GivingFirst.org Blog

GivingFirst: Unlimited Possibilities for the Passionate Fundraiser

2012-01-26T15:01:00.005-07:00

By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager

On January 19^th at the Arvada Center, CommunityFirst Foundation awarded the FirstBank High Five Prizes to 12 organizations whodid an outstanding job on Colorado Gives Day. There were over 500 folks present and they represented a true cross sectionof Colorado Nonprofits.

Now I will let you in on a little secret. I loved thisevent! Not only because we put it together, so that makes me biased, butbecause it is so much fun to see our participants in person. GivingFirst is an online program, and as suchwe do almost everything electronically – webinars, emails, etc. So I rarely getto talk one-on-one with participants to learn about what they are doing. I readthe profiles and the newsletters so I know on a cursory level what ishappening. But to hear someone who is passionate about the work they are doingis a whole different phenomenon. To hear the stories of donor calls thathappened on Colorado Gives Day, or leading up to or, even better yet, after theday, is so much fun for me. I also love the networking and idea sharing thathappens at our events.

From a developmentperspective, Colorado Gives Day has unlimited possibilities. Hearing whatanother organization did can trigger a thought that takes you in so manydifferent directions. You may not use that idea for Colorado Gives Day, but forsomething that you are working on at a different time of the year.

That is really the key to Colorado Gives Day and our program.

GivingFirst.org is a year- round program. Donors can go onand give 365 or in the case of this year 366 days a year. 24 hours a day. Theycan set up a recurring donation, which means they can give on a regular basisin a time frame that works best for them. That could be monthly or quarterly oreven every three weeks. The functionality is very flexible.

Then of course there are GivingFirst Fundraising Pages.These are a great way to raise money for your favorite charity and to challengeyourself. It is the time of year where those who make New Year’s Resolutionshave started faltering. Perhaps your resolution was to do something healthy; thencreating a Fundraising page is a great way to give you accountability while atthe same time helping your favorite nonprofit raise money and awareness.

But I digress. Theone comment I heard over and over again at the event was that nonprofitslearned so much this year and that they can’t wait for next year.

I say, “Why wait?”Fundraising is year-round. Needs don’t stop because it is the beginning of anew year.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2011-12-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

By Marla J. Williams, president and CEO of Community FirstFoundation

Community First Foundation, FirstBank, media sponsors,and hundreds of nonprofits work all year to pull off a giving day that makes adifference.

In the months leading up to Colorado Gives Day, we’ve been awedby the current of energy building in Colorado. In the last few weeks, who couldgo a day—an hour--without hearing something about December 6?

A year ago, when we launched the concept, we wanted to enhancegiving in Colorado. What we got—what we all got—was so much more than that:community engagement and spirit; nonprofit collaboration; people wanting to bea part of something bigger; and a unified, singular drive to help each other bygiving.

And the donors were unstoppable. Despite some website glitches, donors were determinedto make their gifts – lots of gifts! More than 52,000 donations floodedGivingFirst.org to the tune of $12million. That’s an increase of 150 percent over last year’s 20,000donations.

Thank you to FirstBank for being the corporate partner ofevery nonprofit’s dream, contributing $500,000 and media buys to the cause.

Thank you to our fabulous media sponsors who raised the public’s awareness of ColoradoGives Day on a grand scale.

Thank you to our Bonus Bucks sponsors who inspireddonors and added excitement to the day.

Thank you to the foundations who support nonprofitsin extraordinary ways every day, funded the event’s webinars, and were alsothere to make sure Colorado Gives Day 2011 remained free of processing fees.

And, of course, thank you to the boards and staffs of nearly1,000 nonprofits who dedicated their energy and creative ideas to make sureColorado Gives Day was a stunning success.

Thank you Colorado! What a difference a day can make.

CiviCore Gets GivingFirst.org Ready for Colorado Gives Day

2011-12-01T12:07:00.001-07:00

Recently we met up with Charles“Chic” Naumer, co-founder of CiviCore, the company that programs the onlinegiving technology for GivingFirst.org. We appreciate the ideas they share tohelp us enhance the site. Their work and dedication to GivingFirst isindispensable, and we are grateful to them for being the technology sponsor ofColorado Gives Day this year.

What is CiviCore?

Our company builds web-based database applications for thesocial sector. This includes databases for managing volunteers, donors andclient outcomes. Our products are customized for each client’s particular need.

When did CiviCorestart and where are you located?

My business partner, Rich Rainaldi, and I co-foundedCiviCore in 2000. Our office is in the heart of downtown Denver and we haveover 350 clients in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America and Australia.

How did you getinvolved with Community First Foundation?

Community First Foundation hired us four years ago to buildthe GivingFirst platform. It has been a great experience to see the success ofthe GivingFirst website in terms of both the enthusiasm it has created foronline giving in our community and the benefit to all the nonprofits we careabout in our community.

What do you do toprepare for Colorado Gives Day?

Our biggest focus is to prep for the amount of transactions persecond that will come through GivingFirst in a 24-hour period. Last ColoradoGives Day we had up to 6 transactionsper second and more than 20,000 donations in one day. We are prepared for tthese bursts of activity in a short amount of time. Also, we recently migratedGivingFirst to a new “cloud based” environment that will make the site moreefficient and cost effective.

What will your teambe doing on the big day—December 6?

Our entire team is very excited to be a part of the greatsuccess of Colorado Gives Day. We won’tbe getting a lot of sleep on December 6^th. We will be monitoring everything for all 24hours —transactions coming in, payments being processed, system performance andgeneral traffic metrics. Last year Community First Foundation met its goal of$1 million very early in the morning. We were thrilled to see the donationscoming in and our system handling eight times the expected volume so well. Wewere really prepared last year, so we have a leg up this year.

How do you helpensure the site is secure?

Security is a very important. We have considered security throughoutdevelopment of the GivingFirst system. To ensure our systems are secure the GivingFirst system was recently tested by an outside, third-party security firm. Itis always nice to have an outside opinion when it comes to security and thisaudit gives us added confidence our systems are secure. Additionally, all of CiviCore applicationsare hosted at a top tier hosting facility with state-of-the-art physical andsoftware security mechanisms in place.

Do you have afavorite GivingFirst feature?

I am very excited by Fundraising Pages--the individualcampaign pages. Last year, I setup a campaign page for my favorite nonprofit,The Anchor Center for Blind Children, and raised more than $2,000. It is verygratifying to be able to utilize this functionality to generate an even biggerbenefit for the organizations you care about.

What do you likeabout GivingFirst?

It’s made a big impact in Colorado. We’ve been reallyexcited by its value—making online giving available 24 hours a day, every dayin Colorado. It gives nonprofits in our community infrastructure that they otherwisewould have had to build themselves. Now when our Colorado clients need anonline donation system, we can direct them to GivingFirst. We love to be ableto support our Colorado-based clients so cost effectively! Clients in otherstates just don’t have this option.

Support Local Through a Community Foundation!

2011-11-17T17:24:00.001-07:00

Marla J. Williams

Thisweek is Community Foundations week, and we met up with Marla J. Williams,president and CEO of Community First Foundation, to tell us about the value ofthese organizations.

Marla,this week the country is celebrating community foundations. Can you tell uswhat a community foundation is?

Afoundation like Community First Foundation is the vehicle through which acommunity can come together to create and pool charitable resources and addressneeds in a specific geographic area.

Whatregion does Community First Foundation serve?

We make grants to 501(c)(3) organizations in the7-county Metro Denver area.

Whatis its mission?

To improve quality of life by increasing communitygenerosity and involvement.

Howmany grants did the Foundation award last year?

Last year we granted $13.4 million to nonprofits inthe Denver area. Recently we’ve granted to organizations such as the DenverOffice of Drug Strategy to reduce substance abuse, the Jefferson County Departmentof Health to fund cervical cancer screening tests for low income women, andDenver Open Media to provide “new media” training to help nonprofits promotetheir services.

Iknow Community First Foundation serves hundreds of nonprofits; how does it supportdonors?

In addition to making it easy for people to learnabout hundreds of local nonprofits through GivingFirst.org, we also help peoplebe charitable through planned giving and funds called Donor Advised Funds.Through Donor Advised Funds, donors can get a tax deduction in the year theymake a gift but advise us about the timing and amount of donation to nonprofitsover many years. Individuals, families and groups may set up this type of fundto memorialize a loved one, create a legacy of giving, and to receive theguidance and support of a foundation that has its finger on the pulse of thecommunity.

Whywould I use a community foundation rather than just support a nonprofitdirectly?

It’s not either/or. It’s both. If there is anonprofit that you trust and whose work you understand and value, you cansupport that organization directly (consider a gift on GivingFirst.org!). Bygiving to a community foundation, you can also be part of a larger strategythat draws upon the expertise of the foundation’s board and staff.

Whywould I set up a charitable fund at a foundation rather than a bank?
Community foundations are leaders in grant-makingand specialize in knowing the needs of the community, knowing the nonprofitsthat serve those needs, and connecting individuals with these nonprofits. Oursole purpose of being is to serve communities. We also have an obligation tohonor donor intent and to manage charitable funds prudently.

Whatimpact has the foundation made in the Denver area?

Throughour nonprofit preservation initiative we have helped more than 70 nonprofitsimprove their financial futures by establishing endowments. GivingFirst.org,our online giving resource, and Colorado Gives Day have been quiterevolutionary for this region. People have donated more than $16.2 million from2007 through mid-November. The site is making giving easy and accessible forColoradans. Nonprofits love that we have a vehicle for them to accept onlinegifts with no membership fees and minimal processing fees. It aligns with ourmission to serve the community in this way.

GivingFirst.org: Fast and Furious Growth

2011-11-09T17:09:00.002-07:00

By Angela Bevacqua, Senior Communications Specialist

We are just under one month awayuntil Colorado Gives Day, and the energy at Community First Foundation isfrenetic!

Dana, our GivingFirst manager,has been sequestered in her office, reviewing and approving hundreds ofnonprofits who are joining the site since September. She juggles approving theprofiles while answering lots of calls and emails each day. (Stay tuned to thisblog for the final number of nonprofits participating in CO Gives Day!)

Bryce, our project coordinator,is pouring over nonprofit documents that need to be in order before a newprofile goes live.

Caitlin, our new communicationsmanager, is a blur as she darts through the office, getting incredible mediacoverage lined up for the weeks leading up to the big day.

I am fielding numerous emailsabout marketing tools and planning for a January Colorado Gives Day celebrationfor nonprofit participants (details TBA)-- where High Five prize winners willbe announced. Our leadership is successfully signing up BonusBucks sponsors and, truly, every one of our 13 staff members have a hand inColorado Gives Day.

Although Colorado Gives Daydrives hundreds of new nonprofits to join GivingFirst.org, the site has been growingfast and furiously all on its own merits.

Here’s what we’re seeing with online donations this year:

· More than 800 nonprofits are joining GivingFirst.org,up from 540 last year

· Donations are up 82 percent this year, and stoodat $2.2 million as of October 31, 2011.

· More than 18,700 donations have been processedthrough GivingFirst through October 31, 2011, up 108 percent.

· In October alone, we've processed $380,000 in donations through GivingFirst comparedto $216,000 last year

Stay tuned!

Why I get excited about GivingFirst

2011-10-14T13:55:00.001-06:00

By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager

I wanted to title this “Why I love GivingFirst.org.” Butthen I wondered if it is wrong for the person responsible for the website totell you why she loves it.
This time of year, for the second year in a row, is justcrazy at Community First Foundation. Things are extremely exciting as we geteverything ready for December 6, our second Colorado Gives Day. My main jobright now is to review all of the newly submitted profiles for those who wouldlike to become GivingFirst participants.

For those of you who have no idea what that means, let megive you a quick overview. Each nonprofit that you find on GivingFirst.org hasgone through a process of entering information about what exactly they do. Thisinformation includes who sits on their board of directors and then statisticsabout that board, such as what percent support the organization financially. Italso includes information on each of their programs, including how they measuresuccess and what are their short and long term goals. It is a great process fornonprofits to go through to evaluate themselves. I hear from those workingthrough the process that it has been a great way for them to reflect on wherethey are. From new employees, I hear it is a great way for them to learn aboutthe organization.

Once a nonprofit has entered all their information theyclick on a button that says ”Submit for Review.” Then it becomes my job to lookat this information and ensure that it is complete. I also pull informationfrom up to three years of 990s so that donors can get a complete picture oftheir financials.

This is why I love GivingFirst. We have created a site where nonprofits canenter information about what they do and then donors can go in and review it.We are not judging the nonprofits. We want the donors to make up their ownminds. We want donors to go in and learn as much as they can about the nonprofitsin their community doing the work that fuels their passion.

Every day I get to do that. I get to review the informationthat nonprofits put into their profiles, see that is it complete but also seewhat really amazing things are happening in communities around the state. Now,I am the first to say that there are nonprofits on our site that don’t match mypassions. But I love reading and learning about the work they do, putting themout there for donors to learn more about what they do.

I also am excited with the tools we have created to givedonors more ways to give to the nonprofits. Do they know that they can make arecurring donation? That means that they can come onto the site and chose afavorite nonprofit(s) and give to them weekly, monthly or whatever works into theirbudget.

We have also created fundraising pages. I call these the“I’m going to run a marathon" pages. This is a way for me to raise money for myfavorite charity from my friends and family. I can do this if I do actually runa marathon or if it is my birthday or because it is Colorado Gives Day!Finally, I can also purchase a gift card for a friend, family member orbusiness associate. This allows them to choose their favorite nonprofit. What agreat way to thank those who support you in what you do while beingphilanthropic.

So that is why I love GivingFirst.org. What a greatresource! If I do say so my biased self!

High-Five Prizes for Nonprofits: Earn Your Way to the Top

2011-08-31T16:41:00.000-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua, Communications Specialist

In our last blog we talked about Bonus Bucks—$1,000 prizes that will be awarded on Colorado Gives Day from a random drawing of donor names.

But we’re also offering another kind of prize. Prizes nonprofits can earn—and use as goals for their organization.

These little windfalls of cash—worth $5,000 each--are called High-Five prizes and are generously funded by corporate partner FirstBank. 12 prizes will be awarded, adding $60,000 more to the pot of Colorado Gives Day prize money.

So how can a nonprofit win one of these prizes?

First you need to know that there are four categories of prizes. Within each category there will be three winners.

The Prize Categories are:

Most Donors on Colorado Gives Day (3 winners)
Most Dollars Raised on Colorado Gives Day (3 winners)
Largest Percent Increase in Dollars over CO Gives Day 2010 (3 winners)
Most Dollars Raised Through GivingFirst Fundraising Pages on Colorado Gives Day (3 winners)

To select the winners, Community First Foundation will be placing all participating nonprofits into three groups. The three groups will be determined according to the annual revenue reported by the nonprofits for tax year 2009. The first place winner in each of the three groups per category gets a prize.

So start thinking about your strategy now and good luck!

FAQs for Prizes

Get Lucky with Bonus Bucks

2011-08-08T14:11:00.027-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua, Communications Specialist

Who doesn't like prizes--especially when they're cash?

For the second annual Colorado Gives Day—Tuesday, December 6—we’re sweetening the pie. Not only will we continue the Incentive Fund ($300,000 fully funded by FirstBank), but we’re adding lots of $1,000 and $5,000 cash prizes to help Colorado nonprofits.

Some of these prizes are earned and some are the luck of the draw. Here’s what you need to know about the “lucky” prizes:

Bonus Bucks
Bonus Bucks are $1,000 cash prizes that give donors a chance to win money for the nonprofits they love. At least once per hour over the 24-hour course of Colorado Gives Day we will randomly draw a donor’s name. The nonprofit this person donated to in that hour will receive the cash prize. Our goal is to award at least 24 of these $1,000 prizes.

What if a donor supports multiple organizations in one transaction? We can isolate each donation for the drawing.

How can a donor win? If she’s up at odd times of the night, like we’ll be, her chances may increase if she makes her donation then.

A Few Fine Points

A donor can only win once, so it won’t help to donate multiple times to a favorite organization. But nonprofits can be the recipients more than once, so lots of different supporters throughout the day are a good thing.
Winners will be announced on GivingFirst's Facebook and Twitter pages shortly after the drawing. All results will be compiled and posted in Colorado Gives Day’s Prize Room.

Seeking Bonus Bucks Sponsors!
Colorado businesses who wish to support Colorado nonprofits will be sponsoring one or more of these prizes. Our goal is to award at least 24 prizes for each hour of the day, but we’d love to offer more. If you know a local Colorado business that would like to be a part of Colorado Gives Day, ask them to contact abevacqua@CommunityFirstFoundation.org for sponsorship details.

Tune in next time when we’ll talk about the kind of prizes you can earn—called High Five prizes, and valued at $5,000 each.

Learn more: FAQs

Denver Kids, Inc. Heats Up Fundraising Pages

2011-07-07T16:59:00.004-06:00

Are you ready to put on your fundraising hat and really work it?

In our last blog, Dana Rinderknecht, manager of GivingFirst.org, introduced Fundraising Pages. These are customizable web pages available on GivingFirst.org that help individuals raise money for the nonprofits they believe in.

I met up with Michelle Maldonado, the development coordinator at Denver Kids, Inc., a nonprofit that helps Denver Public School students who live in higher risk environments to successfully complete high school, pursue post-secondary options and become contributing members of the community. Michelle shared with me how Fundraising Pages work for them.

Denver Kids, Inc. is involved in a few big events a year to raise money for their mission—the Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon and Summer Solstice Golf Marathon. Staff and other supporters run the race and golf for donations that go to Denver Kids, Inc. Until this year they have used paper letters to get donations and sorted through manual checks.

This year they started using Fundraising Pages to make it all easier—and all online. Here are some perks of the online tool Michelle shared with me, and one “hot tip.”

Why Fundraising Pages?

You can share links to Fundraising Pages online, which is more efficient and less expensive than mailing paper letters
Donations can be given online rather than through physical checks
Unlike some other online fundraising page tools, it is free to use and there are no online processing fees on the first $50,000 donated per year per organization
A visual thermometer helps you and your supporters track how close you are to goal
Each person can create and personalize her own page
Hot tip: Set your goal high—it motivates people to help you reach it!

To learn more, visit the Fundraising Information page on GivingFirst.org

By Angela Bevacqua, Communications Specialist

Supporter Heather Johnson’s Fundraising Page for the Colfax Marathon benefiting Denver Kids, Inc.

Fundraising Pages put the FUN in raising money for your favorite nonprofit!

2011-05-19T13:39:00.003-06:00

By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager

Have you ever been so touched by a nonprofit organization that you wanted to tell everyone you know about their amazing work? Have you ever wondered how you could impact the nonprofit that is closest to your heart? Well, have I got an idea for you!

Recently we introduced Fundraising Pages on GivingFirst.org. What is a Fundraising Page, you ask? This is an opportunity for you to raise money for your favorite charity. Sometimes there's only so much good you can do by yourself. That's why we've made it easy for you to raise money for your favorite charity. By creating a personalized fundraising page on GivingFirst, you can enlist all of the people you're connected with to support your cause.

The example I always give is let’s suppose I decide to run a marathon – such as the Colfax Marathon in Denver. Since this is a huge commitment for me and something I would want everyone I know to know about and to support me in my endeavor, I would like to use it to raise money for my favorite charity. I can go to GivingFirst.org, find that charity and click on the "Fundraise Now" yellow button.

The next part is really the easy part, as I enter the information about my campaign. This is where I can explain why I am doing this and why I want to raise money for this particular agency. I can also upload a photo or two of me training, perhaps a video of me volunteering with the agency or talking about them, and I can customize the URL (web page address) for direct access. Then I just share the link to my page and watch the money roll in! Did I say there is a great thermometer showing the progress towards my goal?

With the Colfax Marathon in early May, we have seen great success so far with Fundraising Pages. But they are not just for extreme athletes! These could be used to raise money for nonprofits on special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, or retirements. They can also be used to support a specific purpose or need of a nonprofit, such as building a playground, buying a new refrigerator, or a matching grant opportunity. The limit is really your imagination! I for one am looking to see what new ways people have for Fundraising Pages.

Can you even imagine how they could be used for the next Colorado Gives Day?

• To learn more, visit the Fundraising Information page on GivingFirst.org
• Check out this sample Fundraising Page benefiting Family Tree
• To see if a specific charity has any Fundraising Pages, review the Overview tab of its profile.

Colorado Gives Day Report: What Does the Data Tell Us?

2011-04-04T17:12:00.000-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua, Communications Specialist

98% of nonprofits received a donation.

That’s my favorite statistic from the Colorado Gives Day 2010 Giving Report we released today. It tells me that virtually all of the 539 nonprofits participating in the initiative got something out of it. The nonprofits averaged more than $15,000 in donations, with the median amount more than $4,500 per organization.

I also like the statistic that 83% of nonprofits reported that they acquired new donors. We’ve been told by organizations such as Boulder County Aids project that 45% of their donors on CO Gives Day were new. Women’s Bean Project reported 58% new.

The number of website visits to GivingFirst.org on Colorado Gives Day –nearly 24,000—is impressive, too. It shows us that GivingFirst.org is a growing resource for people who want to learn about local charities.

And although there is a concentration of both nonprofits and people in the Denver metro area, people from 75% of the counties in Colorado made a donation on December 8.

The most common donation size through GivingFirst.org dropped from $100 pre-recession to $50 in the heart of the recession. Yet on Colorado Gives Day the most common gift size popped back up to $100.

A fun fact from the Colorado Gives Day report is that one individual made 41 donations for a total of $3,900. I know the feeling of getting on GivingFirst and wanting to keep adding organizations to my shopping cart!

To read more findings from Colorado Gives Day, visit Colorado Gives Day 2010 Report.
Happy reading!

Arvada Residents Support Favorite Causes Online

2011-03-17T16:19:00.003-06:00

Chris and Paul Duncan are longtime residents of Arvada who donated to their favorite charities online this past December. Paul works in a forensic engineering business and Chris is a personal trainer. They have four children, and strong commitment to philanthropy. Here’s what they told us about their experience with Colorado Gives Day:

How did you learn about Colorado Gives Day?
We learned about it through the informative flyers from Work Options for Women.

How do you typically make your donations?
We make numerous year-end donations, with about half of them online and half via check. There are advantages to both, but donating online is certainly quick and efficient. It’s a simple process that saves us a lot of time making donations to multiple organizations.

What organizations have you supported recently?
We donated to a number of organizations on Colorado Gives Day. A few of these were:

Work Options for Women because they assist women in helping themselves. They use the philosophy that “teaching a person to fish is better than giving a fish.” This organization has a tremendous success rate of training women with a skill they can use to enhance their own futures.

Tennyson Center for Children because they work to help children and parents learn coping skills to be able to function 'normally' in the future. No child or parent is a “lost cause.” There is much work to be done for healing and skill-building to mend families, but this center works methodically to create success.

Adams Camp supports the special needs population and enables their clients to have an extraordinary “summer camp” experience.

Habitat for Humanity helps people help themselves. Again, the “teach a person to fish” concept we support.What inspires you to give?
Donating to nonprofit organizations has been important to us for as long as we can remember. It is a principle we have learned through our Christian heritage.How do you decide which organizations to support?
Although nearly all nonprofits are outstanding, the organizations that keep overhead low and work to help the helpless or help adults help themselves are our favorites.

Thank you to Chris and Paul.

What inspires you to give?

Colorado Gives Day: Reflections from Nonprofits

2011-02-17T09:25:00.009-07:00

By Angela Bevacqua, Communications Specialist

Two months later and we’re still learning from Colorado Gives Day 2010. As we pour through data and listen to the experiences of our nonprofit friends and donors, we gain new insights about fundraising and philanthropy in Colorado.

At a recent gathering of our Nonprofit Advisory Committee—a varied group of GivingFirst nonprofits that help us improve the program—we heard these reflections about The Day:

Dan Hanley, director of development for Boulder County AIDS Project, said that 45% of their donations on Dec. 8 were from new donors. The agency raised more than $20,000 from 178 donations after a whirlwind of events. Dan said there are limitless ways in which you can promote your agency for Colorado Gives Day. They began soliciting support in the late-night hours of Dec. 7 at a bar in Denver, then moved on to the Denver Diner in the a.m., then several coffee shops in Boulder, and ended with a standing-room-only concert at the Boulder Draft House.

“Colorado Gives Day changed who we are as an agency," Dan said. "We’re small—just a staff of 12—but our reach on that day made us seem like a much bigger organization. We were once again reminded how important the individual donor is to our mission.”

Dan Mondragon, development director at Work Options for Women, told us that they also put on a complementary event for Colorado Gives Day. The fundraising event took place at Cafe Options, the organization’s breakfast/lunch spot in downtown Denver, and helped them raise a total of $18,654 from 84 donations.

“Colorado Gives Day was a great reflection of our current individual donor program and a strong launch for growth in 2011; 31% of the day’s donors were new.” Dan said. “Colorado Gives Day blew the $1 million goal out of the water!”

Richard Rainaldi, a partner at CiviCore, had a unique perspective in that he was literally behind the scenes as the GivingFirst platform’s developer. CiviCore made sure the system ran smoothly on Colorado Gives Day and was moved by what he witnessed.

“Philanthropy was truly happening on that day,” Richard said. “I could tell that people were thinking really hard about how they divvied up their money on GivingFirst.org.”

Jeffco Action Center raised a whopping $192,813 from 307 donations on December 8. "Colorado Gives Day was our largest single day of donations in December in our history—and the whole month was up, not just that day,” Joe Haines, director of development, said. “The money we received came when the needs of poor, working poor and homeless in Jefferson County was at its highest in our 42 year history."

Thank you to the GivingFirst Nonprofit Advisory Committee!

Members include the following:

Amber DeBerry, The Wildlife Experience
Ashley Golder, Safehouse Denver
Bob Timm, Senior's Resource Center
Colleen Skates, Evergreen Scholarship - Bootstraps
Dan Hanley, Boulder County AIDS Project
Dan Mondragon, Work Options for Women
Heather Jackson, Aurora Mental Health Center
Jill Schneider, Caring Connection
Joe Haines, Jeffco Action Center
Mary Jo Baker, Sobriety House
Shannon Cardellina, Arapahoe House
Stacey Saggese, Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute
Stephanie Baer, Children's Outreach Project
Valerie Gildea, Third Way Center

Colorado Gives Day: A Stunning Success! $8.4 Million Raised in One Day

2011-01-25T14:03:00.003-07:00

By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager

WOW! How time flies when it is the Giving Season! We are just now coming down from an amazing high, and I thought it would be fun to share some of the information we have gathered and open up a forum where others might share their experiences.

For me, Colorado Gives Day was a renewal in faith in the people of Colorado. For the past three years, I have been talking about the statistics that Colorado Nonprofit Association’s Generosity Project brought to light that said Coloradoans do not give like the average American gives, ranking 38th in overall giving. I have spoken about how I believed GivingFirst.org can change this statistic by giving the people of Colorado a place to learn about the phenomenal nonprofits operating in their neighborhoods.

On December 8th, you stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the ball park! 8.4 million dollars! Unbelievable!

For me, it was an amazing 24 hours. Yes, I was up from midnight until midnight. The first call came in at 4:30 in the morning and the last call at 10:30 p.m. There were calls from donors wanting to participate, to help, to be a part of something. We took calls from donors who had never used the Internet to purchase something, but they were going to donate on Dec 8th. One of my co-workers helped a woman who was 84, her husband was 90, and they wanted to support their charity.

It was so much fun to watch the dollars coming in. Mid-morning the website slowed down because there were so many people accessing it. Our amazing partner, CiviCore, monitored traffic to minimize any issues before or as they happened. We wanted to ensure that the donor experience was the best possible and so prior to the day we tested to see potential strains on the system as the load increased. CiviCore told me that with all this testing we would be able to easily do $8 million. They were right!

I loved watching social media – Twitter and Facebook were flying with nonprofits telling their stories. We saw several donors who gave to multiple organizations – one donor tweeted, “It was fun 2. I went with intention of giving to 1 place, just kept adding to my cart!”

The impact on nonprofits has been great to hear – one agency saw 44% new donors, still another had 70% first-time online donors, several witnessed their biggest single fundraising event, and over and over again I heard nonprofits say they met their goal for the year so the rest of the year will be a great start for a new year.

I wish I could say we were still basking in the glow but there is still work to be done. It is a new year and there are many amazing nonprofits that need to become participants on GivingFirst.org!

Who Will You Donate To on Colorado Gives Day?

2010-11-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager

I can’t believe that it is almost here. After over a year of planning, we are working on reviewing new participant profiles and ensuring that current participant profiles are up to date for Colorado Gives Day. What an amazing, amazing group of nonprofits we have on GivingFirst.org.

As I have been reviewing and updating profiles, I have started the thought process on how I will donate on Colorado Gives Day. First, of course, I will donate to the three main nonprofits who I give to on at least an annual basis. My old favorites! These are the ones that have impacted my life and I will always love and support.

But who else can I support? This is a great time to look at the impact of other nonprofits in our community. Who else speaks to my heart but whom I have not personally been involved?

Since I have the unique pleasure of reviewing nonprofit information for my job, I always start with looking at their mission. What do they do in the community? Then of course, as a well trained donor, I look at their financials. It has been tough for our sector, as it has for so many others. I look to see their solvency numbers and in general where they receive their revenue dollars. For me, I like the organizations that have high foundation and corporation support but low individual donors. That’s because I view them as a well vetted program -- hence their funder support -- but the smaller revenue from individuals indicates they are most likely a well kept secret in our community, and so they are using GivingFirst.org as one of their ways to get their message to the general public.

Then I move into programs to see how they do their work in their specific community. I love it when they put in budget amounts because I love to see what each program costs and how well they plan their money, but not all groups do so; this is just a nice to know for me. My favorite part of the programs is the evidence of success because this is where a nonprofit can tell a story about someone impacted by this program. I love to read the stories.

Finally, I look at their Needs Statement to see what the agencies top 5 needs are. This is a great place to learn what they see as necessary for their agency. It is not always just dollar related. Sometimes I see food and clothing donations or volunteer projects or other ways they need our help.

GivingFirst.org is a wealth of great information. It is all there for each of us to look at in our own individual ways. Now I am biased, but I think this is one of the absolutely coolest tools in Colorado to learn about our nonprofit community.

Off to see who else I will donate to on Colorado Gives Day! DECEMBER 8^th!

Dining, Dancing, Singing...What Nonprofits Will Do for CO Gives Day

2010-11-05T13:44:00.001-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua, Communications Specialist

It’s just over a month until Colorado Gives Day, and things are really heating up. On November 1, more than 120 nonprofits submitted profiles, and Dana is hunkered down to make sure they are all thoroughly reviewed before going live.

It’s been inspiring to see all of the energy and creative ideas that nonprofits are putting into Colorado Gives Day. Here is a sampling:

Work Options for Women
Want to dine and donate at the same time? Head down to Café Options at 1650 Curtis Street in downtown Denver. This café, run by Work Options for Women (WOW), will have computer kiosks set up to take your donation during breakfast and lunch on December 8. What’s more, the café’s staff will serve special treats for donors. More information about the day’s activities will be posted at http://workoptions.org/colorado-gives-day.html.

Café Options is a fast casual restaurant serving breakfast and lunch from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. 100 percent of the proceeds from Café Options go to Work Options for Women—a nonprofit that helps women end the cycle of poverty by providing them with the work and life skills to reach self-sufficiency.

Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP)
BCAP will be pushing the midnight oil by kicking off their promotion in the wee hours of December 7. Activities will culminate in a concert at the Boulder Draft House at 9 p.m. on Dec. 8. They hope that up to 400 people will come to donate and hear the bands Novus Folium and Della perform. Watch their website for details coming soon. http://www.bcap.org/

BCAP serves men, women and children who are HIV positive living in Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties. All care services are free and confidential.

The Jefferson County Library Foundation
The heads of the library and library foundation are willing to “make spectacles” of themselves, they say, in order to raise money for the library. If they meet their goal, Natalie Martinez, executive director of Jefferson County Library Foundation, and Marcellus Turner, executive director of Jefferson County Public Library, will dress up in holiday costumes and perform a public storytime-reading of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at Holiday Fest at Colorado Mills Mall.

The Jefferson County Library Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the programs and services of the Jefferson County Public Library. http://www.jeffcolibraryfoundation.org/

If you're a nonprofit, we'd love to hear what you are doing!

Evergreen Bands Together for Colorado Gives Day

2010-10-20T14:56:00.007-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua

Now that’s community spirit!

Word reached my desk this morning that the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce and 14 nonprofits in the area are partnering together for Colorado Gives Day. Several Evergreen, Colorado, businesses are also showing their support by offering discounts and thank you gifts to donors on December 8.

Michelle Mohnhaupt, who oversees the Evergreen Chamber’s nonprofit members, explained that the idea developed at a recent meeting for the group. And the concept has been steam-rolling ever since.

Summer is busy in Evergreen, Michelle explained, but it really drops off in the winter. Both for-profits and nonprofits hurt at the end of the year. But by collaborating to support local giving on Colorado Gives Day, the chamber, nonprofits and businesses will be infusing energy into their town during the dead of winter.

Here’s what will be happening in Evergreen this December 8:

Four businesses will host online giving at their locations, including Colorado Gives Day partner FirstBank
Donors will receive goody bags filled with coupons and discounts from local Chamber businesses when they donate at any of the four locations

The Participating Nonprofits
Art for the Mountain Community
Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity
Bootstraps, Inc.
Drive Smart Evergreen/Conifer
Evergreen Jazz Festival
Evergreen Christian Outreach
Evergreen Audubon/Evergreen Nature Center
Into Your Hands
Jefferson County Historical Society
The Jefferson Foundation
Mount Evans Hospice Inc./Home Health Care
Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT)
Mountain Resource Center (MRC)
Seniors' Resource Center - Evergreen

To learn more, visit: www.evergreenchamber.org/COgives.htm

Colorado Gives Day is nothing without the energy and commitment of hundreds—if not thousands—of people supporting the services where they live.

Let us know what you’re doing to support or promote charity in your community. And let’s keep that buzz going!

Angela Bevacqua is the communications specialist at Community First Foundation. She currently volunteers at Cooking Matters, a cooking-based nutrition education program by Share Our Strength, that teaches families how to prepare healthy meals on a limited budget.

Online Fundraising in MN and Pittsburgh: How Did They Do It?

2010-09-24T15:00:00.008-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua, communications specialist at Community First Foundation

One year ago, when the team at Community First Foundation began germinating the idea of a Colorado Gives Day, we knew we were fortunate: we weren’t re-creating the wheel. In fact, six regions in the U.S. had successfully launched an online giving day.

We were especially intrigued by Give to the Max Day in Minnesota and Match Day in Pittsburgh. What we learned helped us shape Colorado Gives Day.

We wanted to bring the advantage of learning from experience to Colorado nonprofits, too. So in August we conducted a webinar called “Giving Days: Fundraising Techniques That Work.” It featured nonprofits in Minnesota and Pittsburgh that successfully raised money during their states’ online giving day. It was a chance for Colorado nonprofits to ask questions and start thinking about their own plans for Colorado Gives Day.

An All-In-One Campaign
Betsy McDermott Altheimer, development program director for Springboard for the Arts, in St. Paul, Minnesota, participated in Give to the Max Day through GiveMN.org. Here are the techniques she shared with Colorado nonprofits, who were eager to learn from her success:

Created one end-of-year marketing campaign that integrated their annual appeal with the giving day promotion
Created a memorable theme called “BOUNCE” for the marketing campaign
Reached out with social media, e-mails, print letters and linked them all back to the campaign
Focused on online communication since the giving day was an online giving initiative
Encouraged small donations (They added up!)

Cheaper, Easier and More Successful Than an Event
Bob Phelps, principal at Pittsburgh Urban Christian School, participated in Match Day through pittsburghgives.org. Here’s what he told us the school did to bring in big dollars:

Saved time, money, and resources by replacing their annual fundraising dinner/auction with a giving day promotion. Raised $50K vs. their usual $25K!
Highlighted the needs of their school
Emphasized that the PittsburghGives incentive meant they would “have access to additional funds” if people donated on Match Day
Created their own, additional incentives: a challenge grant from a foundation they recruited and a match from their board
Started planning early. Let people know 3 – 4 months in advance, increasing frequency as the day drew closer

You can access a recording of this webinar here. There are other great tools, information, and another webinar recording about PR Strategies on the Colorado Gives Day Nonprofit Resources page. If you are a nonprofit on GivingFirst.org, here's how to access the page:

1. Sign on to GivingFirst.org as a nonprofit.
2. From the “Menu” navigation button, select Nonprofit Resources.
3. Click on the first item: Colorado Gives Day.

Angela Bevacqua is the communications specialist at Community First Foundation. Her volunteering interests revolve around the arts and health. She currently volunteers at Operation Frontline, a cooking-based nutrition education program that teaches families how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget. Last winter she volunteered as an event assistant at the Boulder International Film Festival.

Remember the Whys and Hows of Giving

2010-09-10T13:44:00.005-06:00

Why do you give?
By Bryce Wilkinson, project coordinator at Community First Foundation

It’s a simple question, but the answers tend to be more complicated. Sometimes it’s because you heard a story which moved you to action. Other times the connection isn’t with the cause itself but a person you know; your friend asked you to donate or your uncle works at this nonprofit, so you donate to it. Personal reasons – your wife is a breast cancer survivor or you enjoy gardening – can also prompt you to donate Often, though, there is some combination of factors swirled together in just the right way at just the right time that compels you to give.

A recent donation I made had a number of contributing factors behind it. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Niger, West Africa. During that time, I had my fair share of parasites from contaminated water. The other day I read an article about illnesses resulting from contaminated water which made me remember how difficult it is to live with amoebas swimming around in your gut, so I made a donation to a nonprofit that works on providing clean drinking water.

How do you give?

My parents (and I suspect many of your parents as well) are not very technologically inclined. They do not purchase items online. They drive to the bank to do transactions in person. And, they make donations to organizations important to them by sending checks on a regular basis.

I, on the other hand, prefer to shop on the Internet, only go to the bank to deposit the birthday check my parents sent (my bank doesn’t have an app for that yet, sigh), and I only donate online.

So what?

There’s nothing new here, right? We all know that people give for various reasons; it’s common knowledge that some people are more comfortable operating in a digital environment while others prefer paper.

Here’s the thing: as nonprofit professionals we often fail to act on this knowledge.

People do give for a number of reasons, so present them with your message every which way you can. Provide some facts in an annual report, share your mission on a blog, send your friends an email asking them to donate, and tell a story that encapsulates what you do in a personal way. In this way, the theme of your message is consistent, but by mixing up the way in which it is communicated, you can touch upon and emphasize the many reasons to support your centered mission.

Then once a connection is established and a donation has been made, continue to communicate through the medium the gift was made. If, as a nonprofit, you received a check in the mail, send a thank you note in the mail. But, if you received a gift online, send a thank you email.

As you put the finishing touches on your annual campaign, take a little time to reflect on the why and the how of giving and act accordingly.

Colorado Businesses: Tooting their Horns!

2010-08-18T13:46:00.005-06:00

By Mike Jackson

I love Colorado! I’ve lived in this state more than 30 years and appreciate the gift we all share of living in this beautiful place.

As the director of nonprofit relations and services, I help nonprofit organizations look for funding, invest for their future, and prepare for tomorrow. I regularly meet with nonprofit professionals who work day-in-and-day-out to tell their organization’s story and recruit charitable support from the public.

What always stands out to me is both the good work being done and the amount of work there is to do. From feeding the hungry to protecting the environment, the need is out there. But the resources just aren’t keeping up.

With the launch of Colorado Gives Day—our initiative to help Colorado nonprofits through online giving—we are reaching out to local businesses for support. I’m especially impressed with FirstBank, our presenting partner.

FirstBank is a local Colorado company. Their investment in the nonprofit sector over the years has been significant but understated. They are an extremely charitable organization that not only supports numerous causes, they also encourage their staff to volunteer, participate on boards, sponsor fundraisers and give. They do this every day, and don’t always get the recognition they should.

It’s time to toot their horn!

FirstBank has contributed $300,000 to support Colorado Gives Day. $250,000 of this amount is a lead gift for an incentive fund that will boost all donations made by the public through GivingFirst.org on December 8, 2010.

With this generous gift, FirstBank has made their single largest contribution to charity in the organization’s history, and have done so in a very unique way. The beauty of this gift is that as an organization, FirstBank is not choosing which charities their contribution goes to. They’re allowing the public, their customers, you—to direct these funds.

They are also leading the way for other businesses with a strong sense of social responsibility to follow suit. Any business that contributes at least $1,000 to the incentive fund will become a member of what we call the Circle of Giving.

Already, businesses are tooting their horns by making a contribution—a contribution that lets their customers how to help the community.

This is powerful corporate philanthropy.

Click here to see the names of businesses that have contributed to the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund so far (lower left side of page).
Click here to learn more about how a business can toot its horn and make a contribution.

Mike Jackson is the director of nonprofit relations and services at Community First Foundation.

Create a GivingFirst Profile that Glistens!

2010-07-30T16:05:00.002-06:00

By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager

We all hear it over and over again – you need to craft a clear, concise, compelling message about your organization. At the same time, the Internet is overwhelming with the amount of information that you can find, let alone try to digest. I know that when I am searching for information, if I don’t find it immediately, I am on to the next place. If it is really important to me and I think I’m on the right track, I may click a couple more times, but it has to be something I really need or want. My attention span can be that of an infant or a gnat.

So, my nonprofit friends, as you start to work on your GivingFirst profile for the first time, or if you are looking at it again after some time, put on your donor internet-user glasses. Open up your profile or that of an organization you know and click around. What do you look at first? What catches your eye? What do you wish was included? As a donor, the items I tend to look for most often are: numbers, pictures and videos, programs, and stories.

For me, numbers are key; I am a CSU math major after all! I like to see financial trends, understanding current events and how they affect your numbers, but if there is something I wonder about it is nice to see explanations. Also, I like to see the numbers you serve, how many lives you have touched.

Then I look at the pictures and the videos. Pictures of the people or animals you’re helping are great. The video needs to be to the point, clever, and ask me to do something. If the video is long, I have clicked on something else on my computer while listening to it or I have moved on to another part of your profile.

The Programs tab is the area where you are really talking about who you serve, what you do, where you are making an impact. But, again, numbers are helpful as are bullets to show the impact you are making in an eye-catching way.

The one thing I see missing over and over again as I read profiles are stories. Tell me about someone your program has influenced. You all have the stories, I have heard them, your donors should have heard them, but have you told the GivingFirst audience? Put a picture that is related to that story – visuals can be a huge motivator to give.

Remember, everyone wants something different, and your GivingFirst profile allows you to cater to individual interests by displaying all of your information in one place, in one common format. It’s information that has been reviewed by Community First Foundation, so that they have an increased level of confidence in you!

With Colorado Gives Day coming soon, this is a great time to get someone who is involved with your organization, but may not know you through and through, to review your information. New board members, employee spouses, or friends all are good to ask for help with this task.

Then your final task is to listen to what they say, look at your profile, and update what makes sense for you.

I look forward to reviewing the information - learning what’s new with current participants and learning all about new ones.

Do you know how to donate on YOUR Web site?

2010-07-16T10:15:00.005-06:00

By Dana Rinderknecht

Can you believe it is almost the end of July? For those of us in the nonprofit world, that means plans are under way for annual campaigns and year-end giving. It is time to get ready for the Giving Season.

Are you ready?

You probably have your direct mail/annual letter campaign designs started. Perhaps you even have it at the printers or even the mail house. Hours have been spent making sure that everything looks just right and that you are sending a message that will resonate with your donors and those who support you and care for your organization (or at least joined your database at one point!). But what happens once that campaign drops and gets into the hands of those supporters?

The Nonprofit Times did a study that found that more and more people are heading to the web for information before they make a donation. In fact, according to their research, 44% of respondents are looking on the Internet, up from 25% just three years ago. So that means your website must be ready to deliver a good impression and provide an easy way to donate.

Have you looked at your website lately? Have you asked someone who doesn’t look at your website every day to look at it?

Sometimes we are too close to what we are doing to adequately review our own work. I know that I always pass my information off to those who don’t know the information as solidly as I do for their feedback.

Take a look at how easy it is to make a donation on your site. Is your donation button “above the fold”? Does it stick out?

I look at organizations’ websites on a very regular basis and am amazed at how hard it is to actually give my money. Rarely is there a donate button on the front page. If there is one, sometimes it can take several clicks to actually find out how to donate. Then the most irritating thing to me is to have to print a form and write a check rather than make an actual online donation. That’s too hard; now I have lost interest and am on to the next place.

Now is the time to take a hard look at your Web site before donors start flocking to it (and it’s likely that nearly half of them will). Most of the time, just a few simple changes can make all the difference in the ability for your supporters to find what they need. Take a look and see what you can do to make it easy for your supports to learn about your organization and donate.

Are you ready?

BONUS TIPS:

• Don’t forget that we have an eye-catching “Donate Now” button GivingFirst participants can use and link to their GivingFirst donation page. Participants can access it from the administrative side of GivingFirst.org.

• Be sure to include a “donate now” link in every online communication you send out!

• Put a link in your e-mail signature.

• Include your “donate now” button in your e-mail campaigns.

• Make sure your website is listed on any offline communications, too.

Dana Rinderknecht is the GivingFirst manager at Community First Foundation. She has reviewed more than 300 nonprofit profiles and conducted hundreds of trainings for GivingFirst.org.

Colorado Gives Day Q&A

2010-06-30T14:30:00.004-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua

We hope that many of you have heard about Colorado Gives Day—a new initiative we launched in May. As the name implies, Colorado Gives Day is a specific day of the year—December 8—that we will be asking residents to support the work of Colorado nonprofits that is so important to our quality of life.

Here’s more about Colorado Gives Day directly from our president and CEO, Kenneth Eggeman, Ph.D.

AB: Why does Colorado need a special “giving day”?
KE: To spur interest, to spur excitement, to really help people become aware of the condition of philanthropy in Colorado. A “giving” day creates an opportunity for as many people as possible to become aware of the situation and do something about it.

AB: What is the condition of giving in our state?
KE: Based on the Colorado Nonprofit Association’s State of Giving study, Colorado ranks 38th in charitable contributions compared to other states. I know we can do better, especially given the fact that we have high earning power in this state.

AB: Where did the concept of a “giving day” come from?
KE: Our staff discussed what would be the best medium to help improve giving in Colorado. The concept of a “giving day” took on the most energy. A number of other states have attempted something similar. Each had its own unique characteristics and circumstances. One in particular was Minnesota who took this on and had a resounding response. Minnesota has always been recognized as a very philanthropic state.

AB: How will focusing on one day a year help Colorado nonprofits?
KE: It allows us to create awareness of giving in Colorado and encourage people to respond quickly. One “giving day” focuses on intention. It’s like having the fireworks so you can announce the parade.

AB: How are you asking people to donate on December 8, Colorado Gives Day?
KE: Through GivingFirst.org—our online giving website. It is important to provide an easy medium for giving. Using your credit card and going online is about as easy as you can make it. The expenses associated with online giving are significantly reduced compared to annual fund drives, capital campaigns and the kinds of fundraising that are typical for nonprofits. Community First Foundation and FirstBank are covering credit card fees so that100% of donations will go to the nonprofits.

AB: How much are you expecting to raise on December 8?
KE: One million dollars in one day. I believe very firmly that we can achieve that.

AB: Who else is supporting this event?
KE: We locked arms and became partners with FirstBank. They put $250,000 on the table to supplement gifts and another $50,000 to help cover credit card expenses on December 8. Comcast is also engaged in the community and wanted to help change the face of philanthropy in Colorado and become a media partner. Other partnerships are in development.

AB: December 8 is a long way off. What is happening in the next six months?
KE: We’re asking the nonprofits that now participate with GivingFirst.org to work with their donors to inspire interest and commitment to participate on Colorado Gives Day. We’re inviting more nonprofits to join GivingFirst.org. We’re also engaging the business world and asking for their endorsement or financial support. We’ll also be offering some informative online activities for both nonprofits and donors. Overall, we’re working on a buildup to December 8 when we’re going to have a lot of excitement and a very successful experience.

Angela Bevacqua is a communications specialist at Community First Foundation.

Click here to learn more about Colorado Gives Day.

Studies Show Growth in Online Giving

2010-06-17T10:40:00.003-06:00

By Angela Bevacqua

Welcome to our new blog! We plan to discuss topics related to philanthropy, online giving, and GivingFirst in particular. We also hope to share perspectives from a variety of people here at the Foundation.

But what’s on our minds right now are the results from recent giving studies.

The bad news is that the Giving USA Foundation and Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University reported that charitable giving from individuals, corporations and foundations was down 3.6% in 2009 over 2008. The hardest hit areas were religion, arts/culture/humanities, education, and public-society benefit. Individual giving in particular was down .4%

But the good news is that online giving continues to climb. A study by the software firm Convio indicates that online giving was up 14% in 2009 among the charities they reviewed. In fact, 92% received more donations online in 2009 than 2008.

This comes as no surprise to us. In fact, our data through GivingFirst.org is showing more dramatic results: donations were up 30% in 2009 over the previous year. We always see a dramatic spike in donations in November and December. Last year was no exception: 58% of online gifts were given during the holiday season. This tells us, as it should you, that this is one of the best times to use limited advertising, promotional dollars and resources to get your word out.

And now on to 2010—where the really good news comes in.

Consistent with a Chronicle of Philanthropy poll that says the early months of 2010 have been stronger than last year, we second that with a resounding, “Yes!” In fact, we have seen a staggering 160% increase from January - May 2010 over the same time last year.

What do we attribute that to? We believe there are many factors…people are feeling more stable economically, online giving is a growing and easy way to give, word-of-mouth about GivingFirst is increasing…we can’t pinpoint any single reason. But we do know, from the comments we receive, that more and more nonprofits appreciate the ability to accept online donations and receive 100% of those gifts, fee-free, through GivingFirst.org.

The growth in online giving shows us that we’re moving in the right direction. You’re moving in the right direction. E-philanthropy is growing and it’s here to stay.

Angela Bevacqua is the communications specialist at Community First Foundation.