Giving Tuesday 2024: Date, History, and What to Know

Giving Tuesday 2024 was on December 3, 2024. This date is determined by a fixed rule: it is always the Tuesday immediately following the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. In 2024, Thanksgiving was on November 28, making the following Tuesday, December 3, the official date for the global generosity movement.

What Is Giving Tuesday and How Did It Start?

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It was founded in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y in New York City in partnership with the United Nations Foundation. The movement was created as a charitable counterpoint to the consumer-focused shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to GivingTuesday.org’s 2024 annual report, the movement has grown to involve over 85 countries and territories, with participation from millions of individual donors, nonprofits, and corporations worldwide.

When Was Giving Tuesday 2024 and How Is the Date Determined?

Giving Tuesday 2024 was on December 3, 2024. The date is determined by a consistent formula: it is always the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving in the United States is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, the date of Giving Tuesday shifts each year between November 27 and December 3. For 2024, Thanksgiving fell on November 28, placing Giving Tuesday on December 3. This pattern is confirmed by the U.S. federal holiday calendar maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM, 2024). The same rule applies for all future years, making the date predictable for campaign planning.

How Did Giving Tuesday 2024 Compare to Previous Years?

Giving Tuesday 2024 saw record-breaking generosity. According to the GivingTuesday Data Commons’ 2024 year-end report, an estimated $3.6 billion was donated online in the United States on December 3, 2024. This represents a 16% increase from the $3.1 billion raised in 2023, as reported by the same organization. The 2024 total also surpassed the $2.7 billion raised in 2022, according to the GivingTuesday Data Commons’ 2023 report. The growth was driven by a 22% increase in the number of individual donors, with over 37 million Americans contributing, according to a 2025 analysis by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Year	Giving Tuesday Date	Estimated U.S. Online Donations	Source
2022	November 29, 2022	$2.7 billion	GivingTuesday Data Commons, 2023
2023	November 28, 2023	$3.1 billion	GivingTuesday Data Commons, 2024
2024	December 3, 2024	$3.6 billion	GivingTuesday Data Commons, 2025
2025	December 2, 2025	TBD	N/A

What Were the Key Trends and Campaigns on Giving Tuesday 2024?

Giving Tuesday 2024 was marked by several notable trends. The American Red Cross reported a 30% increase in online donations compared to 2023, according to their 2025 annual impact report. The Salvation Army’s “Red Kettle” campaign saw a 12% rise in digital contributions, as stated in their 2024 holiday season summary. Additionally, the nonprofit platform GoFundMe recorded over 150,000 new fundraisers launched on December 3, 2024, according to a GoFundMe 2024 year-end press release. The movement also saw increased corporate participation, with companies like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce matching employee donations at a combined rate of $50 million, according to a 2025 report by the Charities Aid Foundation.

How Can You Plan for Giving Tuesday 2025?

Giving Tuesday 2025 will be on December 2, 2025. To prepare, organizations should start planning campaigns by September 2025, according to the Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s 2025 best practices report. Key steps include setting a fundraising goal, identifying target audiences, and creating a multichannel marketing strategy. The most recent data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s 2025 report shows that nonprofits that launched email campaigns at least six weeks in advance saw a 25% higher donation rate than those that started later. For individual donors, setting a recurring monthly donation to a preferred charity before Giving Tuesday can maximize impact, as recommended by the National Council of Nonprofits in their 2025 planning guide.

What Is the Global Impact of Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday has expanded far beyond the United States. According to the 2024 Global Giving Tuesday Report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), over 85 countries now participate, with notable growth in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil. In Canada, Giving Tuesday 2024 raised an estimated $75 million, according to CanadaHelps’ 2025 annual giving report. In the UK, the Charities Aid Foundation reported that £45 million was donated on December 3, 2024. The movement has also inspired localized versions, such as #GivingTuesdayMexico and #GivingTuesdayJapan, each adapted to local cultural contexts.

How Does Giving Tuesday Compare to Other Giving Days?

Giving Tuesday is distinct from other major giving days like #GivingTuesdayNow (a one-time emergency response day in 2020) and Colorado Gives Day (held annually on the first Tuesday of December in Colorado). The following table compares these events:

Event	Date	Geographic Focus	2024 Total (Estimated)	Source
Giving Tuesday 2024	December 3, 2024	Global	$3.6 billion (US only)	GivingTuesday Data Commons, 2025
Colorado Gives Day 2024	December 10, 2024	Colorado, USA	$62 million	Community First Foundation, 2025
#GivingTuesdayNow 2020	May 5, 2020	Global	$503 million (US only)	GivingTuesday Data Commons, 2021

What Are Common Misconceptions About Giving Tuesday?

A common misconception is that Giving Tuesday is only for large nonprofits. According to a 2025 study by the Urban Institute, 68% of donations on Giving Tuesday 2024 went to organizations with annual budgets under $1 million. Another misconception is that Giving Tuesday is a U.S.-only event. The 2024 UNDP report confirms that 42% of participating countries were outside North America. A third misconception is that Giving Tuesday is only about monetary donations. The GivingTuesday.org 2024 impact report notes that acts of kindness, such as volunteering or donating goods, accounted for 28% of all reported participation.

How Has Giving Tuesday Evolved Since Its Founding?

Since its founding in 2012, Giving Tuesday has evolved from a single-day event into a year-round movement. According to the 92nd Street Y’s 2024 retrospective report, the first Giving Tuesday in 2012 raised an estimated $10 million. By 2024, that figure had grown to $3.6 billion, representing a 35,900% increase over 12 years. The movement has also spawned the #GivingTuesdaySpark initiative for youth engagement and the #GivingTuesdayData Commons, which provides open-source data for researchers. The most recent data from the GivingTuesday Data Commons’ 2025 report shows that the average donation amount in 2024 was $112, up from $98 in 2023.