Amy - I agree that the true measure of a Giving Day is its impact on the community as a whole. When we at Community First Foundation launched Colorado Gives Day in 2010, our goal was to change the individual giving landscape in Colorado through online giving. I run a program called GivingFirst, which is also the backbone for Colorado Gives Day. During the first Colorado Gives Day—Dec. 8th, 2010—we rallied more than 12,000 individual donors to give $8.4 million in just 24 hours for 529 nonprofits in Colorado. In our second year, we exceeded that with more than 27,000 donors, raising $12.4 million for 928 Colorado nonprofits. What’s more, 93% of participating nonprofits received money from at least one new donor. For me, this demonstrates success – new donors, new awareness of our nonprofits.
But GivingFirst is not just about Colorado Gives Day. It is a year-round giving program that supports nonprofits and the community the other 364 days of the year as well. For example, Colorado Gives Day aside, the online giving program helped Colorado nonprofits raise more than $4 million in 2011– nearly doubling the amount raised in 2010.
GivingFirst allows nonprofits to share key information about their programs while donors find nonprofits that fit their unique qualifiers. Success comes from training the nonprofits on how to effectively use our online tool and rallying their donors to rally for them. It is about finding new ways to bring donors to each organization and to increase giving. It’s keeping the program fresh and current with recurring donations and fundraising campaign pages. It is about raising awareness of the work of our sector and encouraging community and business involvement and support through corporate, media and prize sponsorships. Ultimately, it’s about helping our donors come together to “Give Where You Live” to Colorado nonprofits, not just on one day, but every day.
Dana RInderknecht
GivingFirst Manager, Community First Foundation
Colorado Gives Day is proving itself to be a sustainable fundraising source for CO nonprofits—in 2011, the number of online donations increased by 160%, with a 73% increase in the number of participating nonprofits—as proven from the stats from the Colorado Gives Day 2011 Report, which includes comparisons between 2010 and 2011, and can be accessed here:
• In 2010, $8.7 million was distributed to 529 nonprofits; in 2011, $12.8 million was distributed to 928 nonprofits
• In 2011, there was a 116% increase in the number of donors
• In 2011, 93% of nonprofits acquired new donors
• In 2011, there was a 46% increase in dollars distributed
• In 2010, there were more than 20,000 donations and more than 12,000 donors; in 2011, there were more than 52,000 donations and more than 27,000 donors
• In 2011, returning donors (4,539) donated $4.5 million to 847 nonprofits; 91% of nonprofits received a donation from a returning donor
• In 2011, 92% of the counties in Colorado participated in Colorado Gives Day
• 88% of nonprofits that participated in CO Gives Day 2011 were small or medium sized (as measured by annual revenue)
• Money donated in 2010 and 2011 went predominantly to Human Services organizations
• 43,988 donations (84%) were less than $250, and 18,623 donations were under $50, demonstrating that if everyone chips in just a little, we as Coloradans can do great things together.
COMMENTS
BY Dana Rinderknecht
ON March 7, 2012 07:51 AM
Amy - I agree that the true measure of a Giving Day is its impact on the community as a whole. When we at Community First Foundation launched Colorado Gives Day in 2010, our goal was to change the individual giving landscape in Colorado through online giving. I run a program called GivingFirst, which is also the backbone for Colorado Gives Day. During the first Colorado Gives Day—Dec. 8th, 2010—we rallied more than 12,000 individual donors to give $8.4 million in just 24 hours for 529 nonprofits in Colorado. In our second year, we exceeded that with more than 27,000 donors, raising $12.4 million for 928 Colorado nonprofits. What’s more, 93% of participating nonprofits received money from at least one new donor. For me, this demonstrates success – new donors, new awareness of our nonprofits.
But GivingFirst is not just about Colorado Gives Day. It is a year-round giving program that supports nonprofits and the community the other 364 days of the year as well. For example, Colorado Gives Day aside, the online giving program helped Colorado nonprofits raise more than $4 million in 2011– nearly doubling the amount raised in 2010.
GivingFirst allows nonprofits to share key information about their programs while donors find nonprofits that fit their unique qualifiers. Success comes from training the nonprofits on how to effectively use our online tool and rallying their donors to rally for them. It is about finding new ways to bring donors to each organization and to increase giving. It’s keeping the program fresh and current with recurring donations and fundraising campaign pages. It is about raising awareness of the work of our sector and encouraging community and business involvement and support through corporate, media and prize sponsorships. Ultimately, it’s about helping our donors come together to “Give Where You Live” to Colorado nonprofits, not just on one day, but every day.
Dana RInderknecht
GivingFirst Manager, Community First Foundation
BY Caitlin Jenney
ON April 24, 2012 07:49 AM
Colorado Gives Day is proving itself to be a sustainable fundraising source for CO nonprofits—in 2011, the number of online donations increased by 160%, with a 73% increase in the number of participating nonprofits—as proven from the stats from the Colorado Gives Day 2011 Report, which includes comparisons between 2010 and 2011, and can be accessed here:
http://communityfirstfoundation.org/files/CO Gives Day 2011 Report.pdf
Some of the findings:
• In 2010, $8.7 million was distributed to 529 nonprofits; in 2011, $12.8 million was distributed to 928 nonprofits
• In 2011, there was a 116% increase in the number of donors
• In 2011, 93% of nonprofits acquired new donors
• In 2011, there was a 46% increase in dollars distributed
• In 2010, there were more than 20,000 donations and more than 12,000 donors; in 2011, there were more than 52,000 donations and more than 27,000 donors
• In 2011, returning donors (4,539) donated $4.5 million to 847 nonprofits; 91% of nonprofits received a donation from a returning donor
• In 2011, 92% of the counties in Colorado participated in Colorado Gives Day
• 88% of nonprofits that participated in CO Gives Day 2011 were small or medium sized (as measured by annual revenue)
• Money donated in 2010 and 2011 went predominantly to Human Services organizations
• 43,988 donations (84%) were less than $250, and 18,623 donations were under $50, demonstrating that if everyone chips in just a little, we as Coloradans can do great things together.
BY Caitlin Jenney
ON April 24, 2012 08:17 AM
Colorado Gives Day 2012 will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 4:
http://communityfirstfoundation.org/news_press_releases.cfm?pressid=71