This morning my Twitter stream was filled with tweets about GiveMN an online charitable donation site which launched today. The idea is simple; provide an online resource for the more than 36,000 Minnesota charitable and religious organizations to raise money for their programs. GiveMN.org is built with Razoo, an online platform optimized for charitable giving based in Washington, DC. This platform not only makes it easy for charitable organizations to publicize their programs to attract donors and accept contributions but also is fully integrated with existing social networks Facebook and Twitter extending their promotional reach.
Online fundraising costs about a third of what traditional direct marketing does which makes GiveMN a much more efficient way to raise funds. The foundation that administers GiveMN plans to cover much of the 4.75% credit card transaction cost from corporate and private donations so that 100% of the contributions will go to the designated charity. Their partners and funders page lists a number of well known organizations such as The Saint Paul Foundation, Greater Twin Cities United Way, The Minneapolis Foundation, The Bush Foundation and The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits along with corporate and media sponsors.
To kick things off, GiveMN has designated November 17th as “Give to the Max Day” where several of their donors have pledged up to $500,000 in matching contributions to fund programs and cover the transaction costs. More details will be posted on the GiveMN site in coming days about this event as well as on their Facebook page and Twitter account.
GiveMN looks to revolutionize charitable giving here in Minnesota but also might inspire other such efforts in other states. You never know where Minnesota innovation will strike next.