On Tuesday, December 10, 2019, Jason Oruch came to work at JEWISHcolorado and learned, to his surprise, that it was Colorado Gives Day, a day of giving that encourages philanthropy throughout the state. To his even greater surprise, he discovered that people were making online donations to JEWISHcolorado—despite the fact that Jco had not promoted the opportunity to give.
By the end of that day, Oruch discovered that JEWISHcolorado had raised nearly $25,000.
Oruch, who is now Director of Campaign Operations & Digital Philanthropy, had a eureka moment. If people had been willing to donate to Jco without any special outreach, what might happen if the organization actively marketed its participation in Colorado Gives Day?
In 2020, Oruch invested more time in promotion, and he watched donations triple. Since 2010, Jco has raised $1.2 million from 1,200 donors on Colorado Gives Day–$650,000 of that amount in the past three years.
That success has led Oruch and JEWISHcolorado to a second eureka moment—the belief that prioritizing “Giving Day” campaigns provides a way to engage new donors, elevate Jco’s digital footprint, and strengthen donors’ connections to the community.
Since 2020, Jco has run six digital giving campaigns, raising a total of $950,000. When Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) was building its 2024 General Assembly program and wanted to highlight best practices and innovative ideas that build a culture of philanthropy, Jco’s digital philanthropy campaigns caught the eye of Leslie Pomerantz, Executive Director of the Jewish Federations Fundraising Institute.
That is how Oruch and JEWISHcolorado Chief Development Officer Willie Recht found themselves presenting to a standing room only crowd at a General Assembly workshop in Washington, D.C., in November. If the reaction they received is any indication, JEWISHcolorado’s best practices may soon be replicated across the country.
“I was honored and humbled that what we are doing is noteworthy,” Oruch says. “JFNA wants to share and showcase our successes with the Federation movement and that meant a lot to me.”
The evolution of digital campaigns
JEWISHcolorado’s path to digital fundraising success has evolved over time.
After the initial success with Colorado Gives Day, Oruch mounted a new campaign called “Jewish Colorado Days of Giving (JcoDOG)”. The key part of that acronym is “DOG.” Armed with research data on the effect that dogs have in a marketing campaign, Oruch launched a three-day social media event in May 2023 giving pet owners the opportunity to post a photo of their dog (or other favorite pet), a description of why they wanted to be involved in the Jewish community, and a donation to JEWISHcolorado.
Jewish Colorado Days of Giving (JcoDOG) marketing
JEWISHcolorado’s goal was to raise $75,000. The campaign hit that goal and kept on going.
With that success under his belt, Oruch moved on to his next idea for a giving event which focused not just on JEWISHcolorado but on all Jewish organizations in the state, asking the question “Is there a way to help organizations beyond Jewishcolorado with a digital fundraising event?”
“We identified a new revenue stream where all boats would rise,” Oruch says. “We want to take all Jewish organizations downstream with us to chart new water together. It is JEWISHcolorado’s role as a convener to lead the way.”
Thus was the first “Jewish Colorado Giving Day” born on May 21, 2024. “Jewish Colorado” is not a misprint. This was not a day intended to raise money just for JEWISHcolorado. It was intended to help all Jewish organizations in Colorado.
With help from the Colorado Gives Day donation platform, donors could give to 38 participating organizations. It was one-stop shopping. A donor could give different amounts to multiple organizations by filling a single shopping cart and completing their donations with one transaction. Jco took no percentage of the gifts. Instead, JEWISHcolorado raised a matching fund of $57,800 and that money was divided equally among participating organizations as an incentive to participate and to ensure a successful campaign.
Jewish Colorado Giving Day matching fund, raised by JEWISHcolorado
In addition to the matching funds, Jco also offered participating organizations three webinar training sessions on the importance of social media, email marketing, and ways to optimize their platform for Giving Day.
“One-third of the organizations that participated don’t have a development staff, so this really was a way to help them grow their philanthropic efforts,” Oruch says. “We are giving them fundraising tools because we believe that for a robust Jewish life in Colorado, all organizations should flourish.”
The future of digital campaigns
JEWISHcolorado’s role as both a convener and a collaborator with the 2024 Jewish Colorado Giving Day was so successful that the event will return May 19-21, 2025, newly named “Jewish Days of Giving.” JEWISHcolorado hopes to increase the number of participating organizations to at least 50 and to raise $100,000 to distribute equally among them.
After Oruch and Recht presented at the General Assembly, more Federations across the country may be launching “Jewish Days of Giving.”
“Many communities approached us and wanted to connect with us so they can learn how to create a successful digital campaign like we have done,” Oruch said. “We heard from Austin, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Charlotte, and from organizations like National Council of Jewish Women and Moishe House.”
Oruch even talked with one Colorado organization that had opted not to participate in last year’s Jewish Days of Giving and now has had second thoughts.
“They told me, ‘We really regret it,” Oruch says. “‘We will definitely sign up this year.’ And that was true validation for me and for JEWISHcolorado.”