#GiveAtHomeMN Challenge Winners Announced
May 14, 2020
Tusen Tack, Friends of Linden Hill, New Pathways earn $5,000 in matching funds
LITTLE FALLS, MINN.—Participants in a months-long Initiative Foundation program to help nonprofit leaders refine their business, marketing and fundraising skills put their training to the test May 1-8 and raised nearly $40,000 during the #GiveAtHomeMN challenge.
A total of 21 nonprofit participants in the Initiative Foundation's Financial Resiliency program took part in the May 1-8 challenge. Tusen Tack, a Braham-based thrift store that sells donated goods and uses the proceeds to support community needs, earned the Foundation's $3,000 top prize by being the first organization to reach $3,000 in donations. In total, the Tusen Tack team raised $7,703 during the #GiveAtHomeMN fundraising effort.
The Initiative Foundation today also announced two surprise awards worth an additional $2,000:
- Friends of Linden Hill, Inc., a nonprofit with a mission to preserve and protect the historic Musser/Weyerhaeuser homes on the Mississippi River in Little Falls, will receive $1,000 for being the second-fastest organization to hit the $3,000 fundraising mark. Friends of Linden Hill raised $5,140.
- New Pathways, which provides shelter and support services to Cambridge-area families experiencing homelessness, will receive $1,000 for raising the most money during the May 1-8 challenge. New Pathways raised $11,665.
A special thanks to all the donors and to the participants in this Financial Resiliency program challenge for exercising their marketing and fundraising muscles:
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"My goal for these program participants was that they try this challenge and get enough success to prove to themselves that fundraising is worth the effort," said Zach Tabatt, nonprofit development specialist with the Initiative Foundation. "Their results demonstrate that nonprofits have a lot of local support during these uncertain times."
#GiveAtHomeMN was a virtual fundraising event in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sponsored by GiveMN.org, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that provides a technology platform for online giving, the eight-day campaign raised more than $5.26 million, recording 33,408 donations in support of 2,804 nonprofits and schools across Minnesota.
“This exceeded our expectations,” said Jake Blumberg, executive director at GiveMN.org. “Even during a worldwide crisis, Minnesota’s generosity shines through, and we are sincerely grateful to everyone who supported these organizations however they could.”
More than $8.3 million has been donated on GiveMN.org since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Minnesota in early March.