How MPR did in “Give to the Max Day”
During the past few days I've sensed some confusion about why I've paid so much attention to the launch of GiveMN and "Give to the Max Day." Some people have assumed that their must be a connection to the fact that I work for MPR, and my reporting reflects MPR's views on the new website and its aim to streamline charitable giving.
That's simply not the case. Here's what I wrote in a comment to yesterday's post:
For me, at the heart of my reporting and my questions, is the belief that any new endeavor that affects so many people and involves so much money must be looked at closely and thoroughly. That remains true whether it's a for-profit or a non-profit organization.
GiveMN Executive Director Dana Nelson and Razoo CEO Sebastian Traeger both said that this is a bold experiment, something which has never been attempted at this scale. If this really does mark a significant shift in how non-profits will receive their donations in the years to come, then we owe it to those non-profits and their donors to make sure it's the right tool for the job.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
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Yes, MPR is a non-profit that also conducts fund drives. It also participated in Give to the Max Day, and placed 8th amongst all the organizations in terms of the number of donations it received. The final numbers are out, and while I'll do more in-depth analysis of how organizations did later today, I want to at least give you MPR's numbers right away:
Number of contributions to MPR: 422
Amount contributed to MPR through GiveMN: $54,794
Amount eligible for the match*: $52,294
Total match given to MPR: $2,113.50
*The "match" from GiveMN ended up being four cents on the dollar. This is because only the first $2,500 of any one donation was counted toward the match. E.g. if you gave $3,500 to the Animal Humane Society, only $2,500 of it would be matched. At four cents on the dollar your contribution would have raised the Animal Humane Society an additional $100.
Any questions? Feel free to ask them.