As the year winds down, two of the biggest giving days—Giving Tuesday and Colorado Gives Day (CGD)—offer nonprofits the chance to raise critical funds. However, coordinating efforts across multiple platforms can be overwhelming for both organizations and donors. A strategic approach is to leverage the widespread visibility of Giving Tuesday to funnel donations through your organization’s Colorado Gives Day page on ColoradoGives.org. This focused strategy simplifies the process and amplifies the impact by driving all fundraising efforts toward a single platform and theme.
Aligning Giving Tuesday and Colorado Gives Day
Nonprofits can start building momentum about a week ahead of Colorado Gives Day on Giving Tuesday by launching a campaign that sets the stage for Colorado Gives Day donations. Using a unified theme that resonates with your mission and community, create anticipation and urgency for Colorado Gives Day. This theme should be consistent across all communications, emphasizing the convenience of donating through ColoradoGives.org and the added benefit of the $1 million incentive fund, which boosts every dollar donated on that platform.
Steps to Prepare for a Fundraising Successful Campaign
Establish a Clear Theme and Goal Your campaign should have a compelling theme that speaks to your mission and resonates with your community. For example, a nonprofit focused on education could use the theme “Fueling Futures,” while a food security initiative might choose “Feeding Hope.” Aligning your message with the needs of your organization ensures it will connect deeply with your audience.
Optimize Your ColoradoGives.org Profile Make sure your profile is up-to-date with engaging stories, photos, and videos that highlight your work and the lives you’ve touched. Clearly communicate your fundraising goal and how the funds will be used.
Create a Countdown Campaign Use the week between Giving Tuesday and Colorado Gives Day to build excitement. Share stories of impact, testimonials, and updates about your progress toward your goal. Highlight the ease of giving through ColoradoGives.org and the benefit of the incentive fund.
Drive All Traffic to ColoradoGives.org Encourage all donors to use this single platform, emphasizing the simplicity and security of donating through ColoradoGives.org. Share direct links to your profile in every communication to make it easy for donors to give.
Utilize Matching Funds Promote any matching gifts available through ColoradoGives.org to create urgency and encourage larger donations. Let your supporters know that their impact will be doubled or tripled during this period.
Engage Your Community Use social media, email campaigns, and personal outreach to share your story and campaign theme. Make your supporters feel like they are part of a larger movement by showing the collective impact of their contributions.
Leverage Visuals and Videos Create compelling graphics and short videos that highlight your theme and the ease of giving through ColoradoGives.org. Visual storytelling is a powerful tool to connect with donors on an emotional level.
Colorado Gives Day: Key Deadlines and Resources
Colorado Gives Day offers participating organizations a variety of resources to prepare and make the most of your campaign. Below we have outlined important dates, prize information, and checklists and tools to make the day run smoothly.
Important Dates
November 1: Early Giving begins
November 24: Deadline to enroll your nonprofit profile on ColoradoGives.org
December 3: #GivingTuesday—encourage early donations.
December 10: Colorado Gives Day!
December 20: Donations made in November will be disbursed
End of December: Donations made in December related to Colorado Gives Day plus any Colorado Gives Day Prizes and your organization’s proportionate share of the Incentive Fund will be disbursed
Colorado Gives Day Checklist
Post on social media multiple times with updates and reminders
Highlight any matching donors you have or talk about the Incentive Fund and how you would use the Incentive Funds to support your organization.
Send an email blast during the day to donors.
Have your volunteers call donors.
Tell people how you did and say thank you!
Have volunteers call donors to thank them within 48 hours.
Share your results on social media.
Colorado Gives Day Prizes
Colorado Gives Day offers a variety of perks and benefits to increase your chances of raising even more funds:
The Incentive Fund Boost: Nonprofits receive a portion of the $1 million Incentive Fund based on the percentage of total donations they raise from November 1 to Colorado Gives Day.
$250K Recurring Match: New monthly donations set up on ColoradoGives.org will be matched up to $100, with a $250,000 total pool starting November 1.
Nonprofit Prizes
$30K First Place Grand Prize: Three nonprofits (small, medium, large) will win $10,000 each for raising the most funds during the Colorado Gives Day event.
$15K Second Place Prize: Three nonprofits (small, medium, large) will win $5,000 each for finishing second in fundraising during the Colorado Gives Day event.
$30K Power Hours: Fifteen nonprofits will win $2,000 for raising the most funds during designated Power Hours on Colorado Gives Day.
$10K Trivia Prize: Ten nonprofits will win $1,000 each through a trivia contest on FirstBank’s blog from December 2–6.
Southwest Airlines Sponsored Hourly Prizes: Donors who give $100 or more to a nonprofit on Colorado Gives Day are entered to win an hourly round-trip airfare voucher.
Good for Business Challenge: The first 50 businesses to raise $1,000 through group giving pages between November 1 and December 10 will receive an additional $1,000 from Delta Dental of Colorado.
Make the Most of the Colorado Gives Day Toolkit
To help your campaign run smoothly, Colorado Gives Day offers a toolkit full of resources, checklists, and templates. Be sure to explore these tools to maximize your outreach and engagement.
By planning early, aligning your efforts across Giving Tuesday and Colorado Gives Day, and leveraging all available resources, your nonprofit can make the most of this year-end giving season!