Earlier today Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington was announced. This is a giving day for the metropolitan DC region on November 9 that is expected to raise $3 million and encourage well over 10,000 civic actions. The event is organized by Zoetica client Razoo, Community Foundation of the National Capital Region and United Way of the National Capital Area.
As noted on the Inspiring Generosity blog, yours truly has been running point on the project, an effort that has been underway since June. So, given that most of you are working on the inside of a corporation or nonprofit, or are consultants, here’s some of the stuff that makes this particular event really, really exciting to work on:
1) Give to the Max Day bridges the traditional nonprofit community in DC with the booming 2.0 digital start-up world, all to help the city’s vital nonprofits who are under fire from Congressional cuts and economic hardship. This is certainly compelling work.
2) It’s multichannel with a diverse set of marketing approaches, including direct marketing, online marketing, media relations, social media, events and advertising. Really, it’s very nice to bring to bear a fuller suite of tools.
3) The effort seeks to empower nonprofits, not for just one day, but for the long haul with a significant training program so they can become better marketers, who cultivate stronger relationships with donors online.
4) Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington is a part of Digital Capital Week, the one week Internet festival created by Peter Corbett, Jen Consalvo and Frank Gruber.
5) The event represents a significant marketplace challenge. Can an idea that worked well for a state — Give to the Max: Minnesota raised $14 million and $10 million in two similar events for GiveMN — work well for a major metropolitan city? We believe so. Ironically, I worked on the Philanthropy 2.0 report with colleague Beth Kanter, which helped inspire GiveMN. Life comes full circle.
It’s hard not to be thrilled about this effort! Having lived in DC for 20 years, this is a great way to help out the community. If you are a metro DC-based nonprofit or citizen, please join us on November 9.