Milwaukee will celebrate the third annual Match Day on Thursday, March 13, with 24 hours to collect as many dollars as possible for 20 area nonprofit organizations providing food and shelter resources to residents in need.
Through Match Day, funds are raised exclusively online, with enthusiasm for the day fueled largely by social media threads and public service announcements.
The day works to “shine the light on the need for basic food and shelter programs in this community (and) on the organizations that are providing those services,” said Ellen Gilligan, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, which sits in the driver’s seat of the fundraiser.
“And the purpose is really to provide the opportunity for everyone to participate in a very easy way in supporting these very basic services and needed services in our community,” Gilligan said.
Last year’s Match Day collected more than $2.8 million, a full $1 million more than donation totals during the event’s inaugural fundraiser.
“We were thrilled with the response the second year,” Gilligan said.
Part of last year’s success might be attributed to how easy it is for donors to give through Match Day.
“There’s a low threshold for participation,” Gilligan said. “Anybody who has a smartphone or access to a computer can participate. All you have to do is go on the website and (have) a credit card and give a relatively small amount of money.”
The 21 basic needs organizations that benefitted from last year’s fundraiser also succeeded in significantly expanding their donor bases, some by as much as 30 percent, according to Gilligan.
Event organizers don’t have a fundraising goal set for 2014.
Because of social media’s broad reach, it’s almost impossible to determine how much money the day will raise or has the potential to raise, Gilligan said.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the organizations taking part in Match Day simply aim to spark as many donations as possible between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m.
“It’s a really important effort and, especially with a winter like we are experiencing this year, you can really understand what people might be going through who don’t have a place to sleep at night,” Gilligan said.
Participating organizations in 2014 Match Day are: Advocates of Ozaukee, Center for Veterans Issues, Community Advocates, Daystar, Family Promise of Washington County, Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin, Food Pantry of Waukesha County, Friends of Abused Families, Guest House of Milwaukee, Hebron House of Hospitality, Hope Center, Hope House of Milwaukee, Hunger Task Force, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Pathfinders Milwaukee, Salvation Army of Greater Milwaukee, Sojourner Family Peace Center, The Cathedral Center, The Women’s Center, and Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center.
Community members interested in donating can designate their dollars to the specific organizations they want to help through the Match Day website. Donations start at $10.
Additionally, parallel to 2013, a pot of up to $750,000 in matching funds will be distributed proportionately among all 20 organizations. The pot has been made possible by support from a host of area foundations and partners, including the Brewers Community Foundation, the Faye McBeath Foundation, and United Way of Greater Milwaukee.
Looking ahead to 2015, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation plans to take a break from organizing Match Day as it celebrates its centennial year, but Gilligan said the foundation will explore the idea of re-launching the fundraiser during a subsequent year.
