Commentary: Through microgiving, you can make more than a dime's worth of difference

Great editorial offered by J. Naples, M&T Bank's Syracuse regional president, chairman of the Onondaga Community College Foundation and chairman of the board of directors of CenterState CEO:

Syracuse, it’s time for a paradigm change in the way we give. Syracuse and Onondaga County’s arts and sciences, educational programs and nonprofits rely on us to survive. Times are tough, though. And some of these organizations, as well as the donors they count on, are coming up short. Some organizations have failed.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work with a group of local business leaders to head the Onondaga Community College Capital Campaign. We raised several million dollars over a year and a half, exceeding our initial monetary goal and beating our targeted deadline date by over four months.

The people — whom our team knew personally and professionally — were asked to give, and they gave generously. But a campaign like ours cannot be repeated easily over and over again without a change. Like many campaigns, we focused a lot of our attention on a small number of individuals and corporations. As you know, in small cities like Syracuse there are a limited number of large donors to reach out to.

Therefore, we fundraisers and donors must think differently.

First, our civic organizations and nonprofits should engage us with clear-cut goals and concise statements of how donations will positively impact their strategic well-being. Donors need to feel as if they’re investing in something that makes a difference, rather than simply writing a check to keep a nonprofit afloat. Receiving regular, coordinated messages from an organization about how it puts contributions to work makes donors feel like their investments are paying off. Keeping people informed via various media (including emails, letters or social media sites) about the way donor dollars are being used for the success of the organization can help spur more giving.

In a business book called “The Dragonfly Effect,” the co-authors describe how a young South Asian student at Stanford University in need of a bone marrow transplant was given a one-in-20,000 chance of finding a donor. His friends, undaunted by such odds, put in place a plan using social media tools to register 24,611 donors in a matter of weeks. A clear-cut goal plus a compelling story brought people from all over the world together to solve this problem.

Second, Syracuse’s nonprofits need to “democratize” their relationship with the community. More specifically, they need to understand that communications are a two-way street. In addition to dollars, organizations should also solicit ideas from the greater community. For example, what if a local museum reached out to local schools for suggestions and ideas on how best to tailor an exhibit for children? By seeking “personal” involvement from people, one often finds that they will be more likely to contribute their time and also their money.

My employer, M&T Bank, regularly sponsors local events and programs like New York’s Creative Core Emerging Business Competition, as well as On Point for College, which opens doors to higher education for inner city youth. In the past year, our company has given to hundreds of organizations both within and outside of Upstate New York. By participating with these organizations, we have seen firsthand how they improve the community and impact the lives of individuals. We are compelled to give because we understand the mission and see the “return.”

This brings me to my last point. Corporate giving is not enough. Each and every Syracusan must think about personal giving. According to the U.S. Census, there are 111,737 people 18 or older in Syracuse, another 248,034 people in the surrounding areas of Onondaga County.

Given the current economic times, people often don’t feel they are in a position to “write a check” for a good cause. Therefore, I propose we begin to focus on the importance of “microgiving,” or small donations from everyone. If each of those 359,771 adults gave just 10 cents a day ($36.50 per year) to one of Syracuse’s nonprofits, collectively they would raise more than $12.5 million. Ten cents often represents the change one puts on the counter after grabbing a cup of coffee or a burger. What a difference this would make!

In that same light, there are about 35,000 businesses in Onondaga County. If each just gave $100 to a cause, we could raise another $3.5 million. “Microgiving” works, and every small donation helps.

In fact, small donations continue to play an increasing role in all campaigns. For OCC, the Reach Beyond campaign would not have been as successful without the small contributions from close to 1,000 donors who collectively contributed upwards of $500,000. There is no gift too small.

I hope everyone in Central New York makes it their New Year’s resolution to begin the practice of “microgiving” for the “macrobenefit” of our greater community.