Breaking the record as the largest online giving event in history by raising over $53 million, Give Local America 2014 was an unprecedented national success. How did communities across the country make it happen? We polled the most successful community foundation leaders to find out what proven practices or innovative strategies they believe were key to helping them raise the most funds and increase brand awareness.
The Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation summed it up best – “We participated! Best thing we ever did!” Keep reading to see how communities leveraged partnerships, incentives, and communication to ensure May 6 was a monumental day.
Partnerships
- Partnered with several corporations that spread the word internally
- Invested in nonprofit training
- Partnered with all types of media outlets that helped spread the word about the giving day
- Partnered with nonprofits that were willing to collaborate with one another
- Allowed donor advised funds to participate
- Partnered with the local university to help manage the social media for the day
Incentives
- Lined up incentive money first
- Created a prize structure that encouraged unique donors so nonprofits could gain new, young donors
- Emphasized to nonprofits that total donors, not necessarily total dollars, is where they should direct their focus
- Offered prizes throughout the entire 24 hours to keep everyone excited and glued to the leaderboard
Communication
- Enlisted community advocates who traveled throughout the service area advocating for the giving day and nonprofit participation
- Communicated the logistics behind donations and refunds so the public knew how easy it would be to give and participate on the day of the event
- Shared resources and social media tips with nonprofits, making it easy for small, understaffed organizations to spread the word with quick, pre-filled messaging and templates
- Spread the word about community nonprofit organizations so people could learn about participating organizations before the event started
- Shared news about giving day success, generating much more interest from donors, nonprofits, and corporations for next year
- Frequently shared tips, latest news, resources, etc. with local nonprofit organizations so they stayed updated and excited as the event approached
Did your organization participate in Give Local America? What were the keys to your success? Let us know in the comments section below!
We want to thank everyone who participated in our post event survey and shared their tips that helped make Give Local America a success in their community:
[row]
[column lg=”6″ md=”12″ sm=”12″ xs=”12″ ]
Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
The Big Give S.A.
Central Carolina Community Foundation
Coastal Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Washington County MD
Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque
Community Foundation of North Louisiana
Crown Point Community Foundation
Connecticut Community Foundation
Greater Manhattan Community Foundation
[/column]
[column lg=”6″ md=”12″ sm=”12″ xs=”12″ ]
Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Kitsap Community Foundation
Midland Area Community Foundation
Northern Piedmont Community Foundation
Community Foundation of East Central Florida
Piedmont Community Foundation
Richmond Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Sarasota County
The Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
[/column]
[/row]