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s a very young organization (only three years old), ITG has been working hard to get their fundraising program off the ground. Before joining the Jumpstart program, they had never sent email blasts and did not yet have a donate button on their homepage, even though it was something that their early donors were asking for. The Jumpstart Program has changed everything for them.
“Being part of the Jumpstart Program has been incredible!" said Executive Director Catherine Waldon. "We are proud that we now have an online donation option for our supporters and that we are able to get the word out much more often through digital communications. The chance to have a Personal Fundraising Coach has been particularly helpful. I meet with our coach, Janet Cobb, twice every month. We brainstorm ideas and she even reviews our drafts. Having this opportunity to learn fundraising best practices and refine our messaging has been wonderful!”
Jumpstart and Give Big Kern
When asked what ITG's biggest success has been so far, Catherine shared that it has to be their local giving day,
Give Big Kern.
“2018 was the first year we participated, and we were thrilled to raise $20,000," she said. "Although we didn’t set an exact goal for 2019, I dreamed about doubling the total as I knew it would make such a big difference for the individuals in our program. We worked closely with Janet to create a plan and we were delighted when we found out that we were the second highest on the leaderboard and had raised over $49,000!”
According to Catherine,
what made the difference for them this year was that
“Janet really encouraged us to find matching donors and it worked really well. We were able to find matching donors by reaching out to our loyal supporters, asking them to serve as matching gift donors, and allowing them to be anonymous if it was their preference. These early gifts really spurred people on as the giving day got closer. We were really happy, and so were our matching donors! They understand what an amazing impact they have made and feel so special.”
And what's coming up for ITG next? Their very first year-end campaign!
“We are already working closely with Janet on preparations for our year-end campaign," Catherine said. "We are excited to see what we can achieve!”
Your nonprofit, too, could have this level of personalized fundraising coaching and success through Jumpstart!
