Congratulations! Whether you realize it yet or not, you now have your own bridge. Are you surprised?
On May 19 and 20, DonorBridge was proudly launched for you. It’s a new online resource designed to help North Texans connect with nonprofit agencies addressing community needs. Now is the time to shine a light on the crucial role nonprofit organizations play in our region. Plus, we know you want it to be easier to give your charitable resources wisely.
CFT teamed with Blackbaud, a national leader in nonprofit software, to create DonorBridge as a searchable website that connects potential supporters with nonprofit organizations in North Texas. The website includes general financial information about all nonprofits in the U.S., but each of the specially participating local nonprofits created a detailed profile explaining its programs, finances and results. As a result, it’s simple for anyone to learn about the organizations and intelligently choose where to invest their charitable time and money.
You can do it at 2:00 in the afternoon wearing your dress shoes, or at 2:00 in the morning wearing your fuzzy slippers.
DonorBridge was created in partnership with the Center for Nonprofit Management, which provides technical assistance to nonprofits as they complete the detailed profiles. Through this process, nonprofits also can call upon the Center for Nonprofit Management to help strengthen their governance and general operations. It’s a win-win collaboration. Additionally, The Dallas Foundation assisted with the development of DonorBridge as a thought-partner and with financial support.
To encourage everyone to try out the new website, $200,000 of matching funds were available for credit card gifts made through DonorBridge to eligible nonprofits on the day the website launched to the general public, May 20. That day was dubbed by Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, "Dallas Giving Day." Another $100,000 of matching funds were made available for grants recommended by donor-advised fund holders during a special preview day on May 19. Together, these matching funds were leveraged by nonprofits through DonorBridge to produce more than $3.8 million in additional gifts. As a result, 96 percent of the agencies with detailed profiles in DonorBridge received donations collectively totaling over $4 million!
We had hoped to reach at least $1 million in gifts during the DonorBridge launch, but the North Texas community blew our expectations out of the water. The nonprofit and donor communities took the DonorBridge launch and turned it into a region-wide celebration of giving. This website is now the go-to place for simply connecting people’s interests with nonprofit missions. The launch of DonorBridge came at an opportune time for many nonprofits, both because of the current economic climate and the often difficult fundraising period during the summer months. It allowed hundreds of nonprofit organizations to seize the matching challenge as an opportunity to reach out to supporters. Maybe you received some of the thousands of emails that were circulating about DonorBridge through cyberspace before the launch."I was excited to invite donors to participate in this unusual match opportunity, so even the smallest donations had the chance to make a big difference," said Larry James, president and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries. "It sparked wonderful conversations with donors about Central Dallas Ministries. It also gave us an opportunity to talk about DonorBridge and how it can help people understand who we are. We welcome the transparency that it provides."
CFT is continuing to enhance and improve DonorBridge so that it can become an even more useful tool for you. If you haven’t already, visit www.donorbridgetx.org or click on the DonorBridge link from the CFT home page at www.cftexas.org. And, be sure to bookmark the page—you’ll want to return to your bridge.