W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 3 #GiveBigPittsburgh From small to large — nonprofits raise money through online effort In itsinauguralyear,#GiveBigPittsburgh laida sturdy foundation forthe future of the 24-hour online fundraising campaign forPittsburgh nonprofits.Atotalof nearly $1.5 million was raisedfrom6,770donorson Nov.28to assist 493 area nonprofits. The #GiveBigPittsburgh fundraising initiativewas heldon the nationalDay of Giving,a charitable antidote to the conspicuous consumption of Black Friday,SmallBusinessSaturday and Cyber Monday during the holiday season. In previous years, Pittsburgh organizations raised money through Pittsburgh Gives, which was sponsored by The Pittsburgh Foundation. Starting in 2017, that morphed into #GiveBigPittsburgh, a collaboration between the Foundation and Pittsburgh Magazine. The Foundation donated $50,000 in prize money for participating nonprofits, and The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County provided $25,000 in incentive funds for Westmoreland County nonprofits. Light of Life Rescue Mission,a Christian ministry providing meals,housing andeducational programming forhomelessindividualsand families,wasat the topof the #GiveBigPittsburgh campaign,raising $71,975.The Humane Animal Rescue andPittsburgh CulturalTrust rounded out the top three in dollars raised. The Humane Animal Rescue, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania took the top three spots for the largest number of donors to the campaign. To ensure that the #GiveBigPittsburghcampaign would benefit organizations of all sizes, prizes were awarded to nonprofits for innovative fundraising strategies. Three — BunkerProjects,PittsburghFestivalOpera, andThreeRiversYoungPeoplesOrchestras — were eachawardedthe“TerrificTweeter”trophyand $1,500forcreativelyusingsocialmediatoraise awarenessoftheir#GiveBigPittsburghcampaigns. S eattle-basednonprofitexecutiveVuLeismanythings:manageroftheRanier ValleyCorps,whichdevelopsleadersofcolorintheSeattlearea;avegan; asought-afternationalspeaker;andtheauthorofawildlypopularblog. ThatlastroleiswhathasmadeLeasuperherotomanyin the nonprofit sector:heistheprovocateur,humoristandsharpthinkerwho writesa weeklyblogatNonprofitAF.com,formerlyknownasNonprofit with Balls. Whilethenamehaschanged — theAFstandsfor“AmplifiedandFocused” — the blog’s missioncontinuestobetoairthetoughissuesfacedbythose who work for nonprofits.ButLe’sstyle,asdescribedontheblogwebsite,isto“explore the fun andfrustrationsofthework.” The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy, which brings donors, foundationstaffandoutsideexpertstogethertoaddresssignificant community problems,co-sponsoredthesessionlastfall withNonprofitTalent,an organization that consults with and hires for nonprofits. Speaking to a maximum-capacity crowd at Point Park University, Le did cheerleading and truth-telling to an audience of predominantly nonprofit staff, who appreaciated both. Le’s mainmessages:ditchtheinferioritycomplex,stopcomparing yournonprofit to afor-profitorganization,focusonthecommunitiesyouserve,andplay nice with your colleaguesinthefield.Healsoencouragednonprofitstoowntheirpower,pointingout thatnonprofitshavethethird-largestworkforceintheUnitedStates — theworkforce thatdoesthemostdifficultworkofhelpingpeopleinmarginalizedcommunities improvetheirlifesituations. Le,admiredasafierceadvocateforthesector,doesn’tmincewords.In hisPoint Parkappearance,hepushedhisaudiencetoadvocatepubliclyonissuesclosetoan organization’smission,focusonlonger-termoutcomes,andstayawayfromformulas formeasuringeffectivenessthattoooftenperpetuateinequitiesamongnonprofits andincommunitiesthey’resupposedtoserve. Inapresentationillustratedwithpicturesofbabyanimals,hetold the crowd, “WeareJediunicorns!”meaningthatnonprofitsareremarkablydifferent from for-profitenterprises,thattheirworkhasitsownsubstantial value,andthat they aretheagentsofbalanceincommunitylife.Thebenefitsmighttake yearsto be realized,saidLe,butmostoften,they’reworththewait. VuLeuseshumortotackleseriousissuesin thenonprofitworld.Hisbook,“UnicornsUnite: HowNonprofitsand Foundations Can Build Epic Partnerships,”iscomingoutthisspring. MEL PONDER PHOTOGRAPHY HEY, NONPROFITS—OWN YOUR POWER! Center for Philanthropy co-hosts national blogging sensation at Pittsburgh forum