Giving Days: Ramp Up or Wind Down

Hosted by the Council and the Knight Foundation, hear the perspective of community foundation leaders on both sides of the Giving Day effort.

Giving Days come with huge upside potential to increase visibility and credibility. Giving Days help democratize philanthropy with far-reaching immediate giving. They can strengthen your online donor engagement capabilities and reach new audiences. Yet, they also are riddled with challenges. Giving Days come with high transactional giving activity, internal fundraising required for prize pools, and intensive staff efforts to coordinate and implement. Hear first-hand accounts from both sides of Giving Days to make informed decisions about a Giving Day Initiative at your Foundation, or whether it is time to ramp up or wind down.

Why they are ramping up efforts in support of Giving Days

• Janell Kaplan, Miami Foundation
• Laurie Preston, Blue Grass Community Foundation

Why they have elected to wind down their efforts for Giving Days

• Sarah Davison, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
• Kelly Uranker, Pittsburgh Foundation

Topics included:

• Alignment with Foundation goals, strategy, and marketing outcomes
• Explore next steps, approach to continued use, expansion and sustaining
• Identify approaches to prize pools and organizing strategies
• Discuss infastructural and staffing needs for success
• Identify true costs, justifications for the expenses
• Lessons Learned, value it brings or brought to the Foundation
• Reasons why it was time to discontinue Giving Days or pause the Initiative
• Explore methods for transitioning out of Giving Days