'Give to the Max Day' pays
Kylie Saari — Staff WriterFAIRMONT - Minnesotans were up to the task this week.
"Give to the Max Day," sponsored by GiveMN, raised more than $14 million online for the state's non-profits on Tuesday.
Several local groups were beneficiaries of the event, which boasted a $500,000 matching grant to be divided among the non-profits.
Seven Fairmont area non-profits were on the list of those that received donations - Options Pregnancy Center, formerly known as Caring Pregnancy Center; Fairmont Area Kinship; Fairmont Community Hospital Foundation; Fairmont Opera House; Martin County Conservation; Martin County Hospice; and Martin County Humane Society.
Bob Charnecki of Options Pregnancy Center is pleased with the way Give to the Max Day went, but he feels it could raise even more if it occurs again. He said because the Web site is new, some people were unsure about using it.
The three groups with the most individual donations statewide received additional bonus funds. Because of a close race, four non-profits were included in the extra funds - Second Harvest Heartland, College of Saint Benedict, Twin Cities Public Television and Animal Humane Society.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the tremendous response Give to the Max Day received," said Carleen Rhodes, president and CEO of The Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation, a sponsor of the event. "We raised more than three times as much money for Minnesota nonprofits than any other previous online community fund-raising event in the United States."
GiveMN set up the program with sponsors to ensure 100 percent of donations go to the intended organization.
They were unprepared, however, for the high volume of donations, and transaction fees were higher than expected. The McKnight Foundation stepped in to cover the additional costs so that every dollar given by the 38,778 donors went to non-profit groups.
Donations can be submitted at anytime for non-profits on GiveMN.org, the first-of-its-kind donation Web Site.
