What an incredible outpouring of support for our community!

In 36 hours, almost 11,000 donors participated!

In 36 hours on March 27 and March 28, keyboards clicked and smartphones did whatever they do… and almost 11,000 responded to the 36-Hour Challenge. We were honored to be one of about 100 non-profits in Southwest Florida who qualified to be  a part of this event. There are 1700 NFPs in our area, so we were in a very select group to begin with!

In the final tally, HSOSC had 105 donations for a total of $5,835. Our first 7 donors got up early enough to have their donations qualify for the 1:1 matching funds of over $350,000. That’s QUITE a feat, since the funds were all gone in less than 4 minutes.

Yup, you read that right. $300,000+ donated in less than 4 minutes!

What a generous community! While HSOSC managed to snag $550 in matching funds, we were not lucky enough to qualify for other prizes. Our final figures:

• $5835 in direct donations from 105 donors
• $550 in matching funds
• $6335 raised in a marathon 36 hours!

We did very well for the small, financially effective nonprofit that we are. Several of our members and supporters preferred to mail in a check for their donation, and we’re hoping that others, wishing to spare us the credit-card fees associated with the online giving, will help us cover the costs we incurred in mailing and printing information for our members who prefer to receive their information in hard copy.

What’s truly surprising, and heart-warming, were the results.

We out-drew, donor-wise, the two other historically-oriented nonprofits approved for the fundraiser. We garnered support from more people than the Ringling did. Our individual donations might have been modest, but the love and support we received is oversized!

While the dollars raised were less than many other, more-visible groups, that’s okay. Why? Because

we are careful with our money and make it go further

than some of our peer groups.

Other wonderful things this 36-Hour Challenge did for the Historical Society: We met and worked with some powerhouse folks in the nonprofit sectors, we almost doubled the folks who follow us on Facebook, and we alerted the community that we are professionals

dedicated to helping preserve Sarasota’s physical and social past, in the somewhat-challenging present, for the unknown and exciting future.

If you would like to extend a calm helping hand now that the dust has settled, donations of any size are always welcome and can be mailed to HSOSC, PO Box 1632, Sarasota, FL 34230.

View our profile as we present it to individual and corporate sponsors who are interested in help HSOSC. The Challenge was designed to introduce The Giving Partner to our community, and in the future when we (or you!) encounter a potential supporter, our profile will show what we do, why we do it, and how we use our funds. It’s a badge of merit not every nonprofit can claim. And that’s a good thing.

P.S. As volunteer e-communications creator for the Historical Society, I truly want to thank our 900+ members and supporters on our email list for accepting THREE emails from me over a day and a half. I know it’s annoying to be alerted again and again, and I promise never to do it again. –Kate Holmes