By Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst Manager
On January 19th at the Arvada Center, Community
First Foundation awarded the FirstBank High Five Prizes to 12 organizations who
did an outstanding job on Colorado Gives Day. There were over 500 folks present and they represented a true cross section
of Colorado Nonprofits.
Now I will let you in on a little secret. I loved this
event! Not only because we put it together, so that makes me biased, but
because it is so much fun to see our participants in person. GivingFirst is an online program, and as such
we do almost everything electronically – webinars, emails, etc. So I rarely get
to talk one-on-one with participants to learn about what they are doing. I read
the profiles and the newsletters so I know on a cursory level what is
happening. But to hear someone who is passionate about the work they are doing
is a whole different phenomenon. To hear the stories of donor calls that
happened on Colorado Gives Day, or leading up to or, even better yet, after the
day, is so much fun for me. I also love the networking and idea sharing that
happens at our events.
From a development
perspective, Colorado Gives Day has unlimited possibilities. Hearing what
another organization did can trigger a thought that takes you in so many
different directions. You may not use that idea for Colorado Gives Day, but for
something 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 on
and give 365 or in the case of this year 366 days a year. 24 hours a day. They
can set up a recurring donation, which means they can give on a regular basis
in a time frame that works best for them. That could be monthly or quarterly or
even 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 challenge
yourself. It is the time of year where those who make New Year’s Resolutions
have started faltering. Perhaps your resolution was to do something healthy; then
creating a Fundraising page is a great way to give you accountability while at
the same time helping your favorite nonprofit raise money and awareness.
But I digress. The
one comment I heard over and over again at the event was that nonprofits
learned 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 a
new year.
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