Local newsrooms have a unique opportunity this year to turn community trust into tangible support on Giving Tuesday, the global day of generosity that follows Thanksgiving.
In a recent episode of the Keep It Local podcast, Local Media Association Director of Fundraising Initiatives Kristyn Cooper said Giving Tuesday represents “a day dedicated to giving for community and collective impact.”
“It started back in 2012 with just a simple idea that after we have these days that are focused on consumerism such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, let’s have a day dedicated to giving,” she said. “It just snowballed … it’s grown into a worldwide movement.”
In 2024 alone, Giving Tuesday reported an estimated $3.6 billion donated in the U.S. in one day. Cooper said that scale shows both the opportunity and the responsibility for newsrooms to take part.
Normalize the ask
Cooper said one of the most important lessons from the nonprofit world is that fundraising must be normalized — not treated as a once-a-year event.
“Part of your job in development is to kind of train your audience to expect fundraising messages, to normalize it,” she said. “Journalists are storytellers. They’re great at that. And so you can utilize that to really talk about the impact of your work and the importance of supporting it.”
She noted that in fundraising, it takes an average of 17 different touchpoints before a donor gives. That means newsrooms should communicate year-round about their mission, their impact, and why local journalism matters.
Make giving easy
Cooper emphasized that friction kills donations. The process should be simple and obvious.
“You don’t want to make it difficult for people to give gifts,” she said. “If you just have a page you can point people to, that’s great. You want to do everything you can to help them along in that process.”
Her advice is to make the donate button “big” and “not hard to find.” Every extra click between interest and donation increases the chance that a potential donor will walk away.
Show gratitude
Fundraising, Cooper said, doesn’t end with a donation — it continues through gratitude and transparency.
She said newsrooms should quickly acknowledge donations and then show how those funds make an impact.
“Let them know that you got it. Let them know that it’s going to make a difference,” she said. “And then the best thing that you can do to show gratitude is just to continue to communicate with them and to continue to show what their gift is doing.”
Every gift counts
Cooper said she expects this year’s Giving Tuesday to remain strong, even amid economic uncertainty. “Sometimes we’ll think, ‘Oh, giving is really gonna drop,’ but then people will be surprised by generosity,” she said.
She added, “Every gift, large or small, it makes a difference. Just make sure that people know that.”
For those who want to support local journalism more broadly, donations to the Local Media Foundation — the 501(c)(3) arm of LMA — are tax-deductible.
FAQs
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity that takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, encouraging people and organizations to support causes that strengthen their communities.
Why does it matter for local newsrooms?
It’s an opportunity for news organizations to raise funds, tell their story, and build long-term donor relationships.
What are the best practices for newsroom fundraising?
Normalize fundraising year-round, make giving easy, and show clear impact.
🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3AtDhjwvlowLeIQs52HiWG
🎧 Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-newsrooms-can-win-on-giving-tuesday-and-keep/id1808196993?i=1000736177522
🎧 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmTdLhZ4Zd4
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Special link: LMA / LMF links for Giving Tuesday 2025
Editor’s note: Artificial Intelligence was used to transcribe and create an initial summary of this article, which was then edited by LMA staff.