Local nonprofits know their communities best. That’s why they’re best-suited to help them— but they don’t always get the visibility nor the resources they deserve. The majority of donations go to large nonprofits that already have enough funding to promote themselves. Adding to the challenge were the pandemic-driven financial disruptions of 2020, which affected small nonprofits disproportionately.

Give Where You Live is an initiative designed to drum up interest, visibility, and donations for small, local nonprofits. It featured an integrated campaign that included an animated anthem film, a website that doubled as a recommendation engine, and a partnership with the NFL.

We wanted to bring people into a world of creative craft and charm, drawing attention to the importance of local philanthropy.

Where this type of initiative is often presented through deficit framing, we instead chose to treat these nonprofits as cultural landmarks, generating curiosity and visibility for lesser-known local orgs. Inspired by travel recommendation publications like TimeOut, we set out to curate our own list of each city’s “best of,” driving recommendations and donations. By presenting the “places that do good” as the “good places to see and be seen,” we literally put these small businesses on the map.

We decided to focus on 6 key markets: large metropolitan areas with diverse populations leading innovation—cities with active pools of local nonprofits, which could use a reprieve from financial hardship. We then partnered with Giving Tuesday to amplify our reach on a national scale, benefitting local players even further.

We focused on 6 key markets: large metropolitan areas with diverse populations driving innovation and culture. We then partnered with Giving Tuesday to amplify our reach on a national scale.

We threw the kitchen sink at developing the animation for this project: pen, pencil, charcoal, marker, tablet, shape animation, cel animation, a little bit of subtle 3D, and a lot of coffee.

The anthem film and campaign website featured an animated story that presented nonprofits as local attractions to discover. We then amplified the campaign in social media, with city-specific assets that encouraged people to rep their hometown and support their favorite orgs.

Lastly, we partnered with the NFL and enlisted current and former NFL players to encourage fans to nominate their favorite local NGOs, driving visitors and donations to their websites.

The work launched in November 2022 for Giving Tuesday and is built for sustained, long-term engagement.

The campaign launched November 2022 for Giving Tuesday and the results so far have been very positive. The nonprofits saw significant increases in new donors and total donations. Key highlights are included below:

Open Buffalo saw +181% in year over year donations.

La Casa Norte saw +199% in year over year donations.

Climate Resolve saw +149% in year over year donations.

Primo Center saw +70% in year over year donations.

Evoluer House saw +$67K in year over year donations.

Buffalo String Works saw +66% increase in year over year donations.

Gateway Center saw + $24,000 in year over year donations.

ATL Collective saw +34% in year over year donations.

Neighborhood Bike Works saw +26% in year over year donations.

Grid110 saw +20% in year over year average donations.