MINNEAPOLIS — It's the season of giving, and nonprofits are receiving, with many getting most of their funding from December donations.
“It’s the key quarter, I would say,” said Tim Clark, CEO of Treehouse, which works to end hopelessness among teenagers.
Treehouse says it plans all year for its holiday campaigns, and 40% of its revenue comes in the year's final 90 days. Its budget is always growing, so fall fundraising is key.
“The more we raise, the more we're serving,” said Clark.
Clark says donors today are both consistent and generous, but they want to know they're making a difference and focus on groups they believe in.
“Most of our donors are giving the same if not giving more than they have, but they are typically giving it to less organizations that they did in the past,” said Clark.
That's one reason the Twin Cities United Way is also thriving, since it works to connect people in need with hundreds of different nonprofits. It, too, gets a lot of its budget this time of year, saying donations are consistently strong.
“This is a big time of year,” said CEO John Wilgers. “You have a unique perspective on the Twin Cities, the needs that exist and the organizations that are working with us to meet those needs.”
The United Way has workplace campaigns that make employee giving easy, and its website lets donors not only give, but find out how exactly their money will help. And even when things like the economy and tax laws change, it says our state's generosity does not.
“We can always count on Minnesotans to come through and donate to causes that are important to them,” said Wilgers.
According to GoFundMe, Minnesota is the 9th most generous state in the U.S., based on donations per capita. Their end-of-year report says the United States is the second most generous country in the world, right after Ireland. In 2019, 120 million donations raised more than $9 billion through GoFundMe.