Give STL Day was created by the St. Louis Neighborhood Basis in 2014. Over the previous eleven years, Give STL Day has grown right into a 24-hour on-line giving occasion supporting over 1,000 nonprofit organizations within the St. Louis space. Emily Baumann, Communications Supervisor, is the first lead for Give STL Day with the assist of her colleagues on the St. Louis Neighborhood Basis.
Since its inception, Give STL Day has efficiently mobilized 160,000 donors and raised over $34 million. Moreover, they’ve granted a cumulative $1.9 million in prizes and generated $11 million in matching funds. Learn extra under to find out how Give STL Day has reached such a profitable magnitude:
Making a Change
“After we started contemplating a platform swap, Mightycause shortly rose to the highest of our checklist as a result of it felt fashionable and intuitive. It checked all our bins for needed options, and we had been excited in regards to the ending touches, reminiscent of custom-made thanks pages and extra nonprofit profile customization choices. Lastly, we felt that the Mightycause group was genuinely invested in Give STL Day’s success. It was their folks as a lot as their product that sealed the deal.” – Emily Baumann, Give STL Day.
After an intensive analysis, Give STL Day chosen Mightycause as their platform of selection for the primary time in 2024. Give STL Day utilized Mightycause’s migration companies to front-load their giving day web site with group profile parts, admin entry, and donation historical past for latest occasions, and to streamline the transition for all members.
“It was extraordinarily vital that our taking part nonprofits felt as if Give STL Day had at all times been run by way of Mightycause. As a result of we had ample time to arrange for the information merge, we had been capable of clearly talk all the small print to our nonprofit companions and decrease confusion. Mightycause made what might have been a really annoying and difficult platform swap extraordinarily clean!” – Emily Baumann, Give STL Day.
Following a difficult yr in 2023 on account of a technical outage on Give STL Day with their earlier platform accomplice, re-establishing the belief and confidence of over 1,000 nonprofit companions was high precedence. Switching to a brand new platform in Mightycause set the muse for an improved nonprofit expertise, however there was nonetheless uncertainty in studying (and instructing) new know-how in time for the giving day.
Strategic Roadmap to Success
Coaching Webinars: In preparation for Give STL Day, Emily arrange an intensive coaching schedule for nonprofits of all sizes to make sure fundraising success. She partnered with companies and specialists to current concepts and methods for content material creation, advertising, fundraising, and social media/electronic mail campaigns. Moreover, Mightycause led two webinars in collaboration with The St. Louis Neighborhood Basis to supply a registration walkthrough, nonprofit dashboard demonstration, and fundraising options deep dive. The mix of those webinars, together with a well-managed library of their recordings within the Give STL Day nonprofit toolkit, supplied a select your personal journey for nonprofits to obtain assist the place they most wanted it.
Mightycause Assist Library: Emily and the St. Louis Neighborhood Basis group utilized Mightycause’s in depth assist middle when working with nonprofits to arrange for Give STL Day. Many questions got here to Mightycause Assist instantly, however through the use of the assist articles supplied on Mightycause’s web site, Emily and her colleagues had been capable of present worthwhile assist to nonprofits by sharing articles that included screenshots and walkthroughs for every facet of the platform the nonprofits had questions on.
E-mail Communications: Along with hands-on coaching and assist, the Give STL Day group scheduled an intensive collection of electronic mail communications main as much as Give STL Day. These emails included a transparent name to motion, info on FAQs, upcoming occasions and coaching schedules, and useful hyperlinks. By scheduling emails to exit usually, Emily efficiently supplied bite-sized items and related info every week to maintain nonprofits targeted within the midst of a lot change. Emily’s dedication to speaking with nonprofits contributed to nonprofits’ confidence within the Give STL Day program.
Neighborhood Engagement
Whereas coaching and preparation had been key to offering a constructive nonprofit person expertise, particularly on a brand new platform, the implementation of Give STL Day was seemingly crucial half. A number of in-person occasions supplied time for the nonprofits to community with one another in addition to the St. Louis Basis because the host of Give STL Day.
The group basis hosted a nonprofit breakfast and media alternative the day earlier than Give STL Day at their stunning workplace out in Oak Knoll Park. That very same night time, nonprofits had been invited to desk and play trivia at The Armory, an enormous occasion house in St. Louis. These alternatives to work together with different Give STL Day members, donors, and occasion workers supplied a way of group and open communication between the nonprofits and their giving day host.
On Give STL Day, Chris Strub, “The Giving Day Man” hosted a livestream of nonprofit interviews from Union Station within the coronary heart of downtown St. Louis. The chance to be featured on the livestream made nonprofits really feel seen and heard by their group and by the Give STL Day group. Nonprofit interviews ran for almost 12 hours in the course of the giving day and included tales of affect, overview of applications, and a particular go to from one rescue organizations’ pet and kitten.
As an added bonus, the Mightycause group was invited to St. Louis for the festivities and had the chance to fulfill nonprofits and supply assist on web site for Give STL Day. Working collectively head to head fostered emotions of partnership and belief that had been mirrored within the platform’s efficiency on Give STL Day.
“I completely liked having our Venture Supervisor onsite throughout Give STL Day. After months of weekly conferences, I felt like my pal was coming to go to me. Having her there was massively useful”.
Outcomes
General, Give STL Day raised simply over $4 million, together with all donations, prizes, matching grants, and donor suggested funds. There was additionally a rise in charges coated by donors, with 95% of charges coated by donors in 2024, compared to 75% in 2023. Try their press launch right here for extra info!
Classes Discovered
In reviewing Give STL Day, we discovered just a few widespread themes that will assist different giving occasions efficiently put together nonprofits for his or her giving day:
- Efficient coaching and assist are essential for achievement.
- Constant and clear communication builds confidence.
- In-person occasions foster group and engagement.
“Give STL Day is a tremendous day as a result of at its core, it’s a celebration of the nonprofits that make my hometown an exquisite place to dwell. The position I’ve in supporting them as they put together and government their giving day plans is extraordinarily rewarding. 2024 appears like our greatest yr but—the nonprofit pleasure, media consideration, and group engagement had been by way of the roof. It was really a group effort between the St. Louis Neighborhood Basis and Mightycause, particularly our great undertaking supervisor. This partnership makes me really feel much more enthusiastic about the way forward for Give STL Day!”