The Pittsburgh Foundation

Update on 2016 Day of Giving suspension

PITTSBURGH, May 13, 2016 – The 965 southwestern Pennsylvania nonprofits whose participation in last week’s national Day of Giving had to be suspended due to technical failures will be surveyed by The Pittsburgh Foundation to determine the best assistance options for recovery.

“We are very disappointed that this year’s event fell short of the high standards of performance we expect from a program that since its inception six years ago that has raised more than $40 million for worthy nonprofits,” Maxwell King, the Foundation’s president and CEO, wrote today in an email to participants asked to take part in the survey.

He assured managers of participating nonprofits that the Foundation’s top priority is to develop options for assistance, which include scheduling a second collective fundraising event for the Pittsburgh region – Allegheny, Westmoreland and Butler counties.

King also reported that he and members of the Foundation’s senior staff are in discussions with officials of the Austin-based online fundraising firm, Kimbia, to determine exactly what caused the technical problems. The findings will inform decision making on future crowdfunding events involving online donation.

In a conference call earlier this week that also covered restitution, Kimbia officials referenced the firm’s previously publicized offer to reduce its fees by 1 percent. That amounts to about $370,000 – about one-third of the total amount due to the firm from the event for credit card processing and technology services. The Pittsburgh Foundation does not collect any fees for Day of Giving events including the services and staff time it provides. Other aspects of Kimbia’s offer include free fundraising donation platforms and training for participating organizations.  

King said today that no decisions have been made on restitution demands related to the failed event. Negotiations with Kimbia officials will continue, he said. “We need to know as much as possible about why the failures happened and we want a better understanding of the degree of loss in our community before concluding our negotiation.” Any reduction in fees the Foundation achieves will be passed along to each participating nonprofit, King said.

“While the source of the problem lies thousands of miles from Pittsburgh in the operations of [Kimbia], which contracted with community foundations across the country to run this event, we at The Pittsburgh Foundation keenly recognize our responsibility to help our participants,” King wrote in inviting participants to take the survey.

Also in fulfillment of that responsibility, the Foundation has committed to the following:

  • For Allegheny County nonprofits:  The Foundation will send each organization the donations from the day, net of 4.99 percent in fees within 60 days of the event’s close.
  • For Butler County nonprofits:  The match pool will be honored at the 2015 results standard, which is 25 cents added to each dollar donated.  Butler participants will receive all donations, net of the 4.99 percent in fees, plus a prorated share of the match pool.
  • For Westmoreland County nonprofits: The match pool will be honored at the 2015 results standard – 14 cents for each dollar donated. Westmoreland participants will receive all donations, net of the 4.99 percent in fees, plus a prorated share of the match pool.
  • In supporting the option of a second Day of Giving, should nonprofit organizations wish to have it, the Foundation is providing for Allegheny County organizations an additional $100,000 in incentives to the $100,000 already in place for last week’s event. For Westmoreland and Butler counties, which were operating under traditional match pools, those funds are being replenished.

King said the Foundation will make a decision on a re-scheduled giving day, or another option after reviewing nonprofit leaders’ responses to the survey, which runs through next week.

“As we work toward recovery from the Day of Giving disruption, we understand the continuing frustration that Pittsburgh area nonprofits and their donors are feeling,” King wrote to participants. “We look forward to providing all of you with a strong, reliable plan for collective giving that is worthy of our region’s record-setting generosity and charitable spirit.”