Donating is as quick as a click

Today is the first "Give to the Max Day'' in Minnesota, and promoters are bracing for an unprecedented explosion in charitable giving.

When the Communities Foundation of Texas held its "Dallas Giving Day'' in May, it raised $3.8 million in 24 hours. A $200,000 matching grant vanished in nine minutes.

In the Pittsburgh area last month, residents donated $1 million and wiped out the $300,000 foundation matching grant in 22 minutes.

"We've learned some lessons from our colleagues in other cities,'' said Dana Nelson, coordinator of the GiveMN online giving project, launched this month by the Minnesota Community Foundation.

The plan, she said, had been to give a 50-cent match for every dollar raised on the website, up to $500,000. But the rush in other cities prompted GiveMN to switch gears, Nelson said.

Now every dollar donation will be matched, though not by 50 cents.

"Even though it might have been exciting for us to say, 'We burned through that match [matching funds] in five minutes,' we don't want to make this a race,'' said Nelson. "We want to inspire as many people as possible to give.''

"Give to the Max Day'' is one of a handful of online fundraising drives nationally, said Nelson. It was designed to introduce Minnesotans to the new giving website, www.givemn.org, as well as jumpstart e-philanthropy in the state.

For hundreds of nonprofits ranging from fine arts organizations to homeless services, it's a day of great expectations. They've been blitzing supporters with e-mails reminding them to donate online today.

The $500,000 in matching funds comes from the St. Paul Foundation, Bush Foundation and Minneapolis Foundation.

GiveMN leaders took another lesson from cities that held 24-hour fundraisers. Instead of running midnight to midnight, "Give to the Max Day'' will begin at 8 a.m. today and end at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

In Dallas, "they had 6,000 donations at the stroke of midnight,'' said Jennifer Ford Reedy, a vice president at the St. Paul Foundation who oversees the project.

Throughout the day, the GiveMN website will track the dollar value of donations, said Reedy, and the agencies getting the most funding.

To make a donation, go to www.GiveMn.org. For questions, call 651-393-2170.

Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511