Minnesota nonprofits top $34 million in donations on Give to the Max Day

Thousands of Minnesota nonprofits and schools drummed up more than $34 million during Thursday's Give to the Max Day — topping last year's $30 million and setting a record in the 13 years of the statewide giving "holiday."

As of early Friday, the total was listed at $34,390,470.

"This continues to be a really significant grassroots fundraising campaign," said Jake Blumberg, executive director of GiveMN, which puts on the annual event. "It's exciting to see that we can continue growing like we have."

Thursday's record marks the sixth consecutive year of increased giving during Give to the Max Day and topped last year's record-breaking $30 million, part of an unprecedented surge in donations in 2020. Both years smashed the pre-pandemic high of $21.6 million in 2019. Nearly two years into COVID, many local nonprofits are still in recovery mode after getting hit with rising expenses and shrinking revenue during the pandemic and are banking on donors giving generously this month and in December, the critical year-end fundraising period

"Give to the Max Day in Minnesota has become somewhat of a tradition," said Rob Williams, president of Every Meal, formerly the Sheridan Story, a Roseville-based nonprofit that provides meals to students in need. "It's a great opportunity to see Minnesota band together."

Thursday's tally included donations collected since Nov. 1, when the early giving period began. Donations on the GiveMN.org site come with a 6.9% fee, though GiveMN says most donors pay that fee on top of their contribution.

Every Meal raised more than $150,000 Thursday to support its programs, which provide food to children at 470 schools — up from 250 schools before COVID-19.

While the need has subsided from 2020, Williams said the program still is serving an average of 58,000 meals a week, more than double the number of meals pre-pandemic. On Friday, the organization is launching a winter meal program for the second year in a row, providing free, pre-assembled meal bags at more than 100 sites across the metro area.

Every Meal doesn't organize a gala or fundraising event, so Williams said it relies on Give to the Max Day to help bolster the year-end fundraising that the nonprofit depends on for revenue.

"A gala takes a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of money," he said. "GiveMN makes it really easy. It's just the day that's a great example of what Minnesota is about."

In Hopkins, Helping Paws has participated in Give to the Max Day every year and has raised more than $50,000 for its programs to breed, train and place assistance dogs with 100 veterans, first responders and people with physical disabilities each year.

People first were skeptical about why the nonprofit would participate when Give to the Max Day started, said Pam Anderson, the development director, but now it's become a staple of fundraising for many organizations. "It goes to show the generosity of the people in the state of Minnesota," she said.

In a GiveMN survey of about 1,000 nonprofits, nearly 40% of organizations participating in Give to the Max Day said it was their biggest fundraising campaign of the year.

Not all the state's nonprofits participate. About a third of the state's more than 15,000 nonprofits have participated in Give to the Max Day in the past, while others focus on their own fundraising efforts.

In recovery mode

In a new report, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits found that 20% of 300 nonprofits surveyed anticipate being in financial distress within six months. Though that's not as many as those that feared problems last spring or in 2020, the pandemic has left its mark: Following last year's furloughs and layoffs, the nonprofit workforce has shrunk by nearly 30,000 jobs, according to the report.

"We know that they're being asked to do more with less still during this ongoing pandemic, and every dollar makes a difference for our neighbors," Blumberg said. "The resilience of our community is about resources. The generosity of our community is something that makes it unique and special."

Donors stepped up in response to the pandemic and boosted racial justice organizations after George Floyd was murdered in May 2020. Philanthropy often spikes in a crisis but declines sharply after the emergency subsides. A report by GivingTuesday forecasts that charitable giving nationally will return this year to pre-pandemic levels after rising 5% last year.

The future of giving

At PRG Inc., a Minneapolis-based affordable housing builder that also offers classes to homebuyers, there's no sign yet of a drop in individual giving. With only nine staffers, it relies on Give to the Max Day as its main fundraiser of the year. It collected a record $24,000 in 2020 and had hoped to exceed that this year.

The increased attention on racial equity after Floyd's murder helped PRG mobilize more donors to close racial gaps in homeownership, said Brenna Everson, operations coordinator. "Any amount helps," she said, adding that the nonprofit is dealing with the rising cost of building affordable single-family houses.

During COVID, most nonprofits had to shift fundraisers entirely online until this summer, when they resumed hybrid events as coronavirus cases dropped. Another spike in cases this fall pushed many nonprofits to revert to online-only events or to implement new rules for events, such as requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

That hasn't deterred some passionate donors who are reaching into their wallets to give more this year.

"We're seeing one of the strongest giving environments that we've seen in a decade," said fundraising consultant Glen Fladeboe, who added that people benefiting from the strong stock market and economy are giving more: "They're upping their gift; they're making larger gifts."

His clients are holding a mix of hybrid, in-person and online fundraisers, but he said he's noticing that those who do smaller in-person events are hauling in more money with fewer people than the large crowds they would have had in the past. He said it shows that fundraisers in 2022 and beyond just may be smaller than the massive events that were typical before the pandemic.

"The evidence right now is that giving is super, super strong with those core supporters that want to make a difference," Fladeboe said. "You don't need the massive gala to be successful."