Give Local America is coming to Philly. Here’s how your nonprofit can benefit

What do all college-educated, smartphone-using homeowners have in common? A knack for crowdfunding, according to data from Kimbia, a fundraising platform that is bringing a new campaign, Give Local America, to Philadelphia on May 3.

The single-day, online-only event aims to mobilize widespread individual giving on a local level. The event is open to nonprofits of all sizes that serve the Philadelphia area, but the campaign is targeting small, grassroots organizations in particular, said Lori Finch, vice president for community giving at Kimbia.

Launched in 2014, Kimbia’s Give Local America campaign is a way “we could connect donors with organizations in local communities who are providing essential services,” Finch said. More than 100 communities now participate, including rural areas and cities such as Sacramento and San Antonio.

On average, a quarter of the donors who participate on Give Local America day are also new donors -- a potential boon for grassroots organizations that often operate on lean budgets.

“There is so much excitement and buzz generated for these events,” Finch said. On average, a quarter of the donors who participate on Give Local America day are also new donors — a potential boon for grassroots organizations that often operate on lean budgets. Typical donors also have large networks, and because the majority are college-educated homeowners who are likely married, they have greater potential for long-term giving.

For nonprofit partners, signing on to join the campaign is free, but Kimbia takes a cut of the total pie (5.99 percent) to cover processing fees and other technical support. According to Finch, the benefits outweigh the costs. Ahead of the event, partners receive concrete tools to boost their marketing and social media efforts, including a primer on how to secure matching dollars.

Last year, more than 9,000 nonprofits generated $68.5 million to support their local communities. The average individual donation was $113, and the average one-day haul was $7,600, but nonprofits can expect “to get out of it what you put into it,” Finch said. Organizations interested in participating should plan to invest “a couple of hours to upwards of 40 hours, depending on how creative and how much effort they want to put into it,” she added.

Philadelphia’s growing social impact scene was interesting to Kimbia, but the company did not greenlight the expansion of Give Local America until an early partner had been identified. That was Soceana, a group that aims to match volunteers with meaningful opportunities aligned with their skill sets.

“We realized we had an opportunity to enter the market,” Finch said. The campaign hopes to onboard 100 more local organizations prior to May 3. Interested nonprofits can register for an upcoming webinar about the event or sign up to participate here.