Crowdfunding campaign helps 36 organizations
The Community Foundation of NCW’s Give Methow campaign has raised $522,204 for 36 Methow Valley nonprofits, topping last year’s contributions by more than $200,000.
Give Methow is an annual crowdfunding campaign hosted by the Community Foundation during the month of October to build awareness of nonprofit work that benefits the Methow Valley and provides an easy way for anyone to support their work.
“We are blown away by the incredible support of Give Methow this year” said Beth Stipe, the foundation’s executive director, in a press release. “It’s been a challenging year for our region’s nonprofits, and the people who love the Methow Valley have stepped up to give these organizations some sustainability and hope.”
Any 501(c)(3) public charity in the Methow Valley is eligible to participate in Give Methow to raise funds for a specific program or general operations.
An anonymous donor seeded a $20,000 “Give to All” stretch pool to incentivize and bolster fundraising efforts, according to the release. The Community Foundation added $10,000 and the public donated $33,866, totaling $63,866 that was disbursed among all nonprofits equally. This year, several organizations decided to “gift” their portion back to the pool in the spirit of togetherness, providing additional funding to others, the press release said.
“When we started planning for the campaign it was powerfully clear how much we are all in this together. We wanted to create an opportunity for a rising tide that would lift all boats.” said Betsy Cushman, Executive Director of Methow Recycles and a board trustee of the Community Foundation.
“All of the organizations decided to tell our stories together through weekly videos that we shared with our supporters. Our work and our community depend upon each other, and we wanted to share that message and recognize each of our parts in shaping the future of the Methow Valley” said Cushman.
In a new strategy this year, Give Methow released a video each week that highlighted the work of nonprofits that were part of the campaign. The four videos each had a theme.
