United Way of the National Capital Area's 48-hour crowdfunding campaign last week (Do More 24) raised $1.26Mfrom nearly 13,000 donors despite technical glitches that halted giving at some points. United Way spokesman Michael Altman says the organization deemed the campaign a success and plans to make ita new business line. Originally it was set to be a 24-hour online fundraising campaign where donors could choose which of the 900 nonprofits should receive their donation. But the system crashed when the number of transactions being handled jumped over 500% from the expected base volume. The organization extended it a second day to be fair to those nonprofits competing for fundraising awards and after realizing the huge appetite donors had for this method of giving.
Michael says the campaign was an attempt to reach a new generation of donors, including Millennials,but it'll be a few days before United Way has any demographic info on who participated. He tells us the campaign's success was based on a strong social media presence, sponsor support, extensive media coverage, and buzz created at over 50 live Do More 24 fundraising events held throughout the region on June 6. United Way had also released a report before the campaign detailing the DC region's biggest needs like the fact that more children live in poverty in DC than surrounding areas. Nonprofits start receiving their checks in mid July.
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