by Kirby Lindsay, posted 23 April 2014
On May 6th, from midnight to midnight, Seattle Foundation will once again host the one-day, 24-hour giving event known as ‘GiveBig’! Each on-line donation made on May 6th to your favorite Fremont non-profit (or any other 501(c)3 on the Seattle Foundation list,) will be added to others towards a match (or ‘stretch’) pool. The more people that give, and the bigger the donations made, the larger the ‘stretch’ pool will grow.
Check out the Seattle Foundation website to see the impressive selection of non-profits to choose from, all of them doing important work in our region – including Fremont. Pick one, or two, or ten, and give whatever you can – then encourage friends to give as well on May 6th, and make your money go farther.
As A 501(c)3…
I must admit, when looking at the long list of participating non-profits – and seeing the great organizations that are there, and noting the ones that aren’t – I always grow curious about what it takes to get in.
According to Maureen Miko, founder of Stone Soup, a small, independent theater and educational program & camp for children, getting on the GiveBig list was pretty simple. “You have to set up a bank account,” specifically for this campaign, she said, “for them to filter the money through.” The bank verifies the paperwork, all the official forms Stone Soup filed to become a non-profit, “they can look up your 501(c)3,” Miko explained.
“Just to get into the non-profit world,” Miko answered, “you go through a lot of red tape.” She hired a lawyer, and the banks reviewed the legal documents, when she first established the theater and the education program. Signing up her established and well-regarded non-profit for GiveBig took little extra effort, as she recalled. “You’re either a non-profit,” she said about the vetting process, “or you are not.”
Fundraising Drives
“I don’t see the benefit of a big fundraiser,” Miko explained, “for the energy it takes, it wouldn’t benefit us.” Many organizations will hold fundraising auctions, galas, or golf tournaments to make money, but these take volunteer time and effort to set up, and donors to attend. For Miko, and her small staff and Stone Soup’s dedicated supporters, a big event could easily take away from the great work the organization does – provide theater for adults and children.
“I think Stone Soup is really run on heart,” Miko explained, “because we are as small as we are, people are devoted.” It also helps that donors quickly learn that this is an organization fiscally responsible, with no debt, run lean.
In fall of 2013, Stone Soup did hold a fundraising drive – a five-week long campaign that used a crowd funding website (Indiegogo) to give donors a place to give, to monitor the progress, and to send their friends. “When people are forced, by a deadline, they give,” Miko observed.
GiveBig provides that same sense of urgency. Miko has been given advice from the Seattle Foundation to send out word to about the 24-hour fundraising campaign, “they say no more than four weeks in advance,” she said. “For this, we will have a schedule of reminders,” she reported, and over the last few weeks, Stone Soup has sent out word through their newsletter, e-mail list, on the website, and on Facebook.
Miko wants to make her donors, audience, and students aware of GiveBig, with hopes that they will spread the word. For the Indiegogo campaign, as well as the Seattle Foundation, Stone Soup depends upon the established and the new donors. “During Indiegogo,” she reported, “we got donors from out-of-town, ones that give to live theater.” The Seattle Foundation website will direct those who want to donate to cultural projects, and to children and education, to Stone Soup. “The website is pretty organized,” Miko acknowledged, and it allows donors to search by causes they prefer to support.
With A Sustainable Goal
In addition to grants and fundraisers, Miko has more plans to make Stone Soup sustainable in 2014. She’s looking around our neighborhood for Fremont (and Wallingford) businesses willing to sponsor shows in the upcoming season (soon to be announced!) She’s also negotiating collaborations with other theater companies. These partnerships could lower costs for both production companies, and bring new audiences into the theater on Stone Way.
In the meantime, Miko hopes everyone will consider giving through GiveBig on May 6th. Held, “right in the middle of the year,” Miko said, “in between our seasons,” the money could really go a long way to getting the new season launched right. Also, Seattle Foundation has donors give money to the matching fund/stretch fund which can make donations by small donors go farther. This is an ideal time to look to give something, to Stone Soup or one of the other, deserving non-profits in our area.
Please, GiveBig on May 6th.
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©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.