Monday, October 4, 2010

The Bremer Give-to-the-Kids Challenge – A Smart Giving Opportunity!

by guest blogger, Dana Nelson, Executive Director of GiveMN.org

Want to double your dollars and do more good? Now is your chance! Through Tuesday, October 5 donations on GiveMN to 50 youth-serving organizations in Greater MN will be doubled thanks to the Otto Bremer Foundation.

The Bremer Give-to-the-Kids Challenge is a call to Minnesotans to support nonprofits serving our youth in Greater Minnesota. The Otto Bremer Foundation is providing up to $300,000 in matching funds to double donations and incent giving to the 50 selected organizations. Each organization will receive a one-to-one match for the first $6,000 it generates through online donations made on GiveMN.org during the campaign, September 28 through October 5, 2010. There are only two more days to DOUBLE your dollars!

Why donate to one of these organizations? Think about that one adult who really listened to you when you were growing up. Maybe it was a teacher, a neighbor or a coach. For young people who are homeless or facing domestic violence, having someone to talk to can literally be life saving. So whether you give to Anna Marie’s Alliance in St. Cloud who provides a safe space for women in children fleeing violence or to the Pillager Family Council who invests in programs that make a difference in the lives of Pillager youth, know that you are helping to make that positive interaction take place.

Why else should you give to one of these organizations? For most of these organizations, this is their first online giving campaign. They are small organizations stretching to do something new. Moving from “the way things have always been done” to “the way we need to do things to be relevant in the future.” They are working with their donors who are unsure about making a donation on a computer. And they are marketing to new donors who love the ease and convenience of giving online. They are changing donor behavior one click at a time. And the dollars are trickling in.

So whether you have a cabin in the Brainerd Lakes area, grew up in Alexandria or went to summer camp in International Falls, please invest in young people in a community that you care about. Click. Contribute. Change Your World. Take the Challenge today and forward to your friends! Post a comment on Facebook or follow #GiveMN on Twitter, please help spread the word about these great organizations.

And remember to look for the Charities Review Council's “Meets Standards” seal on an organization’s GiveMN page!

GiveMN is a collaborative venture to transform philanthropy in Minnesota by growing overall giving and moving more of it online. GiveMN is an independent 501(c) (3) supporting organization of the Minnesota Community Foundation. Many partners shaped GiveMN to build upon Minnesota’s strong tradition of philanthropy, including: ADC, Blandin Foundation, Briggs & Morgan, the Bush Foundation, Central Minnesota Community Foundation, Ecolab Foundation, F.R. Bigelow Foundation, General Mills, Inc., Greater Twin Cities United Way, HealthPartners, Initiative Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, Northland Foundation, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, The Saint Paul Foundation, Southern Initiative Foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation, Target, West Central Initiative Foundation and Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. For more information, visit http://www.givemn.org/.

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