Case Research: How Give STL Day Amplified Group Help for Native Nonprofits

Give STL Day was created by the St. Louis Group 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 help of her colleagues on the St. Louis Group 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 learn the way Give STL Day has reached such a profitable magnitude:

Making a Change

“After we started contemplating a platform swap, Mightycause rapidly rose to the highest of our listing as a result of it felt trendy and intuitive. It checked all our packing containers for obligatory options, and we had been excited in regards to the ending touches, akin to custom-made thanks pages and extra nonprofit profile customization choices. Lastly, we felt that the Mightycause crew 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 alternative for the primary time in 2024. Give STL Day utilized Mightycause’s migration companies to front-load their giving day website with group profile parts, admin entry, and donation historical past for current occasions, and to streamline the transition for all individuals. 

“It was extraordinarily necessary 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 organize for the information merge, we had been capable of clearly talk all the small print to our nonprofit companions and reduce confusion. Mightycause made what might have been a really tense and difficult platform swap extraordinarily easy!” – Emily Baumann, Give STL Day. 

Following a difficult 12 months in 2023 because of a technical outage on Give STL Day with their earlier platform associate, re-establishing the belief and confidence of over 1,000 nonprofit companions was prime precedence. Switching to a brand new platform in Mightycause set the inspiration for an improved nonprofit expertise, however there was nonetheless uncertainty in studying (and instructing) new expertise 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 consultants 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 Group 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 individual journey for nonprofits to obtain help the place they most wanted it. 

Mightycause Help Library: Emily and the St. Louis Group Basis crew utilized Mightycause’s in depth help heart when working with nonprofits to organize for Give STL Day. Many questions got here to Mightycause Help immediately, however through the use of the help articles supplied on Mightycause’s web site, Emily and her colleagues had been capable of present helpful help to nonprofits by sharing articles that included screenshots and walkthroughs for every facet of the platform the nonprofits had questions on.

Electronic mail Communications: Along with hands-on coaching and help, the Give STL Day crew 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 typically, Emily efficiently supplied bite-sized items and related info every week to maintain nonprofits centered within the midst of a lot change. Emily’s dedication to speaking with nonprofits contributed to nonprofits’ confidence within the Give STL Day program.

Group Engagement

Whereas coaching and preparation had been key to offering a constructive nonprofit consumer expertise, particularly on a brand new platform, the implementation of Give STL Day was probably a very powerful 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 neighborhood basis hosted a nonprofit breakfast and media alternative the day earlier than Give STL Day at their lovely 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 individuals, donors, and occasion employees supplied a way of neighborhood 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 neighborhood and by the Give STL Day crew. Nonprofit interviews ran for almost 12 hours through the giving day and included tales of influence, overview of packages, and a particular go to from one rescue organizations’ pet and kitten.

As an added bonus, the Mightycause crew was invited to St. Louis for the festivities and had the chance to fulfill nonprofits and supply help on website for Give STL Day. Working collectively nose to nose fostered emotions of partnership and belief that had been mirrored within the platform’s efficiency on Give STL Day.

“I completely liked having our Undertaking Supervisor onsite throughout Give STL Day. After months of weekly conferences, I felt like my buddy was coming to go to me. Having her there was vastly 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 which will assist different giving occasions efficiently put together nonprofits for his or her giving day:

1. Efficient coaching and help are essential for fulfillment.
2. Constant and clear communication builds confidence.
3. In-person occasions foster neighborhood 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 a beautiful place to reside. The position I’ve in supporting them as they put together and govt their giving day plans is extraordinarily rewarding. 2024 appears like our greatest 12 months but—the nonprofit pleasure, media consideration, and neighborhood engagement had been by way of the roof. It was actually a crew effort between the St. Louis Group Basis and Mightycause, particularly our fantastic challenge supervisor. This partnership makes me really feel much more enthusiastic about the way forward for Give STL Day!”