MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Minnesota staged what might be called a telethon without the "tele". GiveMn.Org Executive Director Dana Nelson says it has never been down quite like this before. "Give to the Max Day is a 24 hour period of unprecedented giving in the State of Minnesota."
What makes this unprecedented is the "how" of what has been done. Nelson's bottom line? "We're encouraging donors to make a donation to the Minnesota Non-profit of their choice on line at giveMn.org."
She means ANY charity, not just the "big boys." Every single charity in the state of Minnesota is included in the fund-raising rush. "There's over 37,000 organizations that are listed and as a donor, you can search by category, community, location, etc. and find, literally, pages and pages of organizations to choose from."
Nelson and helper Michelle Wright from the Advertising firm Padilla, Speer, Beardsley spent the noon hour on Tuesday holding a "Tweetchat" to rally the charity troops. One "tweet" caught Nelson's immediate attention. "That was the Girl Scouts and they're Tweeting and it says 'Wow, we've already raised more than $6,500 in support of girls'."
Of course, donors can donate anytime, but by doing it before 8am on Wednesday, they ensure that their favorite charity gets a bonus or two. Nelson explains: "The top 3 organizations who get the most donors will get a cash prize ($5,000, $2500, $1,000) at the end of the 24 hours." The competition is determined by the number of donors, not the amount of the donations, which start at just $10. That bonus is on top of their donations and there is more money to be had. "We have $500,000 of matching funds. So, after the course of the 24 hours, we will divide that up proportionately so that every gift is matched."
In addition, there was a competition posted between the Mayors of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Albert Lea to see who could garner the most donors. Each mayor is representing a local charity in his town.
Nelson says non-profits are paying attention and not just in Minnesota. "The rest of the country is really watching Minnesota. We are coupling a phenomenal, national technology platform with the sense of community and the legacy of giving in Minnesota."
Unlike many old-style telethons, "Give to the Max Day" does not depend on donors honoring pledges at a later date. The donation is "up-front" via credit card. Nelson says giveMn.org hopes to make the day an annual event.
To check on the total donations and top donor-magnet charities, click on giveMN.org.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
