As I explained in our previous story, PayPal suddenly shut down our online donation account on Dec. 5, without warning or explanation. In the crucial fund-raising month of December, no less. We had had the account for 13 years without any problems, so the whole affair is still a complete mystery to us.
This wouldn’t be a big deal – we could just switch to a different provider – except that a few hundred donors in the account were giving automatic recurring donations, or about 80% of our donor base. Recurring donations are the backbone of any nonprofit organization, providing reliable, sustainable funding, and many of these donors had been making contributions for years.
But all of that is gone now and has to be rebuilt. And it created a lot more work for us just when we were hoping to enjoy the holidays.
The GOOD NEWS is that we are now stronger, with a more robust donation system. It has more ways to donate in addition to credit cards (Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, ACH, Cash App), the ability to make donations in honor or memory of someone, and the option to add the cost of processing (we so appreciate that). We’re super pleased with it!
Since we first told our story, we are heartened by the many donations that have come in and even taken advantage of the new features. It was fun to see people donate in honor of others who in turn donated. Several donations made me tear up more than a little bit. Some people renewed their recurring donations, and even increased their amounts. People returned who hadn’t donated for a few years. But most surprising to me was that most of the donations came from people who had never contributed before, which gladdens my heart to think we might be expanding our donor base.
Many came with notes of encouragement that bolster our spirits and spur us on:
- “Thank you for being the only site that we can rely on for arts news. What would we do without your work!”
- “Thanks for the work you do to help us independent artists thrive.”
- “Thanks for all the great work you do – such an important piece of the puzzle.”
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If you’ve already given this year, THANK YOU! You make our important work possible. If you haven’t donated yet, now is your chance for a charitable deduction before the end of the year. I’m still making my way through my long list of recurring donors to notify. Save me the trouble and donate now, yeah?
What do we have in store this coming year?
We’re aiming to roll out a new web design in January, which will be more modern and user-friendly.
Then we’ll turn our attention to building new information resources that will benefit the entire arts community in the state: an event calendar, artist residency listings, calls for art, professional development opportunities, grant information, and organization profiles.
And of course we’ll continue to bring you our excellent arts and culture coverage from our first-rate team of writers and editors. I am proud that we empower our team to follow their hearts and write what they’re passionate about. It shows.
We mean it when we say we do this work for you.
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May your new year be merry, festive, and only full of nice surprises.
Laura Grimes
Executive Director
Oregon ArtsWatch
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