Jessie Ball duPont Fund

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund’s goal was to equip their grantees - largely small and mid-sized nonprofits working within their local communities in Florida, Virginia and Delaware - with skills to raise funds online and share their messages effectively via digital channels. They also had around $2 million to distribute in matched funds.

Of the 90 Jessie Ball duPont Fund grantees that took part in a BRIDGE programme in 2020, many had never run a digital fundraising campaign before. These organisations were facing problems that seemed insurmountable, such as lack of access to digital tools, an ageing donor base who were reluctant to give online, and loss of income from cancelled in-person events.

Building Resilience In Digital Growth and Engagement (BRIDGE) is Lightful’s essential programme for impact organisations looking to future-proof their operations at a time of great change. Through Lightful’s delivery of a six-month BRIDGE programme, and its combination of skills, tools, and support, these challenges were overcome.

The 90 participants gained key skills in storytelling and online fundraising through the BRIDGE programme. This allowed them to raise over $5 million in total during November and December 2020.

• Participants raised $3.1 million, including more than $1 million on #GivingTuesday alone, which unlocked an additional $2 million in matched funds

• 92% were highly engaged throughout the programme

• 95% said their digital confidence increased as a result of BRIDGE

Lightful and the duPont Fund used the available matched funds to incentivise learning and online giving to great effect - the amount of the matched funding available to participants was tiered, and the more webinars, videos watched and one-to-one coaching sessions attended, the higher the available match.

Participants left the programme with increased confidence, new skills and an ability to run impactful online fundraising campaigns that will make their organisations more resilient in the years to come.