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Amplify Austin’s Mission to Create the Most Generous Community

Amplify Austin logo
Christine Herlin

I Live Here I Give Here is an organization on a mission to make Austin the most generous community in the nation by acting as a bridge to impact through programs like Amplify Austin Day that connect the community with local nonprofits.

Christine Herlin, Manager of Nonprofit & Customer Relations at I Live Here I Give Here, shared her team’s experience using GiveGab for Amplify Austin Day, and the difference it made to their results.

The GiveGab Difference

Christine shared her direct experience working with the GiveGab team:

“What separates GiveGab from other platforms is their willingness to work with each giving day partner to make the experience the best it can be. GiveGab staff ensures that everyone feels heard, and they are willing to go above and beyond for their clients so that we can all make a great impact in our respective corners of our nation.”

Having worked with an alternative platform provider for their past six Giving Days, the GiveGab team made the switch to a new platform easy. Every Giving Day partner is assigned two project managers and participating nonprofits benefit from the first-class support available through the live chat feature that connects them to GiveGab's Customer Success team.

Downtown Austin

“GiveGab offers creativity in a nonprofit giving platform. Our nonprofit members appreciated GiveGab’s creative functionality to create pages that popped. Moreover, GiveGab is set up so that it is easy for individuals in your community to engage in a way that is meaningful to them. The system is designed with fewer barriers so that community members can easily sign up to fundraise as an individual or as a team, can quickly give to multiple organizations that they support, or search for new organizations to engage with. However, what really sets GiveGab apart from other platforms is the heart and determination of their team. GiveGab creates a culture that cares. Every staff member is dedicated to creating the best platform experience possible so that giving day hosts, nonprofits, and the people that believe in them can succeed.”

 

The Giving Day Platform Experience

“We were impressed with GiveGab’s mobile responsiveness and the ease of the donor experience when making a donation. We appreciate that GiveGab offers chat support so that givers, fundraisers, and nonprofit users can access support when they need it.”

Marketing and Engagement

“At I Live Here I Give Here, we work year-round to make great connections with local media outlets to secure approximately $1M in in-kind media to spread awareness about Amplify Austin Day. In terms of social media, we plan a budgeted number of boosted posts and rely on livestream videos to tell the stories of Amplify Austin Day and the many people in our community who are helping shape the day.”

Their team utilized 7 staff members, 14 board members, 2 contracted employees, and many volunteers who served in various roles:

“Over the past 7 Amplify Austin Days, we have learned what types of volunteer contributions we need in order to manage a Giving Day. We plan for unexpected roles by bringing in two contract employees to assist with data reporting and nonprofit relations, as well as a well-trained volunteer who can spend the 24-hour period helping with event coordination and volunteer management. This thoughtful planning allows us to be nimble and responsive on our Giving Day.” “The support of local businesses, media, nonprofit organizations, and community members is the key to a successful Amplify Austin Day. This year, we were grateful for the incredible support of sponsors and strategic partners like the St. David’s Foundation, which offered $1.3M in matching funds to support their grant partners. In 2019, we surpassed our matching and incentive goals to enable the largest incentive pull yet at $1.8M! We were also able to initiate a new strategic partnership that helped engage our community of givers in the conversation around Amplify Austin Day. Local company Tito’s Handmade Vodka challenged Central Texans by offering a $5 match for every individual who made a donation on AmplifyATX.org and added the comment “#LoveTitos” to their checkout cart, up to $10,000. Incentives such as this excite Austinites and help motivate them to give back locally to the cause they care about.”

Amplify Austin logo
Nonprofit Training Sessions

“I Live Here I Give Here’s nonprofit training sessions for local nonprofit professionals are a key element in planning for a successful Amplify Austin Day. Our goal for our training sessions is to create a stronger and more collaborative nonprofit community while empowering 750 nonprofit organizations to run successful online campaigns. We host training sessions with panel discussions, round table brainstorms, and expert speakers that cover topics such as marketing, social media, donor stewardship, peer-to-peer fundraising, Giving Day 101, and more. The result is a stronger nonprofit community that implements innovative and inspiring giving day campaigns. New this year, we added more Livestream opportunities to our social media plan and introduced a peer-to-peer texting technology, Hustle, to create more buzz across Central Texas on Amplify Austin Day. We also created our first annual I Live Here I Give Here Magazine in partnership with Austin Monthly, which allowed us to tell the story of local givers and the nonprofits they believe in. The magazine reached over 22,000 homes in Central Texas in addition to online audiences. All three of these strategic marketing moves created more engagement than ever and helped us connect with local givers on the day.”

Giving Day Impact

“Hosting Amplify Austin Day helps I Live Here I Give Here achieve our mission of making Austin the most generous community in the nation. Amplify Austin Day is a unique opportunity to celebrate giving locally and challenge Central Texans to be more generous. On Amplify Austin Day 2019, 25% of all givers were first-time donors to a nonprofit organization. Moreover, the day saw 46 million media impressions and 106 million social media impressions. These statistics help us understand how Amplify Austin Day advances I Live Here I Give Here’s mission by bringing more individuals into the conversation and directing them to an accessible avenue to make their mark on the city they love.”

Amplify Austin Campaign

Amplify Austin Day 2019 Results

“This year, I Live Here I Give Here’s Amplify Austin Day program was featured as the front-page article on the May issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy. I Live Here I Give Here was founded in 2007 after The Chronicle of Philanthropy produced a list of the Top 50 US cities ranked by generosity per capita. Austin, Texas, was number 48 on that list. Since our founding, Austin has moved up to number 33 and we strive to continue to move up in ranks. The feature on Amplify Austin Day in this highly regarded publication was a great testament to our work and the way our community has risen to the challenge.”

“$11.2 million raised for 750 nonprofits on Amplify Austin Day 2019. Over 7 Amplify Austin Days, we have raised $57 million for Central Texas. $7,639 given per minute 80 local businesses raised over $956,690 1,590 leaders created fundraising pages to connect their families and friends to the causes they care about 106 million social media impressions using #ILiveHereIGiveHere 46 million media impressions 36% of visitors came from social media 33% of users were ages 18-34 25% of donations were new to nonprofits $1.8M in matching funds, prizes, and incentives were available IMPACT YMCA can now provide 5,372 children with life-saving swim lessons Central Texas Food Bank can provide 1.2 million meals for neighbors in need AGE of Central Texas can take 196 field trips for aging adults Austin Pets Alive! can place 340 pets in their forever homes Austin Pathways can provide after-school homework tutoring for 1,103 weeks Sustainable Food Center can build 1,370 school gardens.”

Fundraising Results for 2019

celebrate
$11.2 Million

Raised

people
750

Organiztions

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