Girl Scouts reject $100k donation – and crowdfund $275k in 48 hours in response
Howard Lake | 1 July 2015 | News
In fundraising it can pay to stick to your principles and reject offered donations that would undermine the work you aim to achieve. The Girl Scouts of Western Washington in the USA are the latest organisation to demonstrate that – and to benefit from it.
The organisation received a donation of $100,000, enough to pay for 500 underprivileged girls to join and participate in the organisation. However, the donation came with strings attached. The donor asked the organisation to guarantee that the money would not be used to help transgender girls. Just before the donation had been sent, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America had announced that it was open to transgender girls.
The organisation, which is committed to equality and diversity, would not give this guarantee, so it returned the donation.
Stefanie Ellis, public relations director for Girl Scouts of Western Washington, explained why to Mashable:
“The only way we’re going to fulfill our mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place is if we make sure there aren’t any barriers in place for girls’ success.”
However, $100,000 is one third of the value that the Girl Scouts chapter raises and spends on scholarships for girls each year. The organisation decided to use their loss of this donation to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.
Its target was to raise $100,000. Supporters were told:
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“Your donation to our #ForEVERYGirl Campaign will go to our financial assistance program and be awarded directly to girls who qualify for the federal free-and-reduced-price meal program at their schools and whose families request help to cover the costs of participating in Girl Scouts”.
Here is the video message they used to support the campaign:
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20iBSAiTIqU[/youtube]
How much did #ForEVERYGirl raise?
The #ForEVERYGirl campaign, launched on 29 June, still has 28 days to go. It raised $185,000 in the first 24 hours and, as of today, after just two days, the total given is $273,000!
Why did the campaign do so well? Apart from its newsworthiness and the sense of injustice it generated for many, the campaign has also worked because of the effective campaigning actions of the Girl Scouts chapter. For example, they offered ready-made campaign messages for supporters to share via Twitter and Facebook.
Ready-made tweets and Facebook messages help spread the campaign.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.