We're here for you through GTMD23 and year-end giving

Dear friends and partners,

Happy fall from GiveMN! Each year around this time, we reach out to senior leaders like you to share our plans and resources for Give the Max Day and the year-end giving season. You have previously been designated as your organization’s senior leader, and it is my pleasure today to share our November and December outlook with you.

It's the season of harvest—and abundance

Across Minnesota, farmers and gardeners focus their efforts this time of year on harvesting the outcomes of months of hard work, skill, and care, and we all are invited to share in a celebration of that abundance.

At the same time, fundraisers are preparing for the year-end giving season, the quarter of the year when the majority of all individual giving takes place. That’s why we invite donors to share part of their abundance with you, to help power your work in community—and through that invitation, donors give and share with our neighbors across the state.

With so much focus on giving during this one time of year, it can feel very high stakes, as organization leaders like us set goals based on both the needs of our community and the budgetary needs of our organizations. As we enter a busy time of year, I invite you to put those concerns in perspective—just for a moment—and reflect on the feeling of calm and promise of abundance to ground you for the work that lies ahead.

All systems are go for Give to the Max

The GiveMN team has been tending to and cultivating our garden all year to prepare for Give to the Max (GTMD) 2023. We are proud to serve as stewards of Minnesota’s giving holiday again this year, and we do so in service to your organizations and generous donors from around the world.

Every year, our top priority during GTMD is to successfully process the large amount of donations given to more than 6,000 organizations through GiveMN.org—oftentimes dozens every second. Our team has worked with our Mightycause partners to prepare, test at traffic levels beyond what we anticipate, and prepare for dozens of contingencies, as we know technology will never be able to ensure 100% reliability.

We also prioritize providing disbursement of donations to your organization as quickly as possible. If your organization is signed up for disbursement via electronic funds transfer (EFT), you can expect an additional special disbursement transfer to provide your donations to you ahead of our regular schedule.

Giving trends we’re monitoring

Research shows that giving nationwide in 2022 was down compared to the record-breaking years in 2020-21. This probably comes as no surprise for many of your organizations.

Giving trends from 2023 remain to be seen, and year-end giving will undoubtedly help write that story as we look back next year. As you tend to your own fundraising garden this fall, we encourage you to ask your donors for their support—clearly, and repeatedly.

As fundraisers, we might feel we’re asking too often, but our advice is to set aside that discomfort and ask anyway. Your supporters care about the work you do, and email and social media engagement rates tell us that the majority aren’t seeing every message you send. In our survey of GTMD donors last year, 80% said they like how often they are asked for support by organizations, and that’s even after a statewide campaign with thousands of participants.

Our team is here for you

As organizers and stewards of Give to the Max, the entire GiveMN team is committed to making it a successful day for nonprofits and schools like yours, and for donors from around the world, too. You all are the heart of the success of this day, year after year.

If you or your team haven’t yet seen our resource toolkit for organizations, please check out the templates, graphics, checklists and more we’ve built to support your campaign. And, as always, we’re only an email away; send a message to help@givemn.org and someone will answer your question as quickly as possible.

Additionally, we offer fundraising coaching to organizations year-round through our RaiseMN initiative. Since 2016, we’ve worked with hundreds of Minnesota nonprofits to help them level up their fundraising programs to better meet the demands of their mission. Learn more on our website, or schedule a call at any time so we can learn more about your organization’s strengths and opportunities and explore ways we may be able to help your grow your fundraising outcomes.

Thank you for sharing your time and attention, for your partnership throughout 15 years of Give to the Max, and—most importantly—for the impact and change you bring to our communities. We’ll be cheering on your campaigns through the rest of the year, and send our best wishes!

Miigwech,

Jenna Ray
Deputy Executive Director, Community Impact
GiveMN