Nonprofit Technology

MOD Pizza to Donate 6.2 Million Meals to Feeding America

MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings, LLC, the purpose-led, people-first, fast casual pizza pioneer, announced the results of its annual Spreading MODness campaign, a system-wide effort to unite customers and the MOD Squad around the critical issue of food insecurity. With the funds raised during the six-week campaign, MOD has committed to donate 6.2 million meals* to Feeding America, the largest food hunger-relief organization in the United States.

The 6.2 million meals – well exceeding MOD’s original goal of 2.5 million meals – will be distributed through Feeding America’s network of local food banks in all 28 states that MOD serves. With an estimated 38 million Americans struggling with food insecurity – including nearly 12 million children and 5.2 million seniors – the need for help remains in every county nationwide.

Our customers stepped up in a big way this year to help support their local food banks and bring awareness to the critical issue of food insecurity. We’re so thankful to Feeding America for helping us deepen the impact we can make in our ongoing effort to nourish the communities we serve. Like MOD, they believe in the power of partnership and that it’s essential we all to come together in our work to solve real problems.”

Ally Svenson, MOD co-founder and protector of the purpose

Since 2013, MOD has celebrated its birthday by Spreading MODness, a time when the brand shines a light on its purpose – to make a positive impact on the lives of the MOD Squad and the communities they serve. The 2021 Spreading MODness campaign was anchored by the “MODness Meal,” a limited-time meal bundle available from November 22 to December 31, 2021. For every bundle sold, MOD committed to donate $1 to Feeding America, which in turn helps provide 10 meals to people in need.

How The Feeding America Network Is Maximizing Its Impact – A look at three of the organizations supported through Spreading MODness 2021

Washington
Food Lifeline

Food Lifeline is on a mission to end hunger in Western Washington by providing nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of people every year. They distribute this food through 350 partner agencies, enabling them to provide the equivalent of more than 201,000 meals every single day. At the same time, Food Lifeline is working to end hunger for the future by addressing its root causes, including systemic inequity and social injustice through advocacy efforts.

“We are so pleased to partner with MOD Pizza. Their leadership in Seattle is particularly meaningful to Food Lifeline because of our shared values to create a more equitable community,” says Ryan Scott, Chief Development Officer at Food Lifeline.

Arizona
United Food Bank

United Food Bank’s history and culture is deeply rooted in the East Valley, servicing an area of nearly 20,000 square miles. Collaborating with more than 145 partner agencies and programs, they help feed families, children, and seniors in places like Sanders, Arizona, where there are only a couple of places to purchase food and the next town is 40 miles away.

“While the words 'thank you’ may not be enough to convey our gratitude for the generous donations, please know that we are humbled and thankful for your help in our ongoing mission to feed Arizona’s hungry,” says Dave Richins, CEO at United Food Bank.

Texas
Houston Food Bank

Around 1 million people in the 18 southeast Texas counties served by Houston Food Bank are considered food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough nutritious food to fuel a healthy life. The Houston Food Bank distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a network of more than 1,800 community partners. They also provide programs and services aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability.

“It is so great working with companies like MOD Pizza that help give back to the community. We are greatly appreciative of the donation and are excited to hopefully work together in the future,” says Sean Crowl, Community Events Manager for Houston Food Bank.

About MOD Pizza
MOD Pizza is a purpose-led, people-first brand founded in Seattle in 2008 by serial entrepreneurs Scott and Ally Svenson. MOD serves individual artisan-style pizzas and salads that are made on demand, allowing customers to create their own pizzas and salads with any combination of over 30 toppings, all for one price. With 500+ locations system-wide**, MOD is committed to creating not only a cool place to eat, but an inspired place to work. MOD recently earned a spot on the Fortune 2019 “Change the World” list, for its purpose-led culture and commitment to provide opportunities to individuals with barriers to employment. The Company has also been named America’s fastest growing chain restaurant by Technomic and the most loved pizza brand by Foodable Network. MOD has earned a spot on the Inc.5000 list and has been recognized by Fortune as one of the “20 Best Workplaces in Retail,” a “Best Workplace for Women,” a “Best Workplace for Millennials,” and a “Best Workplace for Diversity.”

About Feeding America
Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.

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Nonprofits Accelerate Their Impact with Blackbaud Technology

PR Newswire | October 10, 2023

Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, is helping social impact organizations achieve their missions and reach their outcomes in new and innovative ways. From fundraising to data and analytics capabilities, Blackbaud is delivering essential software that enables teams to create impact. "We are committed to delivering capabilities that accelerate the impact of our customers, and we're continuously seeking opportunities to innovate," said Todd Lant, chief customer officer, Blackbaud. "These capabilities help organizations operate more efficiently and effectively than ever before. We're amazed by what our customers can accomplish with the right technology in place." With Blackbaud technology, social impact organizations are maximizing their fundraising potential and more effectively using data. Customer Spotlight: Grand Canyon Conservancy Grand Canyon Conservancy provides millions of dollars and countless service hours to support the priorities of Grand Canyon National Park as the park's official philanthropic and collaborative partner. Grand Canyon Conservancy is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and automation provided by Prospect Insights, a powerful tool in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT® to identify major gift prospects and help shape the portfolios of fundraisers. With Prospect Insights, their team was able to automatically generate a list of assigned prospects, review relevant giving and capacity indicators, and remove low likelihood prospects from portfolios all within one modern interface. The software's embedded intelligence can make predictions, set goals and help establish a roadmap. "Prospect Insights helped me identify the correct constituents to place into gift officer portfolios," said Cassie Chilcutt, prospect research manager. "We can also use the snapshot wealth and giving data within Prospect Insights to make more educated asks of our constituents. Using data in a strategic way helps us save time and money that can go back to support our mission." Customer Spotlight: Carry The Load Carry The Load provides active ways to honor the sacrifices made by U.S. military, veterans, first responders and their families. The nonprofit's signature Memorial May campaign features a national relay where thousands of people join the relay team to walk along the 20,000-mile trek across all 48 continental states. Their event team has long relied on Blackbaud TeamRaiser® to power this peer-to-peer fundraising event, and this year, they were able to use Good Move™, the new gamified activity tracking app available through TeamRaiser. With Good Move, Carry The Load enabled their participants to track their mileage and fundraising progress on an engaging, live leaderboard. Participants who used Good Move overall were more engaged and raised 46% more funds on average than those who didn't. "The Good Move app will expand our reach as a nonprofit and ultimately make a greater impact for those we serve," said President and CEO Stephen Holley, a veteran U.S. Navy Seal who co-founded Carry The Load. Customer Spotlight: Norfolk SPCA Norfolk SPCA is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in the country whose mission is to shelter, treat, rehabilitate and rehome household companion animals. To help achieve this, the Norfolk SPCA leverages Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT to manage its 18,000+ constituent records, drive increased responses for appeals, and engage existing and prospective supporters. Raiser's Edge NXT also provides event management and follow-up tools to help turn attendees of the organization's largest annual fundraising event into supporters. "We're a very data-driven organization, and Raiser's Edge NXT complements our need to develop specific criteria to build a list of prospective donors for each appeal," said Cara Olsen, donor relations manager. "It helps keep me organized, and I know which donor to target for any type of ask, whether it's a direct ask by an SPCA employee or board member, a direct mail appeal, an event sponsorship or another type of opportunity." About Blackbaud Blackbaud is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud's essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of America's Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries.

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Fundraising

charity: water Launches Grassroots Fundraising Campaign To Advance Clean Water Access Worldwide

Business Wire | September 12, 2023

charity: water, a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people around the world, today announced the launch of a grassroots fundraising campaign as it accelerates its mission to end the global water crisis. Running in the United States throughout September 2023, the campaign will galvanize participation and activity with limited-edition merchandise, product discounts, and unique experiences fundraisers can unlock as they raise money to help more people get clean water. Notably, fundraisers will also have the opportunity to apply for an all-expenses-paid trip with the charity: water team to meet their local partners and see the impact of clean water for themselves. “We’ve brought clean water to more than 17 million people in just under two decades, but the fact remains that over 700 million still lack consistent access to one of life’s most basic needs: water,” said Brady Josephson, VP of Marketing & Growth at charity: water. “We know and have seen that people, usually women and girls, will do whatever it takes to get clean water when they don’t have it. This campaign will rally our community of supporters to do something, anything, to fundraise in the month of September, with 100% of all donations directly helping more people get this life-changing gift.” At the end of the campaign, the fundraiser who raises the most will win a trip for two to New York City to attend charity: water’s annual event to hear stories of impact, meet founder Scott Harrison, and connect with other supporters. The top five fundraisers will receive a year’s worth of free coffee from Volcanica Coffee and a pair of shoes from On. And as soon as anyone raises more than $40 — enough to provide clean water to one person — they’ll begin to unlock merchandise and discounts from Just Fun Socks, Corkcicle, and Solgaard, in addition to charity: water. These rewards and experiences are made possible due to in-kind donations and charity: water’s unique funding model. A group of private donors, called The Well, covers all operating expenses — including its New York event, the field trip, and merchandise. This enables every penny donated or fundraised by the public to directly fund water projects. Any donor who raises at least $1 in September and/or is an active member of The Spring, charity: water’s monthly giving community, will be invited to submit an application to see how their fundraising is making a difference firsthand. Applications and interviews will be conducted by the charity: water team to choose two participants for the trip in 2024. “Earlier this year we asked our supporters what would most inspire them to fundraise for clean water, and the resounding answer was the ability to see their impact through our work,” Josephson continued. “Thanks to our partners and Well members we are in a position to offer this opportunity to anyone who fundraises, not just the individual who raises the most. We believe every fundraiser deserves to see how they are personally making an impact and wanted to make this once-in-a-lifetime chance available to all.” About charity: water charity: water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people around the world. With powerful storytelling and a radically transparent model that ensures 100% of every public donation funds clean water, charity: water has mobilized supporters from more than 150 countries to help end the water crisis. They work exclusively with experienced local partners to build sustainable, community-owned water projects and prove each one with innovative technology. Since 2006 in New York and 2017 in London, charity: water has funded over 135,000 water projects in nearly 30 countries to help more than 17.4 million people get access to clean water, hygiene, and improved sanitation.

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Fundraising

Blackbaud Expands Peer-To-Peer Solutions with New Mobile Capabilities

PR Newswire | October 17, 2023

Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, is doubling down on its investment in the peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising space - one of the most significant and rapidly growing sectors for fundraising today - with the next evolution of Good Move™, its activity-tracking mobile app. The development will transform the app into a powerful mobile participant center for Blackbaud TeamRaiser®, enabling a streamlined experience for participants and self-service functionality for social impact customers. Peer-to-peer fundraising is a vital component of the philanthropic landscape, and we are committed to providing innovative solutions that empower organizations and individuals to make a difference," said Sudip Datta, chief product officer at Blackbaud. "The new capabilities within Good Move represent our ongoing dedication to supporting the peer-to-peer fundraising community. We look forward to the positive impact these enhancements will have on the fundraising efforts of organizations globally. Good Move, which launched in 2023 as an activity-tracking mobile app designed for TeamRaiser, has been a game-changer in the world of fundraising, allowing organizations to create custom wellness events that go beyond traditional walk, run and cycling. With Good Move, participants can record various activities, from pickleball to water sports to mindful minutes and more. With this significant upgrade, customers will now have the ability to adopt a mobile app experience for events where activity-tracking is not applicable. Organizations can now create campaigns that focus solely on fundraising, without losing the "gamification" experience and P2P tools needed to sustain engagement. Customers can also now seamlessly attach Good Move-powered capabilities to existing TeamRaiser events from their TeamRaiser administrative portal. This self-service model streamlines event management, saving organizations time and resources while enhancing their fundraising capabilities. For information on new capabilities in TeamRaiser and Good Move, attend the next Blackbaud Product Update Briefings, November 14-16. Registration opens October 13. For existing TeamRaiser customers interested in learning more about the new Good Move capabilities, please contact your Customer Success Manager. For any organization not already a TeamRaiser customer that is looking to further understand the power of TeamRaiser and Good Move, please click here. About Blackbaud Blackbaud is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud's essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of America's Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries.

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Fundraising

Shift4 Partners with Give Lively to Offer Powerful Fundraising Solution to Nonprofits

Business Wire | September 28, 2023

At today’s Global Citizen Festival, Give Lively, a ground-breaking nonprofit fundraising platform, and Shift4, the leader in integrated payments and commerce technology, announced a partnership to the significant benefit of nonprofit organizations across the United States, too many of them burdened by cumbersome and expensive fundraising platforms. Give Lively, which builds powerful and practical fundraising solutions that are free for nonprofits and intuitive for donors, will add Shift4 as a payment processor, offering some of the lowest transaction fees available while maintaining a secure, reliable transaction experience. Set to launch in 2024, the integration will also expand donation processing capabilities to include stocks and top cryptocurrencies, powered by The Giving Block, a Shift4 company. “At Give Lively, we believe that nonprofits shouldn’t sacrifice their means to satisfy their missions, and that giving should be intuitive and joyful for donors,” said David DeParolesa, CEO of Give Lively. "This exciting partnership with Shift4 is a huge win for both donors and nonprofits. It will bring lower costs and more giving options to donors, as well as new tools that simplify giving for our 8,600 – and growing! – member nonprofits, allowing everyone to spend less time navigating complexities and more time making a difference." “As we’ve experienced in the payments industry for some time, donation methods are changing rapidly,” said Jared Isaacman, Founder & CEO of Shift4. “Nonprofits, like many other businesses, want the ability to accommodate their donors' preferences. We believe that if you make it easy and affordable for nonprofits to adopt these modern donation methods, they will grow faster. That’s what this partnership with Give Lively is all about.” The partnership announcement was made at the Global Citizen Festival in keeping with both organizations’ foundational commitment to social good. Give Lively ensures that all nonprofits approved for membership align with its progressive values focused on elevating marginalized voices, striving to meet the needs of the underserved, imagining a safer future and advocating for equality. The partnership is also the latest effort by Isaacman to do more in the nonprofit sector, where he has a long history of philanthropy. In 2021, he commanded Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit, which served as a groundbreaking fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raising over $250 million for the charity including over $100 million donated by Isaacman. The following year, Shift4 acquired fundraising platform The Giving Block to expand the company’s capabilities serving the nonprofit sector. About Shift4 Shift4 is boldly redefining commerce by simplifying complex payments ecosystems across the world. As the leader in commerce-enabling technology, Shift4 powers billions of transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses in virtually every industry. For more information, visit shift4.com. About Give Lively Give Lively is a tech company reimagining the future of digital fundraising for nonprofits – powerful, practical and free. It builds easy-to-use fundraising solutions that are free for nonprofits and intuitive for donors, all while staying true to progressive values. Nonprofits using Give Lively have raised more than $750 million for their critical work, saving $45+ million in tech fees and charges.

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