Representatives of local nonprofits gave a collective “thanks” to generous donors to this year’s Give Methow campaign, which continues through October.
Videos personalize pitch to donors
Give Methow, the valley’s annual month-long fundraising campaign to support local nonprofits, has unveiled a new strategy this year.
During the month of October, Give Methow is releasing a video each week that highlights the work of nonprofits through the valley.
The new video-centric fundraising reflects three goals: to bring the 36 participating nonprofits together through a collaborative project, to create a way for nonprofits of all sizes to share in the ability to raise money, and to help broaden the reach to potential donors.
“It’s the brainchild of all the Methow nonprofits,” said Beth Stipe, executive director of the Community Foundation of North Central Washington, a nonprofit fundraising organization that helps to support the Give Methow campaign.
“Nonprofits are struggling more than ever. Not only with fundraising, but also with reduced programs, and increased needs of their serves,” said Stipe. “The videos are a great way to support the smaller nonprofit organizations, and it gives donors a chance to support a variety of nonprofits with a one-gift process.”
Themed videos
Give Methow is producing four videos, each with a theme, and distributing them on Mondays through participating valley nonprofits’ social media platforms, as well as through the Community Foundation.
Monday Funday, a grant matching program provided through the Community Foundation, gives a boost to anybody who makes a donation on a Monday: They will have their name entered into a drawing for $500 to give to a Methow nonprofit of their choice.
“What has sprung from this is a lot more interaction between the organizations,” said Sarah Brooks, associate director of the Methow Conservancy. “It’s definitely created a greater sense of communication and collaboration between a lot of these organizations. And we are realizing that we all have the same values.”
“We also learned that all the organizations have felt the impact of the coronavirus. From losing events to the fact that there are needs right now that impact philanthropy,” said Brooks. “When the pandemic started, I thought it would be great to offer a Zoom meeting for anybody in the nonprofit community to talk about how fundraising might be impacted by the pandemic.”
“It started informally, but through those meetings we started to work together,” said Brooks. “This project shows how the nonprofit community here is vibrant, and is able to create resiliencies.”
The videos are around 10 minutes in length, and by the end of October each participating nonprofit will have been featured. Each video explores how separate nonprofits are connected through their missions, their values and their work. The videos also aim to educate donors about nonprofits they might not be aware of.
All four videos are produced by local producer Jamie Petitto, who worked tirelessly directing, editing and shooting after being asked to join the project in July.
How to contribute
For information about how to contribute to Give Methow, and details about each of the participating nonprofits, visit https://www.cfncw.org/givemethow.
“I felt very lucky that I was chosen to be the one in charge of making sure every single participating nonprofit put their best foot forward, and I certainly learned about nonprofits in the valley that I didn’t even know existed,” said Petitto.
“I loved making a video for each nonprofit … [and] no two videos look alike; the voices are different, the places are different, and the delivery is different,” said Petitto. “These stories are certainly more positive than anything else I’ve watched on the internet lately, and these stories are filled with requests for action where you can actually make, and feel, an immediate and effective impact.”
More donations
The new fundraising approach seems to be working, as more funds have come in compared to what was raised by this time in last year’s campaign, according to the Community Foundation.
“For us, it is performing better this year than it has in the past,” said Missi Smith, executive director of The Merc Playhouse, who attributes some of the fundraising success to the ability to easily share the videos with a wider audience.
The Merc, along with many other Methow nonprofits, is in the red as the coronavirus has put a stop to many of the typical fundraising events held throughout the year.
“We’ve had zero programming since January … and are 100% reliant on our donors to cover many operating costs,” said Smith. “As an organization, very early in the pandemic, we chose to stand down in fundraising, because people needed food and services that seemed essential. But, it still costs money even if when you’re hibernating.”
“Give Methow will be the largest part of our yearly donor budget, and a huge part of our operating budget,” said Smith.
“All of us were and are uncertain how the pandemic and its financial effects would impact donors’ ability to give, as they have in the past,” said Betsy Cushman, executive director of Methow Recycles. “We wanted to acknowledge that this is not a normal year, so it was time to do something other than a business-as-usual approach to Give Methow.”
“This project shows how we work together,” said Brooks. “If anyone of our nonprofits weren’t here, we’d be missing something as a community, and they all rely on people who love this valley to support them.”
Donations can be made via the Give Methow website or to individual nonprofits. Donors also have the option to make a contribution that will be spread evenly among all participating valley nonprofits.
