The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

November 20, 2009

Blitz a boost for area nonprofits

State sets national record for one-day fundraising

By Brian Ojanpa

MANKATO — Heidi Larson was stunned when she opened her office e-mail the other day and money began pouring forth.

“I said, ‘You’re kidding me,’” said the office manager for Mankato Symphony Orchestra Association.

“We weren’t really looking for something to fall out of the sky like that.”

The symphony organization was among 31 Mankato nonprofit groups that participated in the statewide “Give to the Max Day,” in which groups solicited donations to be made within a 24-hour window.

The Tuesday-to-Wednesday fundraising blitz prompted Minnesotans to set a one-day national record by giving $14 million to 3,400 charities.

The symphony organization collected $4,080, by far the most money donated to it during a one-day period, Larson said.

That largesse is even more remarkable given that the solicitation wasn’t done online because many symphony association members are older and not computer-versed.

Larson said the “Give to the Max Day” request was relayed via a simple insert in the orchestra’s concert program on Sunday, and 41 donors responded.

Minnesota State University’s Mankato Foundation received the most — $12,055 from 55 donors — among local participating nonprofits.

“We were very excited. The nice thing about this is that it reached people all across the world,” said Margot Zelenz, associate vice president for university advancement.

Zelenz said 40,000 alumni received donation-request e-mails.

“This is just one of the many fundraising techniques we use, and it definitely gave our online fundraising a boost.”

Other Mankato nonprofits receiving significant donations that day included St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center ($5,265 from 26 donors), YWCA ($2,530, 18 donors), Blue Earth County Historical Society ($2,060, 22 donors) and Leisure Education for Exceptional People ($1,050, 14 donors).

The top recipients in Minnesota included College of St. Benedict, Twin Cities Public Television, Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley and the St. Paul hunger relief organization Second Harvest Heartland.

About 10 communities nationwide have experimented with 24-hour online giving blitzes. The Minnesota effort is believed to be the first to go statewide.

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