June 1, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
DonorBridge, a new online giving site in North Texas, got off to a big start, raising more than $4-million for 353 area charities in celebration of Dallas Giving Day.
While the site provides general financial data from nonprofit groups across the country, local organizations created detailed profiles that provide information about their programs, finances, and outcomes. DonorBridge was created by the Communities Foundation of Texas together with the Center for Nonprofit Management and the Dallas Foundation.
The two foundations provided $200,000 to match gifts from the public on May 20 and $100,000 to encourage gifts from donor-advised fund holders on May 19, the site’s “preview day.”
Online grant recommendations from donor-advised funds were matched at 50 cents on the dollar, up to $2,500 per fund. Credit-card donations made through the site on May 20 were matched dollar for dollar, up to $2,500, until the $200,000 was gone.
Ninety-eight percent of the local nonprofit groups that created detailed profiles for DonorBridge received donations.
“The biggest thing Dallas Giving Day did was give people a reason to give,” Brent Christopher, chief executive of the Communities Foundation of Texas, said in a written statement. “The nonprofit and donor communities took the DonorBridge launch and turned it into a region-wide celebration of giving. They are using this Web site to tell their stories and connect people’s interests with nonprofit missions.”
