New Study Analyzes Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington and Other 24-Hour Regional Nonprofit Fundraising Competitions

Washington, DC — Today the Case Foundation released a report in conjunction with the Razoo Foundation analyzing the effectiveness of a new trend in philanthropic fundraising — “giving days” — 24-hour nonprofit fundraising competitions. The study takes an in-depth look at the success of the inaugural Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington, and compares these findings with other similar events held across the country.

Overall findings demonstrate that giving days offer regions an opportunity to bolster their nonprofit communities with short-term funds, long-term online fundraising skills, and an increase in awareness of their important work.

Key findings from the report include:

• In its inaugural year, Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington raised $2 million (including prize money) for 1,200 nonprofits from 18,000 donors.
• 96% of donors said the event made them more likely to give and give more
• 37% of nonprofits raised $2500 or more
• 41% of nonprofits said their best prior online fundraiser was $2500 or more, showing the event rivaled most nonprofits’ prior efforts.

“Giving days like Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington are an impactful way to help nonprofits make up recent funding gaps,” said Jean Case, CEO of The Case Foundation. “Giving days provide a boost to individual giving; generating millions of dollars, new donors and significant publicity for their nonprofit communities. We hope that this new report helps to shine a spotlight on the best practices so that new regions and groups can create successful events of their own across the country.”

In addition to information about the success of giving days, the report also offers insight into the nature of fundraising in the digital age. Several factors can impact the health of a giving day, including varying event structures such as contests or matching grants, the strength or weakness of a region’s identity, and multichannel marketing programs that address both nonprofits and consumers.

Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington took place on November 9, 2011. The event was created by Razoo.com, a social fundraising platform for individuals and nonprofits, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and the United Way of the National Capital Area. GiveMN also used Razoo’s platform for Minnesota’s Give to the Max Day.

About the Case Foundation

The Case Foundation, created by Steve and Jean Case in 1997, invests in people and ideas that can change the world, with the ultimate goal of making giving back a part of everyday life. We create and support initiatives that that leverage new technologies and entrepreneurial approaches to drive innovation in the social sector and encourage individuals to get involved with the communities and causes they care about. For more information, visit http://www.casefoundation.org/and follow the Case Foundation at @casefoundation on Twitter and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/casefoundation.