Giving Tuesday: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with it, a host of other special days that have sprung up – all of them based on marketing. The oldest of these is “Black Friday”, the busiest shopping day of the year; then there’s “Cyber Monday” (which debuted in 2005 and focuses on online sales transactions), “Small Business Saturday” (founded by American Express in 2010) and the newest addition, “Giving Tuesday” (founded in 2012).

Giving Tuesday features many of the same marketing techniques as the other special days but with a different focus – generosity. And it’s been effective. According to the GivingTuesday website, over $18.5 billion has been raised on this day in the years since its inception. In 2024, 18.5 million people gave a total of $3.6 billion, an increase of 16% from the previous year. And the movement goes beyond financial giving to include non-cash giving and volunteering. Overall,  just over 36 million people participated last year in one way or another.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the benefits and drawbacks of the Giving Tuesday annual campaign. Hopefully, we’ll provide some helpful guidance as you look forward to the Thanksgiving season and all that comes afterward.

The Good

Giving Tuesday offers a countermeasure to all the consumerism surrounding the holidays. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are all about getting us to buy things. At its best, Giving Tuesday can help us shift our focus away from ourselves and toward others and can help us live out the second Great Commandment. Anticipating the day can also make us more thankful for all the blessings God has given us as we consider the needs of others. This can enrich our experience of Thanksgiving, making it a holiday of true gratitude.

Giving Tuesday reminds us that the holidays don’t have to be all about ourselves (despite what marketers might want us to believe). There can be room – there should be room – to consider others as well. Of course, for many believers, the holidays are all about family and there’s a large focus (again, driven significantly by marketers) on buying gifts for family. There’s nothing wrong with this, but Jesus encourages us to consider giving beyond that circle, to include those who can’t pay us back:

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Luke 14:12-14

Giving Tuesday Provides Opportunity

For many believers, giving is focused primarily on their church; but other believers today eschew relationship with a local church. Disillusioned by past experiences, or possibly not yet spiritually mature enough to recognize their need for community, they attempt to walk out their faith on their own. Isolation tends to stunt spiritual growth in general and stewardship more specifically. Without a regular outlet for giving, believers can be drawn into an unhealthy relationship with money. We’ve spoken elsewhere about the deceitfulness of wealth, and without an outlet for generosity, believers can easily be entrapped. Giving Tuesday provides many such outlets.

Even for those that do have a church home, Giving Tuesday can provide additional opportunities for generosity. Various giving campaigns may expose believers to new causes and God may give a vision for joining those causes on an ongoing basis. Giving Tuesday can introduce ministries that the believer’s home church might not be involved in. And, as mentioned above, it’s not always about financial giving – the day can also provide a focal point for volunteering and helping others.

Giving Tuesday Provides Resources

In addition to potential benefits for the believer, Giving Tuesday obviously benefits churches, organizations, and causes that receive income in observance of the day. This observance kicks off the year-end giving season, which is by far the most significant giving season for most churches and non-profit organizations. Many of these rely on this day and subsequent year-end giving for a significant portion of their income.

As the weather turns colder, the needs of the homeless and others increase, and Giving Tuesday provides significant resources to meet these needs. With the government shutdown in the United States this year, the level of need rose sharply, further emphasizing the role that Giving Tuesday and year-end giving play in meeting those needs.

Giving Tuesday Provides Perspective

By highlighting the importance of generosity, Giving Tuesday provides a counter to the commercialism and materialism that so often characterizes the holiday season. This was actually a major impetus for the founding of Giving Tuesday. While this perspective is particularly needed during this season, it’s important all year round. Giving Tuesday can begin to unlock a focus on year-round generosity for those who have not made this a significant part of their finances in the past. And with its focus beyond just finances, Giving Tuesday can help inspire an others-centered lens through which to live out discipleship.

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The Bad

With all these positive effects, Giving Tuesday does come with a few drawbacks. These come primarily from how the day and the giving opportunities are marketed.

Urgency

Most giving campaigns emphasize urgency as a way to encourage people to donate right away. This urgency may come, for example, in the form of a matching gift available only on this day. Creating a sense of urgency is a common marketing technique not limited to giving, but it’s a human-centered technique that calls for awareness. There certainly are urgent needs in the world, but the emphasis on immediacy leads away from a considered, prayerful approach to giving.

Needs-centric giving

Closely related, the campaigns associated with Giving Tuesday are all needs-based. This is the natural way to market them and there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that. But a focus on human need can tend to shift our eyes away from the primary reason for giving: to glorify God. The resulting emphasis is not on stewardship or discipleship but on addressing a specific concern. That can certainly be done in a context of stewardship, but this is not the typical marketing focus of Giving Tuesday.

Giving fatigue

Both of these issues tend to lead to “giving fatigue” – a sort of numbness that results from the constant barrage of requests. Continual exposure to dire circumstances without a balancing mindfulness of God’s power, love, and compassion can lead to hopelessness and despair and can actually discourage giving. We can’t solve all the problems, so we get discouraged and give up.

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The Ugly

The above issues can lead toward the kind of giving that falls short of God’s design for our generosity. This isn’t an automatic result, but it’s something we need to watch out for.

Compulsive Giving

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

The marketing surrounding Giving Tuesday tends to create a sense of compulsion rather than a motive of gratitude to God. And while such giving may provide needed dollars for various causes, it rarely draws a person nearer to God. This kind of giving can actually build resentment over time if the giver is not careful.

Guilt-based Giving

Our giving should be from a place of grace, not guilt. Many of the requests for donations surrounding Giving Tuesday carry an implicit insinuation of guilt and obligation (“You have it better than these people, so you owe it to them to give…”). Of course, such tactics aren’t limited to Giving Tuesday, but they seem to feature prominently in the requests we see this time of year.

Scripture tells us that God gives us good things for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). We’re to steward his provision for his glory, for the good of others, and for our own benefit. But when we’re made to feel guilty over God’s blessings, we find ourselves unable to receive these blessings with gratitude.

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Stewarding Giving Tuesday

Like so many things related to finances, Giving Tuesday has positives and negatives. It generates resources to meet important needs, encourages generosity in a season dominated by materialism, and introduces new giving opportunities that can open doors into areas of service. On the other hand, the constant barrage of requests can taint our attitude toward giving (even to the point of creating resentment and resistance) and can lead to a sense of despair and hopelessness from exposure to so much need.

With all this in mind, how do we approach Giving Tuesday in a way that honors God? Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian Church regarding the offering for believers in Jerusalem (see 2 Corinthians 8-9 and earlier in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4) can provide some helpful guidelines.

The Process

If we want to participate meaningfully in Giving Tuesday (or in any kind of special giving), it’s important to be intentional. Rather than being driven by requests from various organizations (some with a Gospel basis and some without), we need to take control of our own giving and follow the Sprit’s leading. Here are a few steps that can be helpful:

1. Start with Prayer

And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

2 Corinthians 8:5

Paul encouraged the Corinthian church in their giving by telling the story of the Macedonian churches and their generosity. They gave “beyond their ability” even in the midst of their own poverty (2 Corinthians 8:2-3). How did they do this? They gave themselves first to God. Rather than asking, “How much can we afford?” or “How much does the Jerusalem church need?” they asked “What is God leading us to do?” And they committed themselves to do as God led them.

Paul tells the Corinthians to give what they’ve decided in their hearts to give (2 Corinthians 9:7). They would come to that decision based on seeking God’s leading in prayer, as undoubtedly the Macedonian churches had.

Of course, the Corinthian church was navigating only one request! We face a more complex giving environment, with petitions from all kinds of sources with encouragements of how our gifts will be “multiplied,” etc. So as we seek God’s leading, we’re asking God not only, “How much?” but also, “Where?” Knowing that we can’t respond to every request, we need to prayerfully discern God’s direction for our giving.

And ideally, this should be a family affair! Praying through this with our family and arriving at a decision together can be not only a great family experience but a significant opportunity for discipling our children in the area of generosity.

One additional note: God may not be leading us to do anything in response to Giving Tuesday this year. Exodus 35:20-29 tells the story of the Israelites giving freewill offerings for the building of the Tabernacle, according to the Lord’s instructions. Repeatedly, we’re told that “all who were willing” took part (verses 21, 22, 26, 29). And there’s no condemnation of those who – for whatever reason – didn’t take part.

Perhaps our giving and serving will be (and have been) elsewhere. Giving Tuesday should be seen as an opportunity, not an obligation.

2. Make a Plan

As God leads us in response to prayer, the next step is to make a plan. This plan should include such items as how much to give, where to give, and how to give of ourselves beyond finances (eg, volunteering, etc.). Again, as much as possible, the whole family should participate in the plan. Here are a few questions to pray over:

• Where are the giving opportunities that will draw people closer to God?
• Are there any opportunities to give where we can also serve as a family?
• Are there any causes that God has specifically burdened us with? (eg, the Persecuted Church, human trafficking, unreached peoples, etc.)

By planning out our giving in a context of prayer and discernment, we’re acting as faithful stewards of God’s provision, rather than being tossed around by the priorities of others (including marketers!). Part of faithful stewardship is prayer-driven intentionality about how we give away the resources God has entrusted to us.

3. Walk the Path

Once we’ve prayerfully discerned how God would have us give and serve, the next step is to simply follow that leading. We give and serve with joy in the places God has directed us. And we can say, “No” – without guilt – to those things that aren’t part of God’s leading for this year.

In some cases, God may be leading us to an ongoing involvement. In other cases, he may be inviting us to a one-time response. Perhaps this year he will put the same things on our hearts as he did last year. Maybe next year he will send us in a new direction. Possibly, God will lead us in a direction other than Giving Tuesday. The important thing is to discern and follow his leading.

The Preparation

As you anticipate Giving Tuesday, how are you planning? If you look back on this season after the beginning of the new year, will you be grateful for opportunities that God brought to you? Or will you wish you had been able to respond more intentionally and liberally? Whether for Giving Tuesday or other year-end giving opportunities, the battle is often won or lost in the preparation.

Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up.

1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Paul first introduced the gift for the Jerusalem church in his earlier letter to the Corinthians. There, he told the believers to prepare for the offering by setting aside some of their income each week. That way, they wouldn’t be caught off-guard when Paul came.

This season of giving comes around every year, and still many of us are unprepared to do what we really would like to. We haven’t prayed or thought about it, and we haven’t planned for it by setting aside funds or making time to serve.

If you find yourself in that place, don’t be driven by guilt. Instead, prayerfully commit to preparing for next year. Here are a couple ideas to help you get started:

• Make a note of all the requests you received. (If you get them by email, create a special folder for them called “year-end giving” or something like that. Store the emails there). Note which ones you responded to and which interested you but you didn’t participate in.
• Ask yourself if there were any opportunities that came up that you wanted to take part in but didn’t. Was the reason lack of finances? What would you need to do in the coming year to be prepared to participate?
• Note any requests that you responded to out of guilt, obligation, or urgency. Be aware of this tendency next year and emphasize prayerful discernment of God’s direction.

The Payoff

When we respond to God’s leading regarding giving – whether regular giving or special-occasion offerings, several important results occur:

1. God is glorified

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

2 Corinthians 9:12-13

Paul emphasizes the vertical aspect of giving. “Expressions of thanks to God” result when believers give generously. We see the same response to the generosity of Israel’s leaders in providing for the building of the Temple (1 Chronicles 29). When God’s people respond to his grace with gratitude and generosity, God is glorified.

2. Needs are met

This is an obvious one, but it bears mentioning. The generosity of God’s people results in needs being met – whether those needs are spiritual or material. And God cares about each one. Even a cup of cold water given to a disciple in need matters to God (Matthew 10:42).

3. The church grows in unity and love

And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

2 Corinthians 9:14

As God’s people meet the needs of other believers (2 Corinthians 9:12 above), the unity and love of the church grows. This one speaks specifically to giving within the Church (big “C”) as opposed to giving in general. This kind of giving within the body not only builds unity but attracts others to the Church and to Jesus, as Jesus predicted in John 13:34-35 and as evidenced in Acts 2:47.

4. God takes care of the giver

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…

2 Corinthians 9:10-11

God responds to our generosity by taking care of our needs. This isn’t the prosperity gospel; it’s a promise of God’s provision as we steward with generosity the resources he has entrusted to us. Paul repeats this promise in Philippians 4:19 – which is often misquoted as a general promise of God’s provision but which, in context, is a promise of God meeting the needs of the believers in response to their support of Paul.

5. We draw near to God

Giving in general is one way in which we draw near to God. Jesus tells us that our hearts follow our treasure (Matthew 6:21), and giving is perhaps the primary way that we store our treasure in heaven. Giving breaks the hold that money tends to have on us and frees us to love and serve God rather than money (Matthew 6:24). It helps to protect us from the deceitfulness of wealth (Matthew 13:22) and to shift our focus away from earthly things toward heavenly things (Colossians 3:1-2).

Making the Most of Giving Tuesday

Year-end giving, beginning with Giving Tuesday, represents both a great opportunity for blessing and a significant noise factor. Which of the two it becomes for us depends largely on how we approach it. With a prayerful, intentional approach, we can fulfill the best possibilities of this day and this season for generosity. Among other things, this requires that we:

• Replace guilt (for having more than others) with gratitude (for God’s blessing);
• Trade compulsion (a sense of obligation) for cheerfulness (eagerness to give and serve);
• Exchange urgency (created by others) for discernment (given by God).

May God bless you as you seek his leading in this season of generosity!

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