The BIG Impact of The Big Payback

The BIG Impact of The Big Payback

Group News posted in on 23 May 2016| comments
audience: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee | last updated: 23 May 2016
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Summary

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee announces impact of The Big Payback despite nationwide technical difficulties.

Thanks to the generosity of Middle Tennessee donors and the hard work of participating nonprofits, The Big Payback 2016 remained a big success despite debilitating nationwide technical difficulties.
The third annual giving day on May 3 has brought in more than $2.61 million thus far from 11,270 gifts, nearly matching last year’s record $2.64 million total despite the giving website being operational for only nine hours.
“If you ever doubted what good can occur when we come together to make things happen, remember this giving day,” Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, said in a news briefing today at the organization's Green Hills office.
“Congratulations to the 770 local nonprofits participating,” Lehman continued. “I know how hard you all worked to make the day such a success. And congratulations to all who will benefit from the services offered by these nonprofits, which make this the place we all want to call home.”
The third annual giving event was on a record-setting pace of raising funds before a national vendor-based giving website crashed about midmorning on May 3.
The Big Payback site was run by a national company named Kimbia, and it was serving 54 cities and communities across the country in this way on that date.
With an overwhelming vote of nonprofit partners polled late in the afternoon that day, the decision was made to end the campaign early. Subsequently, the nonprofits were encouraged to continue to solicit and accept donations toward the event through noon on May 5 through a variety of ways.
The participating nonprofits, as well as The Community Foundation, have been gathering and tallying the results ever since to reach the $2,613,256 million total as of today.
The Big Payback began first as a tool for teaching local nonprofits new communication and donor engagement tools, second as a way to help donors understand the life-changing work done by these local organizations, and third as an event designed to increase philanthropy in the 40 counties served by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
In its first year, 2014, the event raised $1.49 million through 11,661 gifts.

In 2015, the event’s $2,646,398 total came through 21,735 gifts, which included a $97,000 gift from an anonymous donor that covered all credit card fees. 

The third annual event was well on its way to surpassing 2015’s $2.64 million total in Middle Tennessee before the national vendor-based giving website crashed midmorning.

 
For example:
  • There were 150 gifts in the first five minutes.
     
  • About $15,000 was raised in the first 12 minutes.
     
  • The first three hours (midnight to 3 a.m.), The Big Payback had 701 gifts totaling $55,702.
     
  • In the next 30 minutes, 97 gifts and an additional nearly $9,000 were raised.
     
  • The event surpassed 1,000 gifts and $100,000 before 6 a.m.
Comparing the results at 8 a.m. May 3 with 8 a.m. last year, the totals had increased $57,000 compared to The Big Payback 2015.
Lehman said of the midmorning national website crash, “It wasn’t pretty, by any means.”
The subsequent two weeks of what she called “forensic accounting” included giving $28,000 in refunds primarily because the crippled system processed several $25 gifts and “turned them” into $500 gifts.
“I humbly and gratefully express my sincerest gratitude to the thousands of donors who stuck with us for hours, trying time and time again to make a gift on TheBigPayback.org before shifting to other options,” Lehman said.
“But, we’ve learned that in Middle Tennessee, down doesn’t mean out,” she continued. “On our shared giving day, this community rallied once again, making a crisis into a success.”

About The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
The Community Foundation exists to promote and facilitate giving in the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee and beyond. It does this by accepting gifts of any size from anyone at any time and by empowering individuals, families, companies, nonprofits, and communities to respond to needs and opportunities that matter. The Community Foundation works with people who have great hearts, whether or not they have great wealth, to craft solutions that reflect their intentions and goals. For more information, call 615-321-4939 or visit www.cfmt.org.

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3833 Cleghorn Avenue 400
Nashville, TN 37215
United States
Phone: 1 615-321-4939
Fax: 1 615-327-2746

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