A GivingTuesday postcard needs to answer three questions: Who is asking? What is the support for? How can the reader respond? Decide those answers before choosing the photograph or filling the layout with copy.
GivingTuesday 2026 falls on December 1. Your organization can use that date to identify the appeal, then give the postcard a specific, approved purpose. The front introduces the request. The back supplies the explanation and response instructions the reader needs to act.
If you are still deciding the audience, format and overall mailing plan, start with our GivingTuesday direct mail planning guide. The steps below focus on preparing the postcard itself.
Decide whether the request fits a postcard
A postcard can suit a short appeal or a reminder when you can explain the request without crowding the piece. Write the essential message in ordinary text first. If the reader needs several paragraphs of background, detailed choices or a separate reply form, discuss a letter package or another format before designing the postcard.
Consider what can appear on an exposed piece of mail. Keep individual giving history, private circumstances and sensitive personal details off the postcard. A name used for addressing does not mean every field in the supporter file belongs in the campaign copy.
Decide whether the mailing is going to your approved supporter list or an audience you have defined separately. Those choices affect the message and mailing preparation. A postcard addressed to existing supporters should not quietly become a route-wide mailing with the same assumptions about who will receive it.
Give the front one clear request
Write a headline that names the cause or purpose. A GivingTuesday logo and the word “Give” may identify the occasion, but they do not explain what your organization is asking someone to support.
Place the organization name where the reader can recognize it. Choose a photograph or illustration that fits the approved purpose, with permission for the planned use. If a caption identifies a person or describes a program, have the organization approve those details with the image.
Keep the main request readable without relying on small type over a busy photograph. When the design includes a date, make clear whether it is the GivingTuesday date or a deadline your organization has actually established. A campaign date does not by itself authorize an “offer ends tonight” message.
| Front element | Decision to make before layout |
|---|---|
| Organization identity | Which approved name and logo will the recipient recognize? |
| Main headline | What single cause or use of support does the appeal name? |
| Image and caption | Do the image, permission and caption fit that request? |
| Date | Is it the event date, or a separately approved campaign deadline? |
| Main instruction | What should the reader turn over to learn or do? |
Use the back to explain the next step
Use a short paragraph to connect the request to the organization’s work. State the approved use of support in language the reader can understand. Leave room for the response instruction and the mailing address area when you plan the copy.
A QR code and a printed web address can lead to the same organization-approved giving page. Label the action: “Give through our donation page” tells the reader more than an unexplained code. A readable printed address also gives someone a way to reach the page without scanning.
Check what the destination actually displays. The page should identify the organization and the intended campaign or giving option. If it offers several funds, confirm that the postcard’s wording tells the reader which option applies. The organization should approve the receiving destination and the person responsible for maintaining it.
When the appeal needs mailed replies, confirm the response format before completing the design. Do not assume the addressed postcard is also a return device. A separate reply card or return envelope is a different package decision that needs its own layout and proof.
A fictional front-and-back example
The following pantry appeal is an invented teaching example. The bracketed text marks information an organization would need to supply; it is not finished mailing artwork.
Front copy
[Organization name]
Help stock the pantry this GivingTuesday.
December 1, 2026
Turn over to support food purchasing for our pantry.
Back copy
This GivingTuesday, please support our pantry’s food purchasing. Your gift will support the food we purchase for distribution through the pantry.
Give at [organization-approved short web address]. Or scan the QR code to reach the same giving page.
[Approved organization name and contact information]
This example keeps the ask focused on food purchasing. It does not add an event registration, volunteer application and newsletter signup to the same response instruction. The organization would still need to approve its actual use-of-funds wording and replace every bracketed field.
The QR code would be a separate artwork element generated for the approved destination and checked from the final proof. If the giving page directs gifts to a different purpose, fix the mismatch before printing. If a gift is supposed to fund a specific quantity of food or qualify for a match, the organization must substantiate and approve that added wording before it enters the piece.
Reserve the mailing area before filling the back
Get the layout requirements for the selected postcard size and mailing method before arranging the back. Keep the delivery address, postage information and any required mailing marks in the space assigned for them. Ask the mailing team to review that area while the artwork can still be adjusted.
A line of text that fits on a blank design may collide with a long recipient address later. Use the actual address layout in the proof, including representative long records if the mailing uses a recipient file. Keep campaign copy and decorative elements out of the approved mailing area.
For artwork prepared to a production template, follow that template’s trim, bleed and safe-area instructions. Keep the printed response address, QR code and essential words away from the trim edge. Confirm the chosen dimensions and preparation with the provider for this job rather than borrowing specifications from a different postcard.
Check the message and response at final size
Review a printout at the intended finished size. Read the headline, explanation and response instruction without enlarging the page on screen. Look for low-contrast type, small reversed lettering and text crossing a detailed photograph. If a reader must struggle to find the action, simplify the layout before reducing the type further.
Scan the QR code from the final-size proof and type the printed web address separately. Confirm that both reach the intended organization and campaign. Opening the page verifies the destination you checked; it does not establish that a donation was completed or that the payment process works. The organization should separately verify its giving process before release.
Repeat the destination check after changes that affect the code, its size, the surrounding artwork or the printed address. Keep the code and its required clear space intact when exporting the final file. Do not assume a scan from an earlier design proves the exported version will read.
Confirm the schedule for this particular mailing
Share the intended arrival period, quantity, recipient-file status and artwork status when discussing the project. Agree when the organization can approve copy, data and the final proof, then confirm the available production and mailing schedule for that job.
Keep those approvals connected. If a campaign owner changes the purpose or giving destination, the designer may need a new QR code and revised wording. A list change may require a new address proof. Tell the mailing team about those changes before approving an earlier version for production.
Record the agreed production and mailing milestones separately from the intended arrival period. Confirm the selected mail service and its delivery expectations with the mailing team. A target arrival period should not be written into the postcard as a promise that every recipient will receive it on one date.
Approve one complete postcard version
Have the campaign owner review the front and back together, including the response destination and address layout. Identify the final artwork file and the recipient-file version approved for this mailing so that a later edit does not silently replace either one.
Before releasing the job, confirm:
- The organization name, main request, photograph and use-of-support wording are approved.
- The GivingTuesday date and any separate campaign deadline are stated correctly.
- The printed web address and QR code reach the approved destination from the final-size proof.
- Essential copy is readable, and the mailing area works with the selected address layout.
- The final artwork and approved recipient-file version are identified together.
- The campaign owner and mailing team have agreed the production and mailing handoff for this job.
For help preparing your postcard, call 602-433-9101. Bring the approved purpose, intended quantity, finished size if selected, and current artwork and recipient-file status. Accurate Mailing Service can discuss design, printing and mailing preparation within the scope of your project.
