The Community Foundation of NCW recently launched an online crowdfunding campaign called Give Methow, providing an opportunity for people to give back to the Methow Valley by supporting the nonprofits serving the area.

The campaign ran for one month from September 1st through the 30th and raised a total of $185,504.

Crowdfunding is the process of raising money to fund a specific project or program through many donors using an online platform. In recent years, crowdfunding has become a common source of fundraising for nonprofit agencies, community initiatives, businesses, and even individual needs.

“When this technology became available to us through our new software system, we were excited to use it to educate people on the breadth of nonprofit work in their community” said Beth Stipe, the foundation’s executive director. “It’s also a fun, easy way to support charitable causes you connect with and care about.”

An anonymous gift from a donor at the St. Paul Foundation who wanted to invest in the Methow Valley provided $35,000 in matching funds and bonus incentives to help engage the public and inspire giving, and outreach to support the campaign.

Donations from the public were received to help grow the matching funds, which resulted in an additional 18 cents per dollar raised by the organization.

There were 576 individuals donors that gave to the Give Methow campaign from across Washington State. “The results from the campaign far exceeded our wildest dreams” said Stipe. “The donors blew us away! Many of them contacted us to say how much they enjoyed Give Methow. Hearing that, we felt the campaign was a great success.”

The Community Foundation will embark on another crowdfunding campaign, Give NCW, starting on November 26th (Thanksgiving Day) through December 31. Give NCW is tied to the foundation’s Regional Impact Grant program, which will provide the public an opportunity to help grant recipients reach the rest of their remaining program or project goal. Visit www.givencw.org to learn more.