It’s Give to the Max Day

Local theatres participate in Razoo’s first area 24 hour giving campaign

If your inbox has been buzzing today like a door bell on Hallowe’en with theatres asking for small bits of money, it’s because they are taking part in a massive one day fundraising campaign for DC area nonprofits called the Greater Washington Give to the Max Day.

The innovative campaign, which started just after midnight this morning, runs for 24 hours, and hopes to raise millions of dollars for local nonprofits, including a number of theatre companies. They’re well on their way; by noon today, the program has raised over a half million dollars from 5,435 donors. Made more impressive when you realize the smallest donation is $10.

There’s no need to wait for your favorite theatre to reach out to you. The easy-to-navigate site makes it easy to find your favorite nonprofit.  Click here for the entire list. And here for theatre companies. We spotted Wandering Souls, Woolly Mammoth, WSC Avant Bard, dog & pony dc, Theatre Lab, Active Cultures, Constellation, Adventure Theatre,  Heritage Theatre, and Imagination Stage among the list of participating nonprofits.

“On November 9, we want people to go to give2max.org and support their favorite local nonprofits by donating, fundraising and spreading the word,” said Lesley Mansford, CEO of Razoo.com, an online fundraising platform, which partnered with the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and the United Way of the National Capital Area to create Give to the Max Day. “In Minnesota, Razoo has held two separate Give to the Max days and helped 4,000 nonprofits raise a total of $24 million! Those kinds of funds are desperately needed in this region.”

In addition to contributions, the nonprofits have a chance to earn their share of $125,000 in cash awards, including up to $25,000 for nonprofits with the most individual donors and the most money donated, and a “Golden Ticket” award of $1,000 for nonprofits receiving the most individual donations per hour from 2pm to midnight.

So look for those email pitches to pick up later today.

This first annual Give to the Max program joins Kickstarter as a new style of community philantropy where a lot of people can support artists with small donation which make a difference.