Picture it: it’s the fall of 2009. The launch of the first iPad was still months away, the Twins and Vikings were both leading their divisions from the Metrodome, and Instagram was a word none of us had ever heard before.
It was a very different time for fundraising, too. Most people had never made a charitable gift online before, just as we'd never used our phones to board a plane or enter a show—phones just weren't used for that!
That’s when a group of Minnesota funders stepped in with an idea—what if we created one platform to provide every nonprofit statewide with a home for online fundraising, and a central hub for donors to support their favorite causes with just a few clicks? And in the fall of 2009, GiveMN.org was born.
To help celebrate and raise awareness about the launch of this new giving hub, the GiveMN working group decided to host a one-time statewide fundraiser for all of the organizations on the new GiveMN.org. Based on the success of a similar event for nonprofits in North Texas, organizers were hoping to raise $1-3 million. At the end of the inaugural Give to the Max Day, donors gave more than $14 million to more than 3,400 nonprofits statewide, unheard of at the time.
What was supposed to be a one-time event then bloomed into Minnesota’s giving holiday, raising nearly $300 million in the first 14 years. Why does Give to the Max continue to rally donors like you every year? Here are three observations we’ve had through the years.
It’s a grassroots giving event that highlights the impact of collective giving.
Minnesotans are generous and engaged, according to yearly lists that are released showing giving, volunteerism and civic engagement by state. Give to the Max shines a spotlight on the power of what’s possible when we give collectively: tens of millions of dollars can be raised $10, $100, and $1,000 at a time.
It grows giving.
Just about everywhere else in the country, the Thursday before Thanksgiving is just another day. In Minnesota, GTMD starts at $0 each year and by the end of the day, tens of millions of dollars are given to help power the work of thousands of organizations in the months and years ahead.
Most participating donors and organizations tell us that the vast majority of generosity on display during GTMD is new or additional giving, not giving simply moved around from other times of the year. Through the years, organizations have told us GTMD has become a cornerstone of their yearly fundraising plans.
It's a time to write your own generosity story.
With a centralized fundraising campaign for thousands of nonprofits and schools across the state, GTMD offers a chance to reflect and act on your own values and how your generosity can help put them into action. A majority of donors make gifts to more than one organization during GTMD, with some giving to 10, 20 or even more. It's a chance to reflect on how your giving as a whole can support the work you care about most.
As we count down to the 15th anniversary of Give to the Max in November, and on behalf of the thousands of organizations many of you will support on the big day, we thank you for continuing to make this campaign matter to our network of nonprofits and schools and the millions of people they support.
Give to the Max Early Giving begins on November 1, with Give to the Max Day celebrated for 24 hours on Thursday, November 16. Learn more at GiveMN.org.