Frequently Asked Questions
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Questions About Long Beach Gives
Long Beach Gives is a 24-hour online giving day. This annual fundraising event provides an easy and fun way for our entire city to give together. It helps generous donors and innovative nonprofits come together to improve the quality of life and create positive change for Long Beach. The goal of Long Beach Gives is to inspire individuals and businesses in our community to come together to make a difference in the exemplary work of the 150+ local, participating nonprofits.
Last year was the first year of Long Beach Gives and the outpouring of support helped surpass the initial goal by over 300% in raising over $822,000 for 93 local organizations. Long Beach Gives is returning on Thursday, September 24, 2020 with a one million dollar goal!
Long Beach Gives is an annual, 24-hour, online giving day. This year it will take place on Thursday, September 24, 2020 from 12am to 12pm.
Long Beach Gives started as a graduate school project by Julie Meenan, the Executive Director of the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation (JSGF). With the support of the JSGF Board and in collaboration with The Nonprofit Partnership, a Steering Committee was formed in March 2018. These members included: Long Beach Community Foundation, Munzer Foundation, The California Endowment, and Arts Council for Long Beach. Along with the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation, these foundations supported this new online, citywide fundraising effort.
The Steering Committee continues to seek additional funding and sponsorship to grow the number of agencies that can participate, the number of new donors we can reach through promotional efforts, and the number of marketing trainings we can provide for participating organizations.
While Long Beach Gives is an annual, online, fundraising effort located at www.longbeachgives.org, our team of year-round champions for nonprofits and digital philanthropy is located right here in Long Beach, California!
Long Beach Gives is located at 333 W. Broadway, Suite 312, Long Beach, CA 90802. The Campaign Director, Niko Galvez can be contacted at niko@longbeachgives.org.
One of the primary goals of Long Beach Gives is to activate community members, business owners and employees, along with local residents to support various community based organizations. Last year was the first year of Long Beach Gives and the outpouring of support helped surpass our overall goal by nearly 400% in raising over $822,000 for 93 local organizations.
Please subscribe to our mailing list and save the date for this year’s campaign, Thursday, September 24, 2020 to donate.
- Please click here to read more about donating to Long Beach Gives.
- Please click here read more about sponsoring Long Beach Gives.
- Subscribe to our mailing list by sending us a message. During the months leading up to Long Beach Gives Day, email communication will increase but we promise we will only send the most useful and exciting news about this year’s giving day.
- Participating organizations will be on a separate mailing list and communications will be filled with critical information regarding campaign updates, deadlines, and exciting opportunities and events promoting Long Beach Gives. Visit your Long Beach Gives platform dashboard* frequently as it will contain updates on a consistent basis with important marketing materials, and toolkits. *This dashboard is only available to nonprofits participating and will open up soon!
- Follow Long Beach Gives on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Questions for Organizations Participating in Long Beach Gives
Applications will be available on Tuesday, April 4, 2020 and will be due on Friday, May 1, 2020 by 5:00 pm.
- Review the participation requirements to ensure your eligibility.
- Participate in an information session.
- Complete the application by Friday, May 1, 2020 at 5pm.
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!
Donation Reporting & Funds Disbursement for Participating Nonprofits
Nonprofits will receive all online donations on or before November 1, 2020.
Participating nonprofits will have access to their own Long Beach Gives dashboard for donation tracking information in real-time as well as the donor’s contact information so you can thank your donors appropriately.
Peer fundraisers will also have access to a dashboard to see donations that have come through their peer fundraising page.
The Long Beach Gives fundraising platform sends an automatic confirmation of the donation via email once a donor gives. But we do recommend you send a thank you note (see question below).
Yes! Long Beach Gives recommends you send a thank you note, which includes your tax identification number, the amount of the donation.
Last year, many donations came from donors making their first-ever gift to the organizations they supported. A heartfelt thank you can be a key strategy in turning a donor from a one time Long Beach Gives supporter to a regular investor in your cause. Plus, thanking your donor this year and developing a relationship with them over the year may encourage them to set up their own peer fundraising page for your organization in 2021! Some donor-centered best practices include a short turnaround time, stories and statistics that demonstrate impact, and clarity on how their gift will be put to use. Thanking donors is also a great way to engage your board in fundraising with an evening of thank you calls or the opportunity to send hand-written notes to your Long Beach Gives supporters.
Questions About Donating to Long Beach Gives
Join a citywide movement on this inspired day of giving for Long Beach nonprofits to raise unrestricted dollars to support their mission critical services. Donations will be increased through the use of agency specific matching dollars and prizes from individuals, families, businesses, donors and foundations throughout Long Beach. Last year was the first year of Long Beach Gives and the outpouring of support helped surpass our overall goal by nearly 300% in raising over $822,000 for 93 local organizations.
One of the primary goals of Long Beach Gives is to activate community members, business owners and employees, along with local residents to support various community based organizations. Last year was the first year of Long Beach Gives and the outpouring of support helped surpass our overall goal by nearly 300% in raising over $822,000 for 93 local organizations.
Long Beach Gives is fiscally sponsored by The Nonprofit Partnership, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. Please subscribe to our mailing list and save the date for this year’s campaign, Thursday, September 24, 2020 to donate.
Businesses and foundations can join the 2020 Long Beach Gives campaign through various opportunities such as sponsorships, setting up employees matching programs, or hosting creative or virtual events at your restaurant or business! Last year was the first year of Long Beach Gives and the outpouring of support helped surpass our overall goal by nearly 300% in raising over $822,000 for 93 local nonprofits.
We are forever grateful to our founding sponsors who believed in the value and mission of Long Beach Gives in its first year including the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation, the Rudolph J. and Daphne A. Munzer Foundation, Crail-Johnson Foundation, Laserfiche, and the Port of Long Beach.
Long Beach Gives is fiscally sponsored by The Nonprofit Partnership, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. Contact Niko Galvez, the Campaign Director at niko@longbeachgives.org or 562-645-6476 to see how you can become a sponsor for Long Beach Gives on September 24th.
All credit cards will be accepted online, however checks can be received in coordination with the participating organization to which you plan to donate.
Yes, a donation acknowledgement will be emailed to the donor within minutes of their transaction, with follow-up from the selected nonprofit.
Long Beach Gives works hard to ensure that we provide a cost-effective and successful fundraising platform. Donations made through the Long Beach Gives website incur a fee of 3.5% (plus credit card processing fees) which breaks down as follows:
- The fundraising platform processing fee (3.0%): This portion goes to the technology provider, which is responsible for hosting the site, preventing fraud, and ensuring a positive user experience.
- Management fee (0.5%): This portion helps cover some of the costs of maintaining Long Beach Gives.
Donors have the opportunity to underwrite all fees (platform and credit card processing) so that their entire donation is passed onto their cause(s) of choice. Donors also have the option to contribute to Long Beach Gives directly to support this annual effort for local nonprofits.
Credit card processing fees are 2.2% for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover and 3% for American Express; plus 30 cents per transaction and incurred any time a donation takes place. These processing fees are paid directly to credit card companies through the platform’s credit card processor.
Yes, please ask your employer to send the donation directly to the nonprofit(s) you are supporting.
ATTN Employers: Please contact Niko at niko@longbeachgives.org or 562-645-6476 if you would like to partner with Long Beach Gives and set up an employee matching effort on behalf of your company.
Please contact the nonprofit(s) you have selected to receive your donation prior to September 24, 2020 to arrange for payment. We will still happily receive donations on the annual giving day, so please contact your nonprofit(s) of choice.
Yes!
Starting on Thursday, September 17, 2020 a donor can visit the website and make an early gift. Early gifts are processed on a donor’s credit card immediately, but may not reflect on the organization’s goal thermometer until after 12am on September 24, 2020.
Millennials and Xennials volunteer and donate differently than their parents’ generation. One of our campaign goals is to provide an actionable way for younger generations to build a relationship with a nonprofit that aligns with their sense of social consciousness.
Nope.
We love support of any kind. In 2019, Long Beach Gives received over 4,000 individual donations ranging from $5 to $25k.
Questions About Peer Fundraising for Long Beach Gives
Peer fundraisers are members of the community who raise funds on behalf of the causes they care about. They create custom fundraising pages on the Long Beach Gives website and share their personal fundraising appeal to their network of friends and family. Last year, these individuals, families, and groups of supporters helped to raise over $822,000 to lift up their neighbors and celebrate causes they believe in.
Long Beach Gives believes that when we all come together, anything is possible. With over a quarter of all online donations deriving from peer fundraising pages, this type of fundraising is more important than ever. We encourage you to involve your biggest believers like staff, advocates, activists, volunteers, board of directors, patrons and clients. They are your greatest campaign supporters!
Peer fundraisers can begin signing up to raise essential funds for their cause in Summer 2020. We will provide instructions and online live and pre-recorded webinar trainings to help you create your peer-to-peer pages. Please subscribe to our mailing list if you would like to be notified when the peer pages are available and to be notified about FREE trainings on setting up peer fundraising pages.
Yes!
We will provide several resources to help guide and inspire your peer fundraisers. They will be provided with their own live (and pre-recorded webinar) to help them set up their peer pages and support in promoting their nonprofit of choice. We will also provide participating organizations with resources and tips on recruiting and setting up your peer fundraiser for success!