Give Miami Day has a new look — and an ‘Amazon-like’ way to find nonprofits
Give Miami Day, one of the country’s largest annual giving events, is using new tech this year— including an “Amazon-like” web feature to help raise funds for more than 800 nonprofit organizations in Miami-Dade County.
Now in its eighth year, the 24-hour online campaign is looking to surpass last year’s $11.5 million record when it begins at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
Organizers also hope a new website feature called Champion Page will make it easier for donors to connect with their favorite organizations. Last year, the Greater Jewish Federation of Miami raised $743,831 — the most money from last year’s 758 beneficiaries. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami and the Miami Film Festival were also popular.
The Miami Foundation created Give Miami Day.
“Give Miami Day does not work unless the thousands of people that live here take ownership of these causes and do something about improving the community they live in and supporting these people who do the hard work to meet the needs of Miami residents every day,” said Matthew Beatty, the Foundation’s senior director of communications and engagement.
The Champion Page will enable people to save their favorite participating charities and will keep track of the donations every year.
The website will also have an “Amazon-like” nonprofit suggestion feature that will steer you to new causes to support based on the ones you add to your cart, Beatty said.
Those who create a Champion Page can have a personalized fundraising page to share online with family, friends and colleagues to help raise funds for your charity of choice. Over 400 pages have been created, as of Monday.
“It ensures that people are being able to be true champions of the causes they care about,” Beatty said.
The 24-hour campaign, which ends at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, will raise funds for many nonprofits, including those in the arts, housing, religion, the environment and education.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami will be raising funds this year for its elderly services, said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, the nonprofit’s CEO.
“We try to select a cause that we know there is a pressing need for,” Routsis-Arroyo said.
The center has seen an uptick in elderly services, he said. It will distribute the funds among the charity’s 11 senior centers to provide healthy meals, educational seminars, recreational activities and other services to 2,000 to 3,000 senior citizens in need.
“As Miami-Dade has grown I think Catholic Charities has grown with it ... we are an integral part of the greater community,” Routsis-Arroyo said.
Herald Charities, which raises money for Wish Book, the annual campaign that kicks off on Thanksgiving Day and tells stories of South Florida’s neediest people, raised more than $4,000 in last year’s Give Miami Day.
Jacob Solomon, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, is hoping to see another positive turnout this year.
“Our enthusiasm for Give Miami Day is because of what we think it contributes to the philanthropic landscape of our Miami community,” Solomon said. “We think of it as a celebration of philanthropy and we believe that by participating and encouraging our donors to participate we are helping to build a culture of giving back.”
The federation’s mission, he said, is to enrich the quality of Jewish life in the county by supporting various programs from day cares to social service options.
Catalyst Miami, a nonprofit that works on identifying and solving issues affecting low-wealth communities such as affordable housing and healthcare access, is giving possible donors the option to sign up for a donation reminder that can be sent by text, call or email.
Direct communication between nonprofits and donors is the basis of Give Miami Day, according to Beatty.
“Give Miami Day was designed to reframe how we think about philanthropy in Greater Miami,” he said. “Tech has allowed us to democratize philanthropy so anyone can become a major impactful philanthropist in Miami.”
It’s also how people find out about it.
The Miami Foundation sends out an annual survey every year after the campaign, Beatty said. Based on the responses, they’ve learned that email is typically the most popular way people learned about Give Miami Day.
Social media, he said, is usually second and is one of the most “critical” components of the campaign’s success.
“Those networks is what helps these types of crowd source gift campaigns grow ... it also helps us get on the radar of folks who might have never thought about supporting a nonprofit as a way to address something they care about in their community,” he said.
The Miami Foundation and its partners, including the Knight Foundation and the William R. Watts Foundation, will also fund a bonus pool based on every Give Miami Day donation made this year that is between $25 and $10,000. An additional percentage of funds will then be distributed to the nonprofits.
Since 2012, the campaign has seen a steady growth — both in donations and participating organizations — and has raised more than $47 million in less than a decade. This year, the Foundation says it has 175 new nonprofits participating.
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Some notable newcomers include Our Grounds, a coffee shop in Kendall that provides vocational training, resources and employment opportunities to people with developmental disabilities; the Florida Ocean Cleanup Society, which looks to tackle plastic pollution; and Maven Leadership Collective, a Central and South Florida organization that focuses on centering queer and trans people of color and allies in professional development.
To see the 800+ nonprofits that are participating visit givemiamiday.org
Fun Facts About Give Miami Day
▪ While the majority of donors are local, Give Miami Day had donations pouring in from across the United States and from almost 30 other countries last year, Beatty said.
▪ Every nonprofit in Give Miami Day has been verified by the Miami Foundation.
▪ Give Miami Day 2019 has slightly more than 820 nonprofits participating. Miami-Dade has roughly 1,200 nonprofits in total, according to the Miami Foundation.
▪ The idea for Give Miami Day came from a conversation between Miami Foundation former CEO Javier Alberto Soto and the Knight Foundation’s President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen, a former Miami Herald publisher, according to Beatty. The pair were talking about philanthropy in Miami and how local non-profits can be supported following a “Tale of Two Cities” study that described Miami as one of the most least civically engaged cities in the country, he said.
How to participate
What: Give Miami Day 2019
When: 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Thursday
How many nonprofits? Over 800
How much can you donate? Minimum is $25
How: Visit givemiamiday.org
Either create an account or start searching for nonprofits you’re interested in. You do not need to create an account to donate.
Add your nonprofits to the cart, how much money you want to donate and go to checkout.
Gifts can be made through a bank account, credit or qualified gift card (VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express) or through a Donor Advised Fund at The Miami Foundation.
If you are interested in creating a Champion Page, the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 10:04 AM.
