Minnesota Online Fundraising Campaign Amazes

A Minnesota nonprofit fundraising campaign, GiveMN, raised a remarkable $14 million via the Internet with its 24-hour "Give to the Max Day" event on November 17. The money, donated by 39,000 people, will support 3,400 Minnesota nonprofits, reports the Foundation Center.

The wild success of the campaign amazed some in the philanthropic community. Beth Kanter, a blogger on nonprofit and social media topics and a visiting scholar at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, told the Minneapolis-St.Paul Star-Tribune that she was amazed by the donation numbers. "I'm sitting here with my jaw dropping," she said. "You had a critical mass, a good strategy ... and a very charitable state. You've set the bar."

Some 50 of the nonprofits raised over $40,000, and 350 others pulled in over $10,000. Raising the most funds was Second Harvest Heartland, a St. Paul organization focusing on hunger relief, which drummed up $183,291 in gifts from individuals and $7,226 in matching funds, as well as a prize of $5,000 from GiveMN.org for beating out the competition. Other top organizations were St. Joseph's College of Saint Benedict, (more than $114,000 in donations/matching funds and a $2,500 prize) and Twin Cities Public Television and the Minneapolis-based Animal Humane Society (around $70,000 in donations/matching funds and a $1,000 prize for each).

Photo courtesy of AMagill, via Flickr