A conversation with Kathleen Reardon, the CEO of the NH Center for Nonprofits, and Mary Jo Brown, former Board Member of the NH Charitable Foundation, and the founder and president of Brown & Company and Big Brown Books on the impacts of the annual 24-hour day of giving

By Rosemary Ford and Melanie Matts

NH PBS, Granite State News Collaborative

New Hampshire has a lot of nonprofits that do amazing work to help people from all walks of life. Occasionally, those organizations need some help too — specifically in fundraising so they can keep doing what they do.

On this week’s episode of The State We’re In we talk about NH Gives – a 24 hour period where nonprofits across the state get together to raise funds to aid their work. Joining us to share more about NH Gives and what happens on that day is Kathleen Reardon, the CEO of the NH Center for Nonprofits, and Mary Jo Brown, former Board Member of the NH Charitable Foundation, and the founder and president of Brown & Company and Big Brown Books. Disclosure: The Granite State News Collaborative and NHPBS are participating in NH Gives and GSNC is a media sponsor.

This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity

Melanie Plenda:

Kathleen, let’s go back to the beginning. How did NH Gives get started? And how has it grown over the years?

Kathleen Reardon:

About eight years ago we decided to launch New Hampshire Gives. At the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits, our focus and mission is to strengthen and give voice to nonprofit organizations. We thought this is a great opportunity for organizations to raise the profile of nonprofits in our state, celebrate philanthropy, bring people together, and give all organizations tools to expand their online giving. The growth of it has been really amazing. In the first year we had less than 300 nonprofits participating and they raised collectively $188,000 – flash forward to last year when we had nearly 600 organizations raise $3.5 million. It has really grown dramatically.

Melanie Plenda:

Mary Jo, tell us about the involvement of the NH Charitable Foundation and how it became a partner. 

Mary Jo Brown:

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits because it’s a go-to resource for nonprofits in the state. In 2016, when Kathleen approached the New Hampshire charitable foundation to consider supporting New Hampshire Gives specifically, the charitable foundation was on board immediately seeing the ability for New Hampshire Gives to not only offer exposure, but to help raise funds for those nonprofits that were participating. It was a wonderful match, and the Charitable Foundation has been a supporter ever since 2016.

Melanie Plenda:

Kathleen, how does NH Gives work in a general sense? And how do nonprofits take part? Do you vet them? 

Kathleen Reardon:

We start very early recruiting nonprofits to participate. Any nonprofit in New Hampshire can participate. They need to pay a registration fee, if they are a 501(c)(3) they need to be in good standing with a charitable trust unit, and then they set up a profile on NHGives.org, the platform that fuels the Giving Day.

Melanie Plenda:

Kathleen, how do things look for this year? What are the expectations right now? 

Kathleen Reardon:

We have more than 520 nonprofits signed up to participate representing all parts of the state and the diversity in New Hampshire – all the causes that we care so deeply about. I think nonprofits are really geared up to share their information and the impact the giving will make. I'm hopeful that we have a really positive turn-out as we normally do and really continue to grow the number of donors. We've been talking a lot about the number of nonprofits and the amount raised, but there are about 13,000 unique donors each year. So part of New Hampshire Gives is for all of us coming together. “Together we give” is the catchphrase we use. And so we really want to try and see that number grow.

Melanie Plenda:

Kathleen, many people may think they might have to make a big donation for something like this. But that’s not the case here for any of the organizations. What is the average donation? And how do people donate? How does that work?

Kathleen Reardon:

You can donate as little as $5 on the secure platform, and it's a secure platform. We emphasize the number of unique donors and participation goals throughout the day. Over time, the median gift on New Hampshire Gifts has been pretty consistently been $50. The average has grown as the numbers have grown. But really, any dollar amount makes a difference and helps those organizations make an impact in their communities.

Melanie Plenda:

Mary Jo, many nonprofits also take advantage of matching donations during NH Gives. Can you explain what that is and why that is important? 

Mary Jo Brown:

I think the magic is in the match. Matching is certainly a mechanism that nonprofits have used over the years to raise funds – it's a known mechanism to increase donations, and as part of New Hampshire it happens to work very effectively. Last year there was a total of $1.2 million in match money raised by nonprofits, so you can imagine the effect that had on dollars raised during that 24 hours of New Hampshire Gives. However, that's only 27% of the nonprofits that are participating – nonprofits that have a match outraised those that don't by 3.8%. So the messages are, if you're a nonprofit, consider having a match, and if you're a donor, make sure to find those organizations that do have matches.

Melanie Plenda:

Kathleen, how would you explain to donors why NH Gives is important? What kind of impact can they make with their donation? 

Kathleen Reardon:

You can make a huge impact. One of the things you can do is look at organizations you're already supporting. Every one of them will be raising funds for their cause, to support their mission, so every one of those dollars will be put to good use. Whether that’s in helping our environment, creating safe places for children, supporting the elderly and providing meals. All of the things that nonprofits do is how your dollars will be used from New Hampshire Gives, really helping to make our state and our communities stronger places.

Melanie Plenda:

Mary Jo, how would you describe the impact of NH Gives on the nonprofit sector in New Hampshire? 

Mary Jo Brown:

It's been absolutely incredible. I think that it's elevated the awareness of the sector. It’s shown nonprofits how they can work together, collaborate and compete in a friendly way, and how they can raise money. Some of those nonprofits actually use the New Hampshire Gives day as their primary fundraiser at this point, so it's done nothing but wonderful things for the nonprofit sector.

 The State We’re in a weekly digital public affairs show is produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members.