Countdown to the 2022 Giving Challenge

By Sylvia Whitman | April 2022

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Here’s the executive summary. From noon to noon on April 26-27, area residents can once again open their hearts and their wallets as part of the 2022 Giving Challenge. This virtual online giving event will continue a tradition that has raised $59 million in unrestricted funding for local nonprofits over the past 10 years.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County hosts the Giving Challenge. It “encourages digital and in-person giving, as well as a tools to build ‘teams’ so participants can design their own best ways to drive support for their missions,” says Roxie Jerde, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO.

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According to Jerde, what distinguishes the Giving Challenge from giving days in other locales across the country is the high level of community participation and the generosity of The Patterson Foundation. This year, The Patterson Foundation will provide a 1:1 match for all unique donations, up to $100 per donor, per organization, made online with a credit or debit card—with no limit on the number of individual matches from unique donors and no limit on the number of organizations a donor can give to. If you give $100 each to nine local nonprofits, say, The Patterson Foundation will turn your 900 bucks into $1800 worth of bang. 

Let’s talk more numbers. The last Giving Challenge, which took place in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, raised:

• $19.1 million
• including $7.5 million in matching funds from The Patterson Foundation
• from 58,947 donors
• for 686 nonprofits
• through 106,706 gifts
• of which 23,000 were $25

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The Community Foundation launched the first Giving Challenge in 2012, “the same year we introduced The Giving Partner (www.thegivingpartner.org) to the area as a resource for making informed decisions for charitable giving,” says Jerde. “The Giving Partner gives nonprofits a way to share their mission and program results and overall impact alongside key financial management, governance, and operational metrics.”

Transparency spurs philanthropy.

This year marks the 8^th Giving Challenge. In the two off years (2019 and 2021), organizations focused more on capacity building—getting to know their new supporters and spreading the word about their work, according to Jerde. In many ways, the closing bell of every Giving Challenge is a wake-up call. Time to cultivate deeper, long-term relationships with donors. Time to turn the social media rush of the big day into engaging, ongoing communication. Time to steward those gifts. 

Debra Jacobs, The Patterson Foundation’s president and CEO, finds the Giving Challenge matches her organization’s “consistent focus on collaboration that strengthens the impact of philanthropy beyond any individual act of generosity.” The challenge in the Giving Challenge extends to both donors and nonprofits: Let’s not make this a flash in the pan. 

“One of the Giving Challenge’s aspirations is to connect regional nonprofit organizations with people devoted to their mission, along with businesses and other nonprofits to build effective partnerships,” says Jacobs. “Each organization has an opportunity to establish a solid network of supporters that can strengthen their work well beyond the initial 24 hours. 

“In addition, the funds raised during the Giving Challenge are unrestricted, meaning each nonprofit organization can put these donations toward the greatest priority or opportunity it is working to achieve. Both of those benefits are vital to future planning while creating a strong resource to turn to when the unexpected strikes—attributes that came into even greater focus during the most recent Giving Challenge, which took place during the early days of the pandemic.”

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From the history pages:

All told, the first seven Giving Challenges hosted by the Community Foundation and strengthened by The Patterson Foundation brought in $59 million of “unrestricted funding for area nonprofits to respond to community needs with flexibility and innovation.”

For some perspective, let’s consider what else you might do with such a sum:

• Produce Sherlock Gnomes (2018, $59 million)
• Make an offer on the Oppenheimer Blue diamond (sold at auction in 2016, $57.9 million)
• Acquire a used jet (2020 Gulfstream G-600, $54.7 million)

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Out of the 686 nonprofits in the 2020 Giving Challenge, 116—almost 6%–were participating for the first time. Any 501(c)(3) public charity working in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and/or DeSoto county may register—as long as it has “demonstrated transparency” with a current, approved profile in The Giving Partner.

As host, the Community Foundation offers webinars and trainings. Registration closed at the end of February, but nonprofit support and education continues year-round. Online videos and slideshows explore topics such as goal-setting strategies, peer-to-peer fundraising, and “how to meet your donors where they are, and help them become vested in your mission through successful storytelling.”

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As part of its push for collaboration, the Giving Challenge encourages organizations to work together in groups of five or more to create face-to-face Pop-up Giving Stations. Look for these around town at various times (though probably not in the wee hours) during the Giving Challenge window. Stay tuned to the Giving Challenge website for more info: 

www.givingchallenge.org/info/popupgivingstations

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One day of giving, fourweeks of food. In the 2020 Giving Challenge, All Faiths Food Bank topped the leaderboard with a record-breaking $621,261 in donations. Good thing: the largest hunger relief organization in Sarasota and DeSoto counties saw a 40% increase in new clients just as the lockdown confined volunteers at home and disrupted food collection. At the time, Food Bank CEO Sandra Frank estimated that Giving Challenge proceeds would allow the organization to purchase food for a month.

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To stoke Giving Challenge fever, the Community Foundation awards well more than a dozen prizes to participating nonprofits. These include random awards, for Donor Shoutout Tweets, for instance. Others involve competition and range from Best Video Commercial to Best Business Partnership. These are “another way to encourage the development of long-term relationships that go far beyond the 24-hour challenge,” says Jerde. 

This year, nonprofits can submit in three prize categories. “By the limiting the number of prizes, organizations can focus their resources and time on the prizes that are the best fits for their missions,” adds Jerde. “The prizes tie back to best practices for nonprofits in key areas such as governance (board member engagement), communications (videos, social media, and overall campaigns), and growing outreach (peer-to-peer fundraising and business partnerships).”

In 2020, Easterseals Southwest Florida, which operates three separate nonprofits—Easterseals, InStride Therapy, and ABA Academy—all managed under the ES-SWFL umbrella, won Best Board Member Engagement. Every board member worked on teams during the Giving Challenge, 100% engagement.

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The Giving Challenge brings all hands on deck. Two kids made all the difference for the JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation during the 2020 Giving Challenge. With schools closed and childcare scarce because of the pandemic, CEO Andria Bilan enlisted her grandkids Azaelia, then 9, and Zander, then 5, to make video messages and write thank-you notes—part of their real-world education.

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As the Giving Challenge logo proclaims, “Be the One.” To participate in the Giving Challenge and make a difference in this community, visit www.givingchallenge.org between noon April 26 and noon April 27.