ColoradoGives.org

By Marla J. Williams, president and CEO, Community First Foundation You rock, Colorado! I am overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and neighbors who opened their hearts and made Colorado Gives Day a record-breaking success! In just 24-hours, 1,442 nonprofits raised more than $20 million dollars through nearly 88,000 donations. Yes, that’s right – more than $20 million! Much as I loved watching the ticker on the website whir with generosity (and I did love it), the real success of Colorado Gives Day is not the big dollars, but the big impact those dollars will have when 1,442 organizations put them to work! I am a believer in the adage that the scent of the rose lingers on the hand that gives it. It gives me a sense of well-being that goes beyond the numbers of the day when I think of the hope, the compassion and the joy that motivated those 88,000 donations. It tells me that, as a community, we’re going to be okay because we care. So thank you, Colorado. Thank you...

By Dana Rinderknecht, Director of Online Giving It’s that time of year again! Time to think like Santa and check the list! Not the naughty or nice list, but the Colorado Gives Day Nonprofit list. Have you thought about who you will give to this year? We have over 1,400 nonprofits to choose from this year on ColoradoGives.org and they are doing amazing work. I always start my list with my favorites – the nonprofits I have given to every year since the beginning of Colorado Gives Day. I check to make sure they are still participating (if I haven’t gotten a zillion emails from them reminding me to schedule my donation!). I get on ColoradoGives.org and do a quick check of their profiles, looking specifically at what’s new – just to checking to see if I missed anything they are doing. Also, I do like to check their financials – the graphs on their Overview Tab and then the details on their Financials Tab. Then I will do a quick check on their Programs and Management Tab. I ...

By Lisa Lujan, Online Giving Coordinator, Community First Foundation December 10, 2013 marks the fourth annual Colorado Gives Day! As always, our goal is not only to help raise millions of dollars for fabulous Colorado nonprofits, but to help you engage with donors via social media (last year, Facebook was the #1 referring site to ColoradoGives.org). Here are a few tips to help your social media on Colorado Gives Day be a success: Begin by   liking  our ColoradoGives Facebook page and/or  following  us on Twitter – not only will you be privy to great inside information, but you’ll also be part of a larger conversation involving over 1,400 nonprofits throughout the state and thousands of donors. Be sure to check out our  Social Media Guidelines & Sample Copy for Colorado Gives Day 2013  for tips, tools and suggested copy to use before and on the big day. Tag ColoradoGives.org on your Facebook and Twitter pages by using the @ symbol in fron...

By Kayla Arnesen, APR, Director of Strategic Communications, Community First Foundation I am pleased to have joined Community First Foundation in October as director of strategic communications. In this role, I am responsible for the Foundation’s marketing, branding and public relations activities. I couldn’t be happier to be part of such a wonderful organization dedicated to strengthening Colorado nonprofits and inspiring philanthropy. Tips for working with the media Nonprofit organizations are all about people and providing services to help improve lives. Therefore, the nonprofit community is in a great position to feed the media’s need for human interest stories.  The key to success is knowing when your ideas are newsworthy.   Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you approach the media:   Is my idea really newsworthy? If you saw the same story about another agency, would it grab your attention?  Does my idea have drama or solve a dilemma?...

Jamie Tafoya By Jamie Tafoya, FirstBank FirstBank has been a major sponsor of Colorado Gives Day , the 24-hour online fundraising initiative created by Community First Foundation , since its inception. It’s an important program and it’s raised more than $37 million ($37 MILLION!) for thousands of nonprofits in Colorado since 2010. But even though Colorado Gives Day is about increasing philanthropy and giving back, we recognize that people want to give to causes they’re passionate about. That’s why we need as many nonprofits, across many different categories and industries, to participate.                                                                   ...

By Angela Bevacqua, Senior Communications Specialist, Community First Foundation So many people come together to make Colorado Gives Day  happen each year. At Community First Foundation we are delighted to see more and more people and organizations become involved with this initiative to increase philanthropy throughout our state. Colorado Gives Day is a true community effort and the numbers show it is working.   Did you know that local businesses can align themselves with the event, too? We offer local businesses an opportunity to encourage the philanthropic spirit in Colorado and involve employees and customers in a cause that benefits the people they serve. Sponsorship Levels & Benefits A business can become a sponsor and reap the benefits starting at $1,000. Depending on the level of financial support, benefits range from a presence on the Colorado Gives Day website and other materials, recognition in the news, all the way up to a custom “badge” (...

By Bryce Wilkinson,  Senior Online Giving Specialist, Community First Foundation Bryce Wilkinson History Impermanence. Everything we encounter is subject to change. It’s one common aspect of conditioned existence and our site is no exception. When Community First Foundation launched an online giving tool in May 2007, we decided to call it GivingFirst.org. The site was initially focused on nonprofits in the seven county Denver metro area, and by December 2007 it had 173 nonprofits listed on it. As more nonprofits expressed an interest in joining, we started to expand our geographic eligibility requirements, and by the end of 2012 GivingFirst.org featured 1,258 nonprofits from across Colorado. Since the site had expanded well beyond its initial stages in many ways, we started to reflect on the site’s name and whether it still represented what the site had become and was continuing to evolve into; namely, a place for all Coloradans to learn about and support the local nonprofi...