Any opportunity to raise money for the Morgan Hill Community Foundation and its 10 partnering organizations is always welcomed with open arms—and that is certainly the case with the Silicon Valley Gives 24-hour online philanthropy telethon.
Now approaching its second year, the May 5 Day of Giving event generated more than $8 million in donations in 2014 to all sorts of nonprofit organizations across three counties, including $6,500 to the MHCF.
“I think it can be a good mechanism for generating funds that you might miss out on otherwise, so we’ll see if we have the same luck that we had last year,” said MHCF President Amy Whelan. “It’s a great platform for people to find out what is going on with our foundation and for them to make connections with a group that maybe they didn’t know was here.”
The 2014 inaugural fundraiser—organized by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation—benefitted nonprofits within Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Benito counties. The 24-hour online platform, run through the crowdfunding website Razoo, is aimed at inspiring and uniting local communities to support philanthropic causes.
“SV Gives makes philanthropy a real possibility for people who want to make a difference and don’t know how,” said Whelan, who believes that even a $10 donation can make an impact for any organization.
Each participating nonprofit sets up a webpage on razoo.com describing what their organization is all about in order to attract as many donors as possible. Making SV Gives a unique brand, there are fun matching games and prizes throughout the 24-hour event offered by various sponsors in an effort to maximize donations.
Potential donors can check out what the technology-driven, philanthropic event—one that generated $10 million in donations for approximately 1,000 nonprofits in Minneapolis—is all about on svgives.org, razoo.com or by visiting the targeted nonprofit’s site directly.
MHCF to focus on scholarships and grant programs
The MHCF has awarded 85 grants totaling $525,000 since its inception in 2002 through its own efforts and its partners.
This year, Whelan said the foundation is focusing on its new scholarship program, which will award graduating seniors from Ann Sobrato, Live Oak, Central and Oakwood high schools in Morgan Hill. Students must submit Morgan Hill Unified School District’s “Common Scholarship Application” to qualify. Scholarships and grants will be awarded between mid-May and June, according to Whelan.
“Our main purpose for SV Gives this time around is scholarships and grants. Those are two very visible things everyone can connect with,” Whelan said. “We’re looking forward to it. The timing with our grants and scholarships programs is ideal, and we’ll see what the results are this year.”
MHCF’s annual grant program, which has benefitted local nonprofits such as Cal-SOAP, Child Advocates of Silicon Valley and DreamPower Horsemanship, covers six focus areas: Arts and Culture, Recreation, Education and Lifelong Learning, Health and Human Services, Science and Technology, and Environment and Agriculture.
“We found it a really great experience last year and we look forward to applying lessons learned from last year to be more successful and, hopefully, contribute (donations received) to our grants and scholarships program,” said Lisa Washington, a member of the MHCF Board of Directors.
Washington said they are updating last year’s platform page on the Razoo site, adding new videos and an emphasis on their goal to fund the grants and scholarships programs. MHCF is also highlighting the event on the organization’s website and promoting it through its networks.
“The momentum begins to gather a month before the event so a lot of the promotion and buzz will begin in the next few weeks,” Washington added. “I do believe people are more aware of it because of the experience last year.”
Silicon Valley Gives
What is it? 24-hour online fundraising platform on crowdfunding site Razoo hosted by the Silicon Valley Foundation
When is it? May 5 from 12 a.m. to midnight
How to donate:
1) Go to svgives.org, Click on schedule a donation, Search by name, keyword or ZIP Code
2) Go to morganhillcf.org, click on Silicon Valley Gives
MHCF by the Numbers
MHCF grants given during its annual grant program: 85
Cumulative grant award value given by the MHCF and its partners: $525,000
Number of partners for which it serves as fiscal sponsor: 10
MHCF Philanthropists and volunteers honored since 2006: 224
Percentage of MHCF funding from local donors: 100%
