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Give! Campaign 2023 Nonprofit Application

  • DEADLINE: EXTENDED. Please reach out to us via email (give@givepikespeak.org) or call us (702-900-4483) to discuss the deadline extension.

    ABOUT THE GIVE! CAMPAIGN



    Give! is a year-end philanthropic initiative created to inspire residents in the Pikes Peak region to give back and get involved with local nonprofits. Give! has a particular emphasis on catalyzing philanthropy among those 36 years and younger. Nonprofits selected to participate in the annual Give! Campaign receive training, compete in friendly competitions for additional funds, receive media exposure, and utilize our online giving platform and print guide to raise funds during November and December every year.

    Over the last 14 years, Give! has enabled 255 local nonprofits to raise more than $17.5 million from over 120,000 donations while giving them access to media exposure, matching grants and dozens of hands-on training opportunities from local and regional experts.

    Give! 2023 Application, References and Tools



    Notification of selection decisions is scheduled for May 2023.

    CHECKLIST: For a checklist of all materials you’ll need to successfully submit your application, click here:  2023 Application Checklist.

    INFO SESSIONS: Learn more and get your questions answered by attending one of our free Information Sessions.Find Information Session details and RSVP here.

    KEY DATES
    • Applications due – April 17, 2023
    • Selection Notification – 2nd half of May 2023
    If selected to participate:
    • Orientation (mandatory) June 22, 2023
    • Participation Agreement & Deposit Due June 22, 2023
    • Training Workshops (optional) July – September 2023
    • Public Campaign: November 1 through December 31, 2023
    • Awards Celebration and Check Ceremony February 1, 2024
    You will receive all proceeds from the donations designated to your group through the campaign at the 2023 Give! Celebration and Check Ceremony on February 1, 2024.* You will also receive a list of donors that contributed to your organization, including addresses and specific contribution amounts (unless donors choose to remain anonymous) during the campaign. All donations are held by the Give! Campaign until the Check Ceremony and official tax acknowledgements are generated by Give! (all donors receive an email receipt from the Give! website upon making their donation). We recommend that you send a personal thank you to each donor from your own organization.
*After 3.5% service fee is deducted.

Give! Campaign Participation Requirements and Fees




Give! is a promotion and fundraising platform for local organizations. What you get out of the campaign is in direct proportion to what you put into it. For your organization to be successful, you must actively participate. It is up to your organization to utilize the media support, training, matching grants and friendly competitions to which Give! provides access and incentive.

We train your designated liaisons on how best to mobilize your nonprofit to take advantage of Give!’s platform. They will need to serve as your organization’s point people for all things Give!, including checking and responding to emails, participating in at least two training sessions and, in turn, communicating pertinent information to your entire organization including your board, staff, volunteers and/or the people you serve.

PLEASE review the Participation Requirements and Opportunities here before applying, and have your liaisons add events to their calendars to ensure they can make the commitments.

Participation Fee: For groups invited to join the campaign, a participation fee is required to cover campaign costs. The fee is $800 for first-time groups and $1,250 for returning groups. In return for your commitment, your organization will receive our guarantee that you will garner at least $1,500 in cash donations (combined between matching grants and public donations), as well as valuable media exposure and staff/board training. If you raise less than $1,500 combined between public donations and matching grants, and have fully participated by meeting all deadlines and attending the majority of events, the Give! Campaign will make up the difference. Payment is due no later than June 22, 2023.

Potential donors will have the opportunity to read about your organization and discover new ones in the Give! Guide, online at campaign.givepikespeak.org and distributed among the community. Give!’s 15+ media partners promote the campaign, directing potential donors to go online to donate to the nonprofit(s) of their choosing. You are encouraged to utilize the Give! Guide and website and other media exposure for your year-end fundraising, as well as your opportunity for obtaining Matching and Challenge Grants, Special Awards and Friendly Competition prizes, which vary year-to-year.


EVALUATION CRITERIA



Who is Eligible?

  • Must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or operate under a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor
  • Must apply to support a local project if you are a regional or national organization
  • All funds raised must pay for services in the Pikes Peak region – El Paso and/or Teller counties.
  • Must have a nondiscrimination policy equivalent to the Give! Diversity and Nondiscrimination Policy.


What makes a more competitive application?

  • Inspiring purpose and programs
  • Meet a need in the community with a clear, convincing impact, with quantitative and qualitative measures
  • Able to participate and benefit from your participation and training in Give!
  • Empower residents, especially underrepresented constituencies
  • A new and/or innovative project that needs seed funding and an audience
  • Returning organizations that have demonstrated active participation and collaboration with other participating nonprofits.
  • Presence on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc).
  • Financially healthy: income and expenses are rational and appropriate for the goals and work being done, your handling of donations is trustworthy
  • Appeal to donors age 36 and younger
  • See the full scoring criteria used by our application review committee here.


Is Give! right for you?

  • Do you have the time to commit to the full scope of the campaign June to Dec. 2023? Review the Participation Requirements and Opportunities here.
    • Do you have the people power to actively participate in, promote and utilize the campaign?
    • What are your needs beyond money?
    • Will your organization benefit from the training and non-financial Give! Campaign offerings?
Please note, past professionalism and participation behaviors will be considered as part of your evaluation criteria.


APPLICATION FORM INSTRUCTIONS


INSTRUCTIONS FOR EDITING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION
As soon as you begin your application we recommend you do a “Save and Continue” so you have the link in case technology goes awry. Do this frequently. You may save your draft each time you enter more information and return to edit it. If you don’t see your updates when you go to your “save and continue link” then clear your cache on your browser and go to the link again. PLEASE NOTE: attached files do not save so wait until you are ready to submit before attaching them, otherwise you will have to re-attach them when you go back to your saved version. After you click “Save and Continue Later” at the bottom of this page, copy the unique link provided. You may enter an email address to send the link to, but some email services filter out auto-generated email as spam, so do not rely on emailing link – copy and paste it somewhere. If you lose the link, it cannot be recovered and you will need to start again. Once you click “Submit” you will not be able to edit your application. For reference, you may print the application. PDF of application here for easy printing: Give! Application to Print. Use the character counts to draft it, then type in your responses to the form and submit when all elements are complete. (Please note that applications must be submitted online via this form in order to be eligible for consideration.)

Tips

  1. Please add give@givepikespeak.org AND info@givepikespeak.org to your email contacts/address book and be sure to check your spam folder so you don’t miss any important updates from the Give! team.
  2. Review “EDITING YOUR DRAFT APPLICATION” in the blue box above. Again, be SURE to save the link provided at the bottom of the page after you click “save and continue.”
  3. All fields with an *asterisk must be completed.
  4. Wait until you are ready to submit before attaching documents for upload. Good luck!


Character Count and Punctuation Issues




Each field in this online application includes a specific amount of space for your responses (the “character count”). In some circumstances, the form may appear to allow more space for additional text, but when you press Submit, if you are over the character count of a field, you may receive a notice you are over the character count. In this case, please edit/shorten your response. This may be avoided by drafting your responses slightly under the character counts allowed.

NOTE: This may be due to the slightly different ways the online form reads your text and punctuation, e.g. the way in which hyphens are counted, long dashes, numbers, $ signs, or commas. You may get a different character count on this form than in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. We recommend testing your text using “character count” rather than “word count” and to try staying slightly below the number of characters noted on each field. Please be patient and cut/edit as necessary. If you get stuck, we can help.


Technical Challenges?


Contact us at give@givepikespeak.org or call (702) 900-4483. Thank you!


APPLICATION FORM


  • Please tell us if your organization is new (never participated in Give! before) or *returning (participated at least once since 2009).


  • Organization Name


  • Your “common” name by which you are known and prefer to be listed publicly, and on the Give! website. Include your full name, no acronyms please. Only include “The” if it is officially part of your name.
  • If different from your common name, above, enter your name as it appears on your IRS 990 form.
  • Provide an acronym, initials or short organization name. (For previous Give! nonprofits: you may use your short link from previous campaigns. THIS WILL BE USED AS YOUR SHORTLINK FOR YOUR DONATION WEB PROFILE: i.e. campaign.givepikespeak.org/PPLD)


  • Organization’s Contact Information


  • Preferred mailing address
  • Enter only if different from your mailing address, above.
  • To be published on website for the public.


  • POINT OF CONTACT

  • To whom should we direct questions and notification regarding this application? Selections will be announced in early June 2023. THIS EMAIL ADDRESS WILL RECEIVE A COPY OF THE GIVE! APPLICATION, ONCE SUBMITTED.


  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  • Please identify your director or chief leadership officer, whether paid or volunteer. If no executive director or CEO, list your board president.
  • or chair/president


  • DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

  • Please identify your development director or chief fundraising officer, if you have one (paid or volunteer).


  • YOUR GIVE! LIAISONS

  • Please identify the first of your two Give! Liaisons who will take responsibility for meeting all deadlines for Give! and communicating all Give! activities to and for your organization from now through the end of the campaign.
  • In accordance with the CAN-SPAM Act, our mass mailing service cannot deliver to role-associated email addresses (e.g. director@…, office@…, etc.). If your email address falls within this category, your communications from Give! may be delayed and the Give! team may request an alternate email address from your liaison.
  • Please identify the second of your two Give! Liaisons who will take responsibility for meeting all deadlines for Give! and communicating all Give! activities to and for your organization.
  • In accordance with the CAN-SPAM Act, our mass mailing service cannot deliver to role-associated email addresses (e.g. director@…, office@…, etc.). If your email address falls within this category, your communications from Give! may be delayed and the Give! team may request an alternate email address from your liaison.


  • DONOR LIST RECIPIENT

  • Please enter the email address to which daily donation reports should be sent during the campaign (Nov. 1 – Dec. 31).
  • You may enter a second email address to which daily donation reports can be sent during the campaign.


  • Organization Information


  • Only organizations that provide service in the Pikes Peak region, defined as El Paso and Teller counties, are eligible for Give! participation. Please check below to affirm you meet this criteria.
  • How many paid, full time staff currently work for your organization?
  • How many paid, part time staff currently work for your organization?
  • Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.
  • Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.
  • Number of email addresses (subscribers) on your organization’s list, for your e-newsletter or other communications.
    Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.
  • How often do you send out e-newsletters to your subscribers?
  • Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.
  • Please check each of the following types of fundraising activities your organization typically engages in.


  • Financial Information



  • If your organization is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it must operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3) organization in order to participate.
  • If your organization is applying under the umbrella of a fiscal sponsor, please tell us the name of your fiscal sponsor.
  • For your organization or fiscal sponsor.
  • Please enter the end date of your most recently completed fiscal year. (I.e. when does your budget year end? Often Dec. 31, sometimes June 30.)
    MM slash DD slash YYYY


  • INCOME & EXPENSE

    If your organization’s service area is broader than the Pikes Peak region, please list your local branch’s income and expenses.
  • Please enter your organization’s total income for the fiscal year ending in 2022.
  • Please enter your organization’s total expenses for the fiscal year ending in 2022.
  • Please enter your organization’s total income for the fiscal year ending in 2021.
  • Please enter your organization’s total expenses for the fiscal year ending in 2021.


  • INCOME SOURCES

  • What percent of your organization’s income came from individual donations last year?
  • What percent of your organization’s income came from government grants and contracts last year? (local, state and federal)
  • What percent of your organization’s income came from corporate sponsorship and gifts last year?
  • What percent of your organization’s income came from foundation grants last year?
  • What percent of your organization’s income came from fees, sales or other earned income last year?
  • What percent of your organization’s income came from other sources not listed above, last year?


  • File Submissions




  • File Upload Tip:


    Upload files as your last step, just before submitting your complete application. Your uploaded files will not be saved if you use the “save & continue” link and you will have to re-upload them to submit your application.


  • Attach your 501(c)(3) IRS Designation Letter (or that of your fiscal sponsor) here (as a PDF please!). Attachments are lost if you use the “save and continue” feature and will need to be re-attached in that case. Please name your file using the Give! naming convention: ORGNAMEorINITIALS_docname_dateYYMMDD [e.g. ARC_IRSletter_190416] [A free PDFCreator tool is available from SourceForge.net]. See Sample IRS Designation Letter
    Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.



  • Attach a PDF of your Income & Expense (profit and loss). See Sample Income & Expense (Profit & Loss)
    Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.



  • Submit a pdf of your Balance Sheet (also known as Statement of Activities or Statement of Financial Position)for your most recently completed fiscal year. . See Sample Statement of Activities (Balance Sheet)
    Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.



  • We prefer a single PDF for your financials, but if combining your documents is not an option, use these fields to submit additional pages.
    Drop files here or
    Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 128 MB, Max. files: 3.



    • Attach your most recent 990 form here (as a PDF please). Attachments are lost on “save and continue” and will need to be re-attached in that case. If you have not yet filed a 990, please submit income and expenses for the most recent fiscal year, or current year-to-date. See Sample 990 Form
      Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.



    • Attach your “Certificate of Registration” for soliciting donations (as a PDF please). Attachments are lost on “save and continue” and will need to be re-attached in that case. Instructions for Registering as a Charitable Organization: Instructions for Registering as a Charitable Organization. Charities and Fundraisers FAQs: Charities and Fundraisers FAQs. See Sample Colorado Secretary of State Certificate of Registration
      Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.



    • For example, “Our income in 2022 was unusual because we received a large one-time grant,” or “We replaced our computers in 2022, so that is why our expenses were so high.”



    • Upload a list your local board of directors including for each: email address, position(s) on the board (officer and committee positions), occupation and name of employer and/or affiliation(s), city or county of residence, number of years on the board.
      Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, Max. file size: 128 MB.



    • To promote best practices and ensure the integrity and public trust in Give’s activities, we require participating nonprofits to follow, or adopt, a nondiscrimination policy equivalent to ours. There are specific specifications your submitted policy will be evaluated upon. See Give! Diversity and Nondiscrimination Policy Checklist. We welcome your questions, concerns and feedback. (See contact info in page footer.)


    • Please upload your existing nondiscrimination policies. File formats accepted include pdf, doc, and docx.
      Drop files here or
      Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 128 MB, Max. files: 3.


      • Organization’s Profile Information




        This is what prospective donors will read about your organization. Please provide the following information EXACTLY as you wish to see it on your organization’s profile page online at campaign.givepikespeak.org, and in the printed Give! Guide. The shorter, sweeter and more specific your copy, the more compelling it proves among donors (not to mention the participant selection committee). Give! will work with you to edit this information for grammar and clarity before publication. We suggest having 1 or 2 others (at least) read and critique.

        Think about what is most important to communicate to a potential supporter learning about your organization for the first time. How can you clearly describe what you do, why you do it, and persuade them to get involved?

        For examples of online profiles, you can view the 2022 Give! profiles here.


      • Please indicate whether your organization would seek funding through Give! for general operating or a specific project. If you select project, be sure to focus on that in your profile information.


      • What

        Imagine you are in an elevator with a prospective donor. You have 30 seconds to explain what your organization is about, and what it does. Be succinct and memorable, focusing on the benefits you provide to communities in Colorado Springs. This is the only text that will be printed in the Give! Guide insert, so make it complete.
      • We realize the number of characters allowed here is small and challenging. This is a limitation for our printed guide. You may enter the same or a longer version for the website in the next field. To see last year’s print guide, visit 2022 Give! Guide.
        .
      • You may write a slightly longer version for the website or paste the shorter version here.


      • Why

        People give with their hearts, not their calculators. Focus on why your mission matters, with secondary emphasis on what differentiates you from other organizations providing similar services, or what makes your approach especially effective or unique.


      • Needs

        Please focus on volunteer and in-kind needs that will be valid as of Nov. 1, 2023. Be as specific as possible, e.g. a treasurer for our board, someone to teach basic carpentry, a new 800 SF roof for our barn, a color photocopier, etc. Write this as a sentence with serial commas, not a bullet point list.


      • Did You Know?

        Please provide a succinct statistic or data point that illustrates how your organization makes a difference. The ideal factoid would make a potential donor say, “Gee whiz! I didn’t know that.” For example: “One out of every five El Paso County women has been the victim of sexual assault” or “XX percent of the at-risk kids who participate in our 7-12th grade program continue on to college.”


      • Testimonial

        Please provide a quotation from someone who has benefited from your services or can speak specifically to their impact. (PLEASE, DO NOT INCLUDE QUOTATION MARKS)
      • Do not use quotation marks – we’ll add them later.
      • If anonymous, please describe who it is. For example, “Anonymous teen who stayed at our shelter in 2022.”


      • SOCIAL SHARES

        Please provide the video and social media links you want included on your campaign.givepikespeak.org profile page. They must be publicly available.
      • Enter the public link for a video you want imbedded to your online campaign.givepikespeak.org profile. Please use YOUTUBE OR VIMEO, only. (Please use shareable links from youtube)
      • Best thing to do is open the website in your browser and cut and paste the url here.
      • Please leave blank if you do not have a link
      • Please leave blank if you don’t have one
      • Leave blank if you don’t have one
      • Please select YouTube or Vimeo. Leave blank if you don’t have one or don’t want to share on your public profile.
      • Leave blank if you don’t have one
      • Leave blank if you don’t have one


      • Category Preference

        Every Give! participating organization is placed into a category. For donors, categories make the number of participants more digestible and help them discover new-to-them organizations impacting community issues they care about. We have 11 categories to choose from. You can help us by indicating which three of the following would best reflect the focus of your organization, ranking them in order of preference. Final discretion for category placement rests with the Give! team in order to best fit the needs of all participants. Your final placement will be determined by factors that include adhering to marketing strategy, creating even distribution and ensuring a level playing field for category-specific competitions. That said, your preferences are the most heavily weighted factor in determining your organization’s category. For examples of how category designations are used, take a look at the 2022 Give! Guide.
        .


      • Give! Campaign Criteria Fit

        If you can answer the following in fewer than ~200 words, please tell us how you meet the criteria for successful Give! participation — we appreciate brevity and there’s no need to repeat information already entered in your profile information.
      • Tell us why your organization wants to be a part of Give! 2023. What are you hoping to learn? What outcomes do you hope to achieve by participating? What Give! selection criteria does your organization meet? Give! Nonprofit Application Evaluation Scoring Criteria.
      • Enter your mission statement, if different from “WHY” in profile information above.
      • If you are applying to promote and raise funds for a specific project, please tell us the name of the project and briefly describe its relationship to your organization.
      • How does your organization benefit the Pikes Peak region? Be specific. Describe your impact, with data and numbers about your activities, services, and outcomes. (1000 characters max = approximately 200 words)
      • Catalyzing philanthropy among those age 36 and younger is an important goal of the Give! Campaign. Please tell us what your organization’s successes, challenges and goals are for encouraging giving among young donors.


      • For returning organizations only




      • Images & Logo


        APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT YOUR HIGH RESOLUTION LOGO AND TWO (2) PICTURES THAT SPEAK TO YOUR MISSION. If you are accepted into the Give! Campaign, these images will be used for promotional purposes during the campaign and may be used in the Give! Guide, at campaign.givepikespeak.org, on Give! social media, or as part of our media partners’ features on your organization.

        Images should convey your work in some way. Good photos include: close-ups of faces, happy people, showing what your organization is doing, who you are helping. Photos to avoid: group photos of staff, photos without people, photos with watermarks or logos superimposed on the image.

        Here’s a handy GUIDE TO IMAGES to help you.

        Final photo selection is at discretion of Give! staff and design consultants.

        IMAGE REQUIREMENTS:
        **If your submitted images do not follow the image guide provided and file type & size outlined, you will be asked to resubmit images that do.

        • All image files must be 300 dpi or higher at actual size (actual size should be 2 MB or larger).
        • Acceptable file formats for feature image: jpg, jpeg, png, gif. For logo file you may also upload jpg, jpeg, png, gif, ai, eps, or pdf.
        • For the two (2) photos, orientation must be horizontal (landscape), not vertical (portrait).


        Copyright: You must own the rights to these photos (or have a signed agreement with the photographer to use them) and have signed releases for minors, as these images may be printed in the Colorado Springs Independent, other publications, and/or placed on the campaign.givepikespeak.org website. By uploading the image(s) you are confirming you have the rights to use and publish these photos, and releases for minors. Please note, however, that no photo credit is given to the photographer.



      • Your Give! Campaign Images

      • Please upload a logo file image to be used for your WEBSITE PROFILE.
        Allowed file types are: jpg, jpeg, png

        NOTE: File uploads are lost on “save and continue” so we advise you upload files last, just before submitting.
        Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, eps, Max. file size: 128 MB.


      • Please upload a high resolution file of your logo that will look crisp in print. EPS is preferred.
        Allowed file times are: jpg, jpeg, png, ai, eps, pdf

        NOTE: File uploads are lost on “save and continue” so we advise you upload files last, just before submitting.
        Accepted file types: eps, jpg, jpeg, png, ai, pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.



      • Upload your first choice/favorite images for use in your online profile. HORIZONTAL/LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION is ideal at 1200 pixels wide.
        Allowed file types are: jpg, jpeg, png
        Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, Max. file size: 128 MB.


      • Upload your second choice of image for use in your online profile. (Only 1 will be selected.) HORIZONTAL ORIENTAITION is ideal at 1200 pixels wide.

        Allowed file types are: jpg, jpeg, png
        Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, Max. file size: 128 MB.



      • Other Thoughts


        Is there anything else you would like to add, or have a special note for us or feedback?
      • That’s it! Please Note:


        When you click “submit” below you should receive an email confirmation shortly thereafter, containing your application responses. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. Add give@givepikespeak.org AND info@givepikespeak.org to your email contacts/address book to improve chances of delivery.

        The submit process may take several seconds, depending on attached file sizes. Please be patient! You should see a confirmation screen when the process completes.
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