Thank you for your interest in participating in Long Beach Gives. The application period closed in May, so we hope you consider applying to participate in the 2021 campaign. Please sign up on our website https://bit.ly/LBGsubscribe for email updates when the application is released next year.

Yes!

All nonprofit organizations must apply every year.

Yes, you must have a program site  within the city limits of Long Beach and/or provide services to Long Beach residents to be eligible for Long Beach Gives.

An example of a program site can include an administration office in Torrance that provides after-school services at several LBUSD locations. Another example is a domestic violence shelter located at an undisclosed address but is active in the Long Beach social services network and receives many referrals from the Long Beach area (please note the application does not any identifying information of clients).

These scenarios are just to serve as examples of how an organizations outside of Long Beach are eligible and not inclusive of ALL eligibility parameters. If you think there may be some confusion about your services to the Long Beach community, please contact us, so we can discuss your eligibility and/or how to best complete your application to reflect your services to the Long Beach community.

Great Question!

We have prepared a PDF version of the application that you can download, print, and review with your team and/or board of directors before submitting. While we’ve shortened the application so it should only take you 30 minutes to complete, we know many organizations may need to draft their answers offline and have it reviewed before submitting. 

A few points about the application to note:

• There are only two narrative questions on the application and they both have a character limit. (1) Mission Statement is 500 characters (not words) or less (2) Benefit to Long Beach is 1500 characters (not words) or less
• You cannot save this application, so be prepared to complete and submit in one sitting. 
• The application was designed to include a broad representation of organizations (ie. small to large organizational budgets) so please answer truthfully. 

An independent selection panel will choose from eligible organizations that submit applications by the deadline. Due to capacity limitation, some organizations will not be selected even though they may meet the criteria. Successful participants will be selected that:

• Represent a range of organizations from grassroots to national in scope, diversified funding base, variety of program types, varying fund development experience, program capacity, social media expertise, number of years delivering services, impact and demand of mission critical services.
• Represent a variety of populations served by your programs and services, including but not limited to socially, culturally, physically, equitably, and economically.
• Present a compelling appeal to donors.

Long Beach Gives provides an array of trainings, workshops and online resources for participants that cater to all levels, from novice to advanced marketers and fundraisers, to ensure you have the tools and resources to run a successful giving day. Additionally, many of our participants found the social media and marketing training tremendously helped their fundraising plans for year-round giving!

Below is a list of trainings offered in 2019 as an example of the learning opportunities available to participants (the 2020 training schedule will be provided to selected participants at the orientation):

• Marketing Bootcamp – Marketing strategy and online campaign development
• Developing Your Story – Writing case statement and learning the craft of storytelling
• Creating Assets to Tell Your Story – Creating video and photography content for social media
• Building A Following for Campaign Success – Increasing your social media presence
• Building Your Team of Peer Fundraisers – How to recruit and support volunteer peer fundraisers
• Facilitated Workgroups on a Successful Long Beach Gives Campaign – Join your fellow Long Beach Gives Champions and member(s) of the Long Beach Gives team for collaborative, hands-on workgroups to develop your content calendar, social media posts, email campaigns and more.

The benefits of participating in Long Beach Gives Day extends well beyond the 24-hour giving period. Join a citywide movement on this inspired day of giving for Long Beach nonprofits to raise unrestricted dollars to support their mission critical services.

In conjunction with The Nonprofit Partnership, Long Beach Gives provides relevant training sessions, recorded webinars, social media mentorship and shares useful resource materials that equip them with marketing and digital philanthropy tools and techniques that support their fundraising efforts throughout the year.

There are no fees asked of nonprofits to participate, however participants are highly encouraged to obtain an Organization Membership with The Nonprofit Partnership. Annual membership start at only $125 per year, based on your organization’s annual budget. Membership includes access to year-round benefits such as:

• Training and workshop discounts
• Networking events
• Job postings
• Free use of the Foundation Directory (a $1,295 value!)
• Invitations to ongoing “members only” affinity groups
• Priority notification of opportunities of interest to nonprofit groups including organizational resources and fundraising leads
• Tangible connection to the greater nonprofit community conferred by membership in The Nonprofit Partnership.

We suggest that a successful Long Beach Gives campaign involves 20 to 40 hours of your agency’s Champion over the next five months to make Long Beach Gives as successful as possible for your organization. Active participation by each organization benefits the entire campaign and is a factor in being selected in the future.

This commitment may include:

• required trainings
• suggested trainings
• setting up your fundraising page on www.longbeachgives.org
• recruiting peer fundraisers
• promoting your organization’s participation in Long Beach Gives day on social media, email and other methods
• and more!