuesday is to inspire a wave of generosity that continues to help people around the globe 365 days a year. 

Your entire community can participate in Giving Tuesday, including: 

• Schools 
• Families 
• Nonprofits 
• Individuals 
• Corporations 
• Small businesses 
• Religious organizations 

In every country, you can find organizations and individuals participating in Giving Tuesday. Participants can give money, time, goods, or simply their voice to support those in need and fight for causes they care about. 

What Is the History of Giving Tuesday?

The history of Giving Tuesday began in the United States in 2012 as a response to the widespread consumerism of the post-Thanksgiving season. This was only seven years after the introduction of Cyber Monday to the holiday season. 

The nonprofit and its partners urged shoppers to donate to charity after Cyber Monday shopping. This day of giving was initiated with the beliefs that: 

• People want to donate and talk about giving. 
• Social media and technology could be utilized to make giving back go viral. 
• Society was capable of showing more creativity, collaboration, and innovative leadership. 

After Giving Tuesday took off, these beliefs were proven accurate. Today, Giving Tuesday has shaped how the world views generosity and highlights the immense power communities across the globe have to create change. The movement has also led to the creation of GivingTuesdaySpark, which is for and led by young people. Giving Tuesday Spark gives young people the agency to make changes in their communities and inspire generosity. By encouraging people to default to generosity, empathy, and kindness, we can create a lasting positive impact. 

What Are Giving Tuesday Ideas for Teachers? 

Individuals and organizations can support teachers in a variety of ways. The following are some of the ways the community can support your teachers and ways your teachers can support your Giving Tuesday goals: 

• DonorsChoose: With DonorsChoose, teachers can set up a project and request funding. For example, if a teacher wants to purchase a new rug for student activities like circle time, they can use DonorsChoose to raise money. Donors can search by the type of project or by location to find a project to support. 
• Charity Navigator: Charity Navigator helps donors find schools to support on Giving Tuesday. Charity Navigator does the research for donors, so donors can trust that their money will go to those schools that need it. 
• Amazon wish lists: Encourage your school’s teachers to set up Amazon wish lists so your community can easily view, search, and purchase needed items. Perfect for things like supplies and books, teachers can easily transform classroom experiences with a good Giving Tuesday. 
• Adopt a Classroom: Adopt a Classroom is specifically designed to help get teachers the supplies they need for the classroom. Adopt a Classroom makes matching contributions up to a certain limit, which can make donations go further. 
• Fund for Teachers: Teachers can receive grants through Fund for Teachers, allowing them to improve their students’ learning experience. Today, this organization has invested $40.5 million in grants to teachers. 
• The New Teacher Center: The New Teacher Center provides administrators with coaching to better train and retain educators. Their mission is to build a sustainable and equitable culture in classrooms and schools. Teachers can participate in coaching to further their own Giving Tuesday goals of accelerating equity in your district. 
• The Learning Forward Foundation: The Learning Forward Foundation gives teachers scholarships and grants for professional development. The result could give your educators financial power and education to further support their classrooms. 

You can also encourage your school’s community to donate to these and other services your teachers use this Giving Tuesday. 

What Are Giving Tuesday Ideas for Schools? 

Maximize Giving Tuesday by encouraging donations to educational nonprofits that directly support student learning and classroom resources. There are several additional ways individuals and organizations in your community can support your school. 

The following Giving Tuesday ideas provide further resources for your school, classrooms, and students to get the support and supplies needed: 

• Khan Academy: This nonprofit’s mission is to provide a world-class, free education for anyone in any part of the world. The Khan Academy website includes lessons, videos, and practice exercises. Khan Academy uses donations to keep resources free for teachers and students, providing an opportunity to teach students the joys of philanthropy. 
• Operation Backpack: Operation Backpack is an organization run by the Volunteers of America, providing students in need with vital school supplies and services. Operation Backpack operates in several states and cities, serving more than 2 million people in the process. 
• Children’s Literacy Initiative: The Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) provides resources to help low-income students read at or above their grade level. This initiative provides materials, workshops, and coaching. 
• The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation: Donors who want to support schools’ music education programs can do so through this foundation, which provides underprivileged students and school music programs with musical instruments. 
• CampusPay^®: Designed as an easy, straightforward way to collect private school payments and donations, CampusPay from VenturEd Solutions^® gives schools no-code payments forms and processing to power any Giving Tuesday. 

Whether your school decides to fundraise alongside partners or alone, create a successful Giving Tuesday campaign with the right ideas, tools, and strategy. 

How Can You Raise Funds on Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a great way to encourage support and drive donations to your school. The highest-performing campaigns often set clear goals, involve students in brainstorming, and create a dedicated landing page. 

After joining this day of giving, many schools have reported excellent results. Follow the tips below to successfully encourage more participation from your community and raise more money.

1. How Do You Determine Your Goal?

First, consider what your fundraising goals are for Giving Tuesday. If this is your first Giving Tuesday, you can research what other schools typically receive in donations on this day of giving. If this is not your first Giving Tuesday, review your previous year’s total donations and try to top it. After you establish a goal, you can identify the best ways to achieve it.

2. How Can You Brainstorm Ideas with Students?

If you want to get your school’s students involved, identify the issues and causes most important to them. Ask them what they care about and brainstorm ideas together to determine how you can meet your goals and gain support across your school. Examples include: 

• Fighting inequity: Your community and students can work toward fighting inequity by giving support to underprivileged schools and writing letters to elected officials. This effort can also be focused on your school, identifying and fighting inequities students recognize. 
• Spreading kindness: In the true spirit of Giving Tuesday, your school and students may want to focus on spreading kindness and generosity. This can include encouraging donations to your institution, coupled with shared acts of kindness in classrooms and public places. 
• Tackling food insecurity: Some students may face food insecurity at home. During Giving Tuesday and around the holiday season, your students can create bagged lunches and include kind notes for those who may be facing food insecurity in your community. 
• Fighting climate change: Many students today care about fighting climate change. Your school could raise funds to help students in their efforts, such as funding to plant a garden or trees. 

With these ideas, you can encourage support for your school and get your students involved in spreading generosity throughout your community and beyond. 

3. What Should Fundraising Messaging Look Like?

Your approach and messaging should be both logical and empathic, showing your community why your school needs their support. Many households and educational institutions are facing financial hardships, and your messaging should reflect that. Your message should include two key elements: 

• Encouragement of donations of any size: Be sure to make it clear that even small donations make a huge difference to your educational institution. Focus on requesting small donations from first-time donors and your alumni network. Every dollar can make a difference. 
• Reasons why your community should give to your school: Make sure you also include reasons why your community should give to your educational institution this Giving Tuesday. Highlight the programs and people who donations directly affect. By doing so, you can show donors where their money is going and exactly how they are making a difference. 

3. How Do You Establish a Matching Gift Challenge?

A matching gift challenge, where an outside organization will match donations for a limited time, can encourage donors to give up to a maximum amount within a certain timeframe. You can reach out to local businesses to see if they are willing to match up to a set donation amount. 

This set timeframe gives donors a sense of urgency, so even small donations feel large because they will be doubled during the challenge. For example, when a donor gives a $50 donation that turns into a $100 gift, this makes the donor feel even better about their donation and further increases the support to your school. Your matching gift challenge encourages participation among several constituent groups and allows you to receive more donations across the entire community.

4. How Do You Develop a Landing Page?

One of the most helpful steps you can take before Giving Tuesday is developing a landing page specifically for donors. On this page, specify why the community should give to your school and provide a secure, easy-to-fill-out payment form. 

If you already have a standard donation form for fundraising, adjust it so it states the importance of every donation regardless of size, and ensure the form is mobile-friendly. Since much of the engagement with Giving Tuesday occurs on social media, your landing page should be built with mobile devices in mind.

5. Why Should You Give Real-Time Updates?

Throughout Giving Tuesday, give real-time updates with a goal graphic on your school’s website. This information provides donors with a way to see how you are making progress toward your goal and inspires donations from community members who have not given yet. Donors are likely to be excited and encouraged by seeing the immediate impact of donations and watching as the progress bar gets closer to your goal. 

Since Giving Tuesday occurs during a single day, giving real-time updates can make an enormous difference in your fundraising efforts.

6. How Can You Create an Infographic?

Your school’s alumni likely live across the nation and maybe even the world. With a map infographic, you can show where donations come from in a unique, interactive format. 

This visual representation shows how far your alumni network reaches and how meaningful and valuable the school experience was for your alumni. On this infographic, include the distribution of donors and participation levels from faculty and alumni. This information will encourage your community to feel proud of your school and facilitate a meaningful connection between alumni.

7. How Should You Show Gratitude After Giving Tuesday?

Perhaps one of the most important steps to take after raising funds on Giving Tuesday is showing and stating your gratitude to donors and the community. Even a simple thank you can go a long way. Before Giving Tuesday arrives, email past donors to thank them for their donations and explain how their gifts made a difference for your educational institution. 

Include short videos or testimonials in both the email and on your website’s landing page. Ideally, feature faculty, students, and staff in these videos to show everyone’s appreciation. Thanking past donors can remind them of the upcoming Giving Tuesday and may even lead to gifts this year. More importantly, donors deserve appreciation for their support. 

Learn How to Maximize Impact With VenturEd Solutions^®

After the Giving Tuesday fundraising is over, the next step is to decide how to allocate the money you raised. Many schools choose to use fundraising money to award additional financial aid. 

With a solid financial aid program, your school can enroll mission-appropriate students and secure financial stability. Powering this program requires a transparent solution that provides the full picture of every applicant, so schools can make equitable, fully informed decisions while respecting each family’s dignity through every step of the financial aid cycle. 

Learn how VenturEd Solutions has processed over $6 billion in financial aid awards across more than 50 years serving private K-12 schools. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When is Giving Tuesday in 2026? 

A: Giving Tuesday will take place on December 1, 2026. It is an annual global day of giving that occurs on the Tuesday immediately following Thanksgiving in the United States. 

Q: How does VenturEd Solutions help schools manage funds raised on Giving Tuesday? 

A: VenturEd Solutions provides an integrated platform that helps schools not only securely raise funds through CampusPay, but then efficiently process funds through financial aid awards. By leveraging real-time data insights, schools can easily allocate their Giving Tuesday fundraising dollars to students who need it most. 

Q: Are small donations worthwhile on Giving Tuesday? 

A: Yes, small donations are incredibly valuable and can add up quickly. Schools often multiply the impact of smaller gifts by establishing matching gift challenges with local businesses.