Thanksgiving marks the start of the season of giving, and a new online fundraising website will allow citizens of North Carolina to donate directly to arts and cultural organizations of their choice.
The N.C. portal for power2give.org connects people across the state to cultural projects from the mountains to the coast. The innovative fundraising platform was developed by the Arts & Science Council (ASC) in Charlotte and launched in August 2011.
“This is an innovative and important strategy to support arts and cultural development in North Carolina,” said Wayne Martin, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council. “Citizens passionate about an organization’s mission are able to see specific projects come to life through power2give. In addition, it connects with new audiences while also leveraging investments from the private sector.”
ASC launched power2give.org in Charlotte in response to a trend in philanthropy which showed that individual giving was declining while there was a growing interest by donors to see how their gifts were being used.
“The philanthropic landscape has changed, and power2give.org is a strategy to generate additional revenue needed to fuel the cultural sector,” said ASC President Scott Provancher. “There are a lot of compelling projects in need of direct support, and many organizations have secured matching dollars from corporations and foundations which add an extra boost to bring these projects to life.”
ASC has expanded the website to Miami, Louisville, Houston, Atlanta, Madison, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, in addition to the N.C. portal.
Nonprofit arts organizations that have received funding from the N.C. Arts Council in the past three years can post projects seeking funding up to $10,000. Organizations promote their projects to individuals through a variety of social media and electronic channels to existing members and donors.
Twenty-one organizations from across the state are looking for donors that might feel passionate about their projects.
One organization that is more than halfway to its goal of $5,650 is the Hickory Community Theatre, which plans to use power2give funds to purchase new curtains. The project, entitled Raze the Curtains, is seeking funding for eight stage curtains. “It’s tough being a curtain in a community theater that puts on 15 shows and 12 special events a year – you get pulled and tugged, you’re up then you’re down and worst of all is when they snag scenery on you,” according to the project description.
The Madison County Arts Council needs to fund the spring semester of an afterschool program that employs six professional musicians to continue participation in the Madison County Arts Council’s weekly JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program. Students learn traditional tunes on banjos, guitars and fiddles by working with professional musicians in this popular weekly afterschool program. The project goal is $5,700, and for every $1 donated, the The Franklin Project will donate $1.
In order to be ADA compliant, the Iredell Arts Council is looking for $5,000 to build a ramp for a new accessible entrance for their building which was constructed in 1909 as a jail.
Since the launch last fall, Charlotte has raised $590,700, which includes more than $270,900 in matching funds. There have been more than 2,000 donors for 232 projects posted through last week. The average private give is almost $197.
The good news for the participating arts organizations is that more than 46 percent of the donors are new to the posting organizations or to the ASC.
For all power2give sites, including Charlotte, Miami, Louisville, Houston, Atlanta, Madison, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, almost $1.6 million has been raised, which includes $719,790 in matching funds. The 672 projects have been supported by more than 6,700 donors with an average give of $131.
To find a project, visit this page. Follow power2give.org on Twitter @power2give and ‘Like’ on Facebook.
The N.C. Arts Council is a unit of N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on North Carolina arts, history and culture, visit Cultural Resources online.