ST PAUL, Minn. — We are in that final stretch for all of you in Minnesota to do the thing you do best — give.
Give to the Max Day is the single biggest day of donations for organizations in our state to get donations to continue their various missions. According to Give MN, more than half of Minnesota's nonprofits say this is their biggest fundraising day of the year, and more than one-third of them say this is the day that provides more than half of their annual budget.
The Minnesota tradition is now in its 15th year. Last year, $34 million was raised for a total 6,439 organizations. So far this year, nearly $28 million has been raised for 6,099 organizations, and there are just under five hours left to go.
Some of the places asking for help are the places you rely on to be the voice that drives you home. According to Give to the Max's search engine, of the 36,148 organizations seeking donations this year, almost 200 are radio stations, including all-volunteer-run WFNU Frogtown Community Radio in St. Paul.
"Our mission is to take the diverse voices of Frogtown and Rondo and spread them to the world," co-director Philip Gracia said.
Now in its seventh year on air and online, Gracia says donations help the hyper-local station stay afloat with expenses like rent, insurance and equipment — as well as help its broadcasters leap into careers.
"We've had people go to MPR," he said. "We hope to get some people into some of the commercial stations around the city too."
Their Give to the Max goal is $10,000. That's how much fellow St. Paul-based station, 98.5 KTIS, set through the Give MN website this year too.
Station Manager Dave St. John says the contemporary Christian music station started its fund raising two days in advance through a separate, on-air telethon set to wrap at the end of Give to the Max Day.
"The music is positive, the music is uplifting," St. John said. "We're really thankful to be able to say there's somebody on the air on KTIS 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and so we're asking people to fund not just 2023 but also looking ahead to 2024 … in order to be able to keep playing uplifting music and fulfilling the mission of KTIS from when it first started in 1949."
The goal is a half-million dollars. Considering the economy these days, there are options for potential donors like monthly giving.
"Monthly giving has become such a popular way for families to be able to give," St. John explained. "For many families, it's a little bit of a tighter season to be able to give and so we know that if we can help them, budgeting it out, planning ahead with a monthly gift, they're helping to meet the need."
St. John says there are also the listeners who offer to match donations, sometimes for the duration of one or two songs.
Similarly in Frogtown, an unnamed donor is offering to match up to $7,000 for any donation made through the end of the year.
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