Aug. 10, 2016 – (MIAMI) – A new report from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has found that giving days not only raise millions of dollars for local causes, they help strengthen the community foundations that organize them.

These online fundraising campaigns, which have grown in popularity over the past five years, have helped the foundations broaden their reach, gain digital skills and become information hubs for the nonprofit sector, the report, “Beyond the Dollars: The Long-Term Value of Giving Days for Community Foundations,” found.

Even as a technology failure froze dozens of campaigns during last spring’s Give Local America, during which many community foundations raised local funds on the same day, the report serves as a reminder of how beneficial these campaigns can be.

“Community foundations are understandably doing some soul searching on whether and how to continue their giving days. As they grapple with the future of their campaigns, we hope this report provides them with valuable data on how giving days can benefit community foundations and help ensure a vibrant future for these organizations,” said Lilly Weinberg, director of Knight Foundation’s community foundations program.

The report is available at givingdayplaybook.org/beyond. Knight Foundation has also updated its Giving Day Playbook, a soup-to-nuts guide on organizing campaigns, with the latest insights on crisis planning.

The new report, Beyond the Dollars, found that giving days helped community foundations:

·      Increase their visibility and credibility – by helping them communicate their mission to larger audiences. Some 48 percent of nonprofits and donors heard about the community foundations for the first time as a result of the giving days.

·      Strengthen their digital skills – by helping them learn to use social media and become more comfortable with online fundraising.

·      Become hubs of information on giving – by centralizing information about local nonprofits and collecting widespread nonprofit and donor data.

Community foundations can build on these skills and assets to ensure their long-term sustainability, Weinberg said.

“Whether or not community foundations continue with giving days, they have acquired new skills and insights they can use for future initiatives, and to assure these foundations continue to have a vibrant future. There is no turning back,” Weinberg said.

The report also looked at donors to these campaigns, and found that to truly democratize philanthropy, organizers need to find ways to use the Giving Days to reach a more diverse donor base. Women, individuals identifying as white, English speakers and those with higher education levels were overrepresented in the campaigns.

Researched by Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies, the report is the culmination of Knight Foundation’s successful Giving Day Initiative, which provided the playbook, a Facebook group, plus individualized help and funding to giving day organizers in communities where Knight Foundation invests, to share best practices. The foundation is continuing to support community foundations’ in Knight communities experiment with new ways to engage their communities and embrace their future.

Knight Foundation will be discussing the report in a virtual roundtable in partnership with Markets for Good at 1 p.m. ET Sept. 1. Panelists will explore how community foundations and nonprofits can harness these major fundraising campaigns as opportunities for gathering, using, and sharing data; growing their digital skills and reach; and building their capacity to advance their missions and boost their impact. Registration is open: kng.ht/2az9Kwx

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

Contact: Marika Lynch, Knight Foundation communications consultant, [email protected],  305-908-2677