Will springtime giving days feel the impact of the economic downturn in the U.S.?
The ongoing socioeconomic malaise in the U.S. is having significant effects on the beginning of the springtime giving day schedule.
Nonprofit leaders around the country are scrambling to determine the right approach as draconian social distancing measures are instituted, causing mass uncertainty in the financial markets and cancellations of social gatherings of any significant scope.
Some giving days have elected to push forward as scheduled: on March 11-12, before the most significant measures started to be instituted, Raise the Region in Williamsport, Pa., yielded $1,429,572 for 284 participating nonprofits — down 7.22% from 2019, when the same 30-hour giving day took in $1,540,879 for 273 participating nonprofits.
A week later in Roanoke, Va., the economic ramifications hit harder: Roanoke Valley Gives raised $715,490 for 142 participating nonprofits — down 10.81% from the $802,244 raised in 2019.
“It’s all done online, which is on thing that is really good,” Kaitlyn Van Buskirk, grants associate for the Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia, told WFXR-TV before RV Gives. “Unfortunately, the situation (COVID-19) is terrible, but because it’s all online and most of the organizations actually get out to their donors through email or phone calls then we really aren’t affected as much in that way.”
Other giving days are taking more dramatic measures to adjust to the socioeconomic challenges. The Big Give in San Antonio (March 26) and The Amazing Give in Gainesville, Fla.* (April 22-23) are among a growing group of giving days that have postponed their official days until the late summer and fall, and are now using their giving platforms to collect emergency relief.
In Arizona, nearly 800 nonprofits are counting the days until Arizona Gives Day, one of the largest giving days in the U.S. Their website also lists an “Emergency Relief Fund,” which will be evenly distributed amongst nonprofits.
An “Impact Poll” shared by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits shows that, of 364 respondents to date, nonprofits in that state alone have lost more than $29 million, with 87% of respondents saying their organization expects to be impacted by COVID-19. As of publication time, Arizona has reported 44 positive cases of COVID-19.
Giving day platform provider GiveGab has built a collection of COVID-19 resources for giving days and nonprofits: “Now, more than ever, it is important that nonprofits continue to engage with their stakeholders, donors, and friends,” their website reads. “Connecting people with actionable ways to make a difference during this time of crisis is essential to sustaining your organization or school and the greater community in the long run!”
(*Disclosure: As the ‘Giving Day Guy,’ I work with The Nonprofit Council in San Antonio and The Community Foundation of North Central Florida in Gainesville to help them produce their annual giving days.)
