There’s been a lot of buzz about GiveMN.org among Minnesota’s nonprofits lately, and it’s not hard to figure out why. The site’s creators and supporters hope to do no less than revolutionize the way Minnesotans connect with and give to their favorite nonprofit organizations.
What is GiveMN, you ask, and who are the audacious folks behind it? GiveMN is a new online donation platform that will launch on November 2. The website will serve as a sort of online marketplace that will enable Minnesotans to search for and then donate to nonprofits they’d like to support.
The sites creators, led by the Minnesota Community Foundation, include the Blandin Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, The Saint Paul Foundation, the United Way, and a handful of other grantmakers and nonprofits.
The project was initiated by the Minnesota Community Foundation in response to the significant amount of time and expense that Foundation leaders saw nonprofits investing in fundraising efforts. As noted in an Oct. 11 editorial about GiveMN published in the Star Tribune,
Raising $1 online costs just 7 cents, compared with 20 cents for grant writing and still more through direct-mail campaigns.
It’s the hope of GiveMN’s creators and supporters that the efficiencies created by the new giving platform will translate into more dollars and staff time being devoted to programming and operations at Minnesota nonprofits.
How You Can Get Involved in the GiveMN Revolution
If you’re a nonprofit:
Visit GiveMN.org and sign up for one of the free webinars that will show you how you can use GiveMN most effectively to raise money for your organization. You can set up a profile now at www.razoo.com. All Minnesota profiles on this national giving platform will be transferred over to the GiveMN site before it launches.
Make sure you have your profile online by November 17, Match Day. On that date beginning at 8 am, the first million dollars donated will be matched 50 cents per dollar donated. Specific details on how the Match Day will work will be forthcoming, so stay tuned to GiveMN.org.
If you’re a donor:
Go to GiveMN.org and subscribe to their enewsletter. You’ll receive a notification when the site launches. Then be sure to log in and donate after 8 am on Match Day, November 17 when the first million dollars donated that day will be matched 50 cents per dollar donated.
Be aware though, in order to increase your impact that day the Minnesotan organizations that you want to support will need to have a profile on the site already. I recommend emailing those Minnesota-based nonprofits to let them know that you’ll be looking for them at GiveMN.org on November 17.
If you’re a grantmaker:
Consider sending out a dedicated message to your Minnesota grantees about the site. Less time on their part chasing the next buck will mean more impact overall for your grant support, and that’s a revolution I think we can all get behind.
-Cary Lenore Walski, MCF web communications associate
