The nonprofit community has been faced with unprecedented challenges since the coronavirus pandemic changed the lives of so many in the Granite State.
For some, the need for their services increased and has put an extra strain on funding that is typical set well in advance of a fiscal year. For others, the stay at home orders forced them to temporarily close their doors and loose out on expected revenue. And added on top of that, the guidelines outlined in the stay at home orders and need for social distancing has brought fundraising endeavors to a practical stand still.
Put all those together and it’s a situation that no one envisioned, but a reality that required to be figured out – and quickly. Thanks to some local and state relief funds, nonprofits were given an extra boost over the last three months. And the result of last week’s annual NH Gives campaign was more than anyone could have seen coming.
Since its inception in 2016, NH Gives, an initiative of the NH Center for Nonprofits, had raised about $1.5 million for NH-based nonprofits. During a 24-hour span last Tuesday and Wednesday, this year’s NH Gives shattered that record bringing in more than $3.2 million for 488 organizations statewide.
According to NH Charitable Foundation, a record 13,428 people signed on to NH Gives during the 24-hour event, surpassing the $1 million mark in the first eight minutes.
Matching funds also helped bring in donations as a $250,000 match, made possible by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and its Thomas W. Haas Fund and John F. Swope Fund, meant that every gift of up to $1,000 was matched one to one for the first $250,000 given.
In all, 66 nonprofits took part from the Monadnock region with donation totals ranging from $50 to $29,139.34. The 1833 Society/Peterborough Town Library brought in the most money during the event, but that was only a fraction of the total that will go toward the library’s $8.5 million restoration and expansion project.
With matching pledges and more money coming in through Friday’s deadline, the 1833 Society will have more than $67,000 at its disposal. The amount represents roughly 20 percent of the remaining amount left to be raised for the project, which doubled the initial goal set forth by the 1833 Society.
Building committee chair Tina Kriebel said the original goal for NH Gives was $32,000, but in the first hour of the event she changed the goal twice because of all the donations that were coming in and once more before she went to bed last Tuesday night. They hit $35,000 by the end of the first hour, including tapping into a $15,500 match. They added some smaller matches along the way and Kriebel said that helped keep the energy and momentum going.
Kriebel said the success of NH Gives can be partly attributed to restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think part of it is people want to help, but there are a lot of limitation on what you can do right now,” she said. “I think this year, people realized this day was really going to be crucial for nonprofits and this was an easy way and a fun way to participate and show your support.”
Kriebel said there was a pool to see how long the $250,000 match would last and the answer was not very long, as it was gone in just four minutes.
“It’s like a game where everyone wins,” she said.
With the library project finally moving forward, she believes people saw that and stepped up to help reach the end fundraising goal.
“I think people are glad to see it getting going,” Kriebel said.
She was inspired to see that so many Monadnock region nonprofits benefited from NH Gives.
“There’s a lot that’s happening in our community because of nonprofits,” Kriebel said. “And I think people recognize that.”
Roy Schlieben, executive director of MAxT Makerspace in Peterborough, said he upped the goal for this year to $12,000, and thanks to a $5,000 match put forward by the MAxT board of directors, they reached that goal in 10 minutes.
“Every donation that came in in the first couple minutes was basically tripled,” Schlieben said, thanks to the board match and the one put forward by NH Charitable Foundation. “And we told our supporters that is the time to give.”
Just through NH Gives, MAxT brought in $15,788, but with the added matches and donations through Friday, the total was north of $24,000.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time for MAxT. Having been shut down since the middle of March and just recently starting to reopen in some capacity, Schlieben said the organization was in a tough place. They didn’t collect membership fees for two months and coupled with no programming, meant there was no income coming through the door.
“We were running out of money in a couple months,” Schlieben said. “If we weren’t successful with NH Gives, I didn’t know what we were going to do.”
But with the boost of money donated, Schlieben said “that means we should be fine for the rest of the year to pay our bills.”
“It’s definitely a huge boost for us,” he said. “And it definitely exceeded what we had expected.”
In all, MAxT had 121 donors chip in and for Schlieben, that means a lot considering it is the organization’s biggest fundraiser.
“It just shows how much our community cares about the different services we provide,” he said. “We really appreciate the people who gave, whether it was $10 or $15, because it all adds up.”
Schlieben said he put a lot of time getting ready for NH Gives, from making videos to sending out many emails, including six in the 48 hours prior to the event.
“There’s a significant amount of work behind the scenes to make it happen,” he said.
High Mowing School in Wilton saw $28,828.40 donated, while Cornucopia Project brought in $25,101.56 during the 24 hours. Overall, Cornucopia raised $41,747.
The Monadnock Center for History and Culture saw donors and matches add up to more than $25,000. The River Center totaled more than $21,000, which included a $7,000 match.
There were also additional prize amounts set up for those who raised the largest amount money, had the most donors overall and within a specified time, both around the state and in the region. And the region was represented quite well.
The 1833 Society/Peterborough Town Library was granted an extra $250 for raising the most online dollars in the region through NH Gives. The Cornucopia Project had the most unique donors (349) in the state over the 24 hour time frame and was given $1,000 to its total.
The River Center had the second most unique donors in the region of those still eligible for prizes with 141 and therefore took the regional prize of $250, after Cornucopia landed the state prize, and also was awarded the Rise & Shine Golden Ticket of $250, chosen from all organizations that received a donation between 6 and 8 a.m. on June 10.
For totals for all area nonprofits, visit https://www.nhgives.org/leaderboards?title=monadnock.