Non-profits’ fundraising efforts pay off through Give to the Max

An impressive $30,486,184 was raised for 6,114 Minnesota organizations during the online Give to the Max fundraising campaign last month.

“The 12th annual Give to the Max day was the most generous yet,” shared Emma Mazour, GiveMN Account Executive. “In Fillmore County, 30 different organizations received support on GiveMN.org during the giving period, raising more than $37,000 in donations.”

The Commonweal Theatre Company (CTC), Lanesboro, earned the distinction of ranking number four in the Southeast Minnesota region on the Give to the Max leaderboard.  The Theatre raised over $35,000 plus an additional $1,000 prize from GiveMN, bringing the grand total to over $36,000. Elizabeth Dunn, Development Manager, explained, “We had roughly 330 individual donors. Our initial goal was $20,000. By the morning of November 19, we had surpassed that goal and raised it to $25,000, which we again surpassed by around 8 p.m. that evening with still four hours to go in the campaign.  2020 is the best fundraising we have done compared to previous years for GiveMN. The success is attributed to the uniqueness of the year due to the pandemic, individual peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, a strong plan, and most importantly, the relationship our theatre company has with our patrons for over 30 years, which continues to strengthen year after year.”

Non-profit organizations are  pleased with their fundraising results.

In downtown Houston, Karla Bloem, executive director, International Owl Center, shared, “We received 30 donations totaling $3,248 on Give to the Max Day through GiveMN.org. This is about three times what we normally receive on Give to the Max Day.”

“This year’s Give to the Max raised $11,545 for Chatfield Center for the Arts (CCA) including a $3,000 matching grant from F&M Community Bank, as well as proceeds from our silent auction and a streaming concert. That is down from past years, which is not surprising: a lot of folks are designating their charitable giving for social service organizations this year. I’m grateful that 36 folks (plus at least two anonymous donors) could still find room in their budgets for us!” shared Mike Speck, operations director.

The Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Lanesboro, received $1,800 this year during Give to the Max day, an increase of $1,050 over last year’s donations. Joe Goetzke, Development and Marketing Director, explained, “The Center does not typically do a lot of engagement around Give to the Max Day itself (we focus on print communications with donors for end-of-the-year giving). We do have some awesome donors who give every year to us on Give to the Max Day and we appreciate them very much! We also had some new donors this year during GTMD and we are also so grateful for their support.”

“We encourage our community foundations under the umbrella of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), to take advantage of the buzz around Give to the Max Day,” explains Jayne Overstreet, SMIF Community Philanthropy Consultant. “Because we are in a time of a pandemic, donors want to know how or where their donations will be used. Online fundraising platforms make it easy to give.

“SMIF matched every fifth gift made through our website up to $100 for those Foundations under their umbrella,” explained Overstreet. Donors are encouraged to visit smifoundation.org to make end-of-the-year donations to their communities’ foundation.

Harmony Area Community Foundation (HACF) organized a Give to the Max fundraising campaign to raise the needed funds to build the Harmony Splash Pad. Currently, the Foundation has raised $17,500 in the Give to the Max campaign as compared to last year’s $27,000. Harmony Mayor and Foundation Treasurer, Steve Donney, noted that several regular donors had not given yet. Last year, the Foundation received one extraordinal $5,000 donation that they knew they would not receive this year. Both First Southeast Bank and Harmony Enterprises have committed matching funds.  The mayor’s informal goal is to raise $20,000 during the Give to the Max fundraising campaign.

The Houston Area Community Foundation (HACF) participated in 2020 Give to the Max fundraising campaign. Due to donors’ generosity and 1:1 matching funds from SMIF, the Foundation raised $720, and funds are still coming in.  HACF is currently accepting grant applications and recently awarded $400 to Razzle Dazzle.

On behalf of the Preston Area Community Foundation (PACF), Chairwoman Barb Mielke describes the organization’s 2020 fundraising efforts. Each year PACF hosts a spring banquet and fundraiser. In the fall, PACF participates in Minnesota’s Give to the Max fundraising campaign. Due to the pandemic, the spring banquet was canceled. Patrons that purchased tickets received refunds. Numerous patrons donated their refunds to the Give to the Max fundraising campaign totaling $2,580, plus Give to the Max online and in-person donations equaled $11,675. A $10,000 matching gift from F&M Community Bank and a $1,000 matching gift from First State Bank of Fountain brought the total to $32,665. Mielke expressed her appreciation, “We have so much to be thankful for in the Preston Foundation communities!”

This year the Rushford Community Foundation (RCF) exceeded the funds raised in 2019 by $3,690. The Rushford Community Foundation received many mailed checks, online donations through SMIF, and both the Merchants Bank and Rushford State Bank committed matching funds.  Deb Klungtvedt, RCF Board Member, shared that the Foundation raised $3,860 combined with $2,000 in matching funds from Merchants Bank and Rushford State Bank for a total of $5,860, as compared to the $2,170 raised in 2019. This year the board sent out a letter out with a self-addressed stamped envelope. Klungtvedt felt that the mass mailing was the best idea and that donors felt the need to donate during this challenging time.

Spring Valley Area Community Foundation (SVACF) Treasurer Lynn Miller enthusiastically stated, “Our donations were up this year. Last year we raised $12,336, and this year we raised a total of $16,275. The Foundation held a drive-through event and took advantage of matching funds.”

The Lanesboro Area Community Foundation (LACF), a stand-alone non-profit organization, raised $6,000 this year, $1,000 more than last year. New this year was a postcard soliciting sent to everyone in the community’s zip code, generating 11 new donations. Louise Wolfgramm, LACF board member and fundraising co-chair of fundraising, believes that, “People are feeling generous as they know that the Foundation is supporting people in need during the pandemic.”

Community Foundations not participating in this year’s Give to the Max because of the pandemic include Chatfield’s Chosen Valley Community Foundation. Spring Grove Area Community Foundation is in the formation stages and did not participate in this year’s Giving to the Max Day.

Due to COVID-19, non-profits have not been able to host the usual face-to-face fundraising activities this year; therefore, supporters are encouraged to visit the organization’s websites or mail your donation to your favorite non-profit organization to make your donation.