Capital Region Cares
Big Day of Giving Gives Nonprofits Tools for Success
The Big Day of Giving sounds pretty straightforward — a donation extravaganza held over 24 hours to help regional nonprofits raise funds . But there ’ s a whole lot more that goes on behind the scenes that makes the BDOG a critical part of the region ’ s philanthropic landscape .
As part of its initiative to grow local philanthropy , the Sacramento Region Community Foundation founded an Arts Day of Giving in 2013 that became the “ Big Dog ” ( as BDOG ’ s acronym is affectionately known ) the following year . The event is an opportunity not only for donors to support the nonprofits that form the backbone of our region , but also for those nonprofits to learn capacity-building skills that benefit them year-round .
In order to be eligible to participate , an organization must fill out an indepth profile on GivingEdge , an online nonprofit database , that includes tax information and a detailed description of their mission and needs . They must also attend an annual orientation and participate in educational “ boot camps ” to learn about topics like donor stewardship , board development , social innovation , business collaboration and peer-to-peer fundraising .
“ A strong nonprofit sector is critical to the success of philanthropy , but people must also have confidence in the organizations to which they ’ re contributing ,” says Linda Beech Cutler , CEO of the SRCF . “ By providing this training , we want ( nonprofits ) to not just have the Big Day of Giving as their only fundraising event , but also to take a macro look at their year and how to best maximize their efforts .”
To that end , the SRCF also launched a mentorship program that pairs experienced BDOG nonprofits with newer participants to help them learn the ropes . “ It can feel rather daunting if you ’ re small or have never participated because it ’ s such a robust program ,” Cutler says . “ We wanted to provide mentors because they know what it ’ s like . Now we have colleagues helping colleagues and fostering collaboration .”
With the support of this diverse programming , BDOG has raised $ 52 million from over 50,000 donors since 2013 . Each year , the event manages to shatter its own previous record — in 2020 , a record $ 12 million was raised for more than 600 organizations , with half of those donations made in increments of $ 50 or less . Metrics also show that 25 % of donors gave to organizations for the first time last year , which proves just how much BDOG training helps nonprofits reach new audiences .
“ Every year we go through the training , we learn something new ,” says Julie Rhoten , executive director of the Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center , which has participated since 2014 . “ No matter how big or small your nonprofit is , the Big Day of Giving amplifies you .”
Cutler says that for this year ’ s event on May 6 , the SRCF widened eligibility to include an additional tax category to allow smaller organizations — many minority- and women-owned — to participate . “ As we think about how we look at equity across the nonprofit sector , there were a number of wonderful nonprofits that didn ’ t ( previously ) reach the threshold to file a larger report with the IRS but that do great work , especially during the pandemic ,” she says . “ Every year we look at how to improve the platform .” county and the nonprofit community have really pulled together . We ’ ve done a lot of virtual brainstorming and collective effort , sharing insight and working together to solve problems we ’ re seeing . Now we ’ re recognizing what we need more of ... to work more efficiently to provide excellent continuum care . We ’ re stronger together .”
Another development directly related to the pandemic is the influx of funding from the CARES Act , the $ 2.2 trillion federal stimulus package that supplied funds to nonprofits through local governments to help them continue their services during the pandemic .
“ With this funding , we ’ ve been able to avoid a lapse in programming , even though programming looks very different because of social distancing ,” says Richard Abrusci , CEO of Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada . “ Pre-pandemic , it took a lot of work to get new programs started , and now many nonprofits are able to be much more agile ” when responding to concerns in the community , Abrusci says . “ We recognize that we have to solve problems in very real time and funders have been removing barriers that would typically be in place ” when it comes to accessing funds and working through the contracting and program design processes .
While the CARES Act allowed nonprofits to function more nimbly than usual to reach the populations they serve , nonprofit leaders are already thinking about what to do when that funding source ends . “ Can we redesign existing funding streams to help supplement those new programs long-term ?” Abrusci says . “ The COVID lockdown has taught us that not only can we do things differently , but in some cases , the changes provide better outcomes . We have to be careful not to just automatically go back to the way we were doing things before simply because we ’ re allowed to .”
Jennifer von Geldern is a freelance writer who covers regional businesses , charities , events and the people who enrich our communities .
— Jessica Laskey
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