To Engage Millennials, the Spruce Foundation Hosts Education-Themed Scavenger Hunt

Next Thursday, the Spruce Foundation is hosting a scavenger hunt at the National Liberty Museum, the second in a series of fundraising engagement events designed to appeal to its millennial base and reach new stakeholders.

Each of Spruce Foundation’s four grantmaking areas — education, health & wellness, arts and LGBTQ issues — are tied to a specific event.

Billed as an “education exploration,” the scavenger hunt will feature questions and objects from the museum, including “inspiring examples of people taking action to support liberty for all,” according to the Spruce Foundation’s Facebook page.

Along with opportunities to network, the event is an “open call for any potential grantee and for those who want to give back to the community,” said Matt Kurilla, the president of the Spruce Foundation.

“We’re calling them engagement events because we want them to be exciting and fun and something that people want to do,” he added.

The engagement initiative is new this year, replacing more formal fundraising dinners that did not allow for broad participation.

The concept appears to be catching on. Last November, the Foundation’s inaugural engagement event — a variety hour — raised more than $1,000 to support LGBTQ grantmaking.

“The feedback was very positive,” Kurilla said.

Two additional events, focused on health & wellness and the arts, respectively, are being planned for March. The Foundation also expects to announce its new grantees in March.

This year, grantmaking will be more competitive, as 94 nonprofit applicants will be vying for $5,000 grants in each of the focus areas, more than double the amount who applied in 2014.

Image via Shira Yudkoff