CHARLOTTE AMALIE — With the help of GlobalGiving’s #LittlexLittle campaign, The Virgin Islands Children’s Museum in St. Thomas was able to reach its fundraising goal to raise funds for their At Home Discovery Kits.
GlobalGiving is a non-profit organization that supports other non-profits by connecting them to donors and companies. Since 2002, they have helped trusted community-led organizations from hundreds of places around the world, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, access the tools, training and support they need to make the world a better place. In 2019 alone, the group raised more than $62 million from close to 182,000 donors supporting 7,652 projects in 162 countries. Currently, ten USVI projects are signed up with GlobalGiving.
The #LittlexLittle campaign was an online fundraising campaign that ran from Sept. 14 through 18, during which GlobalGiving would match project donations 50 percent up to $50. The idea was that small acts of kindness and giving could make a big impact towards the fundraising goals of non-profits. Rather than asking for larger sums of money, the #LittlexLittle campaign encouraged smaller donations and sharing on social media platforms.
“During these challenging times, I believe this was a great approach, as most people want to contribute but may only be able to give a small amount,” said Chantel Hoheb, Executive Director at the V.I. Children’s Museum in a statement.
In five days, 79 people donated $8,215 to help the museum reach its GlobalGiving project goals. The majority of donations came via Facebook, but some were sourced from Instagram and other online sources. The museum’s projects on GlobalGiving were to help raise funds for their At Home Discovery Kits as well as to support their work as the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library affiliate in the USVI.
The first two rounds of Discovery Kits were targeted at lower income families. However, the Virgin Islands Children’s Museum in the Buccaneer Mall is opening the next round to the larger population. To sign up for the third round of Discovery Kits, fill out the online registration form at www.bit.ly/2G1n0NC. Kits will be distributed on a first come first serve basis.
In 2020, the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been able to ship 6,494 books to children in the USVI so far, and while the museum receives discounted rates on the books and shipping, the musem has paid $13,151.18 to get those books to their participants.
To sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, visit https://www.vichildrensmuseum.org/imaginationlibrary. This program mails children a free book each month from birth until they are five years old.
Also benefitting from a #LittlexLittle campaign was Project Promise on St. Croix. Their goal was to raise at least $2,500 from 20 or more donors during the five-day period. That goal was surpassed, raising a total of $3,305 from 33 donors. The 50 percent match from GlobalGiving on donations up to $50 per donor brought the total to $3,957. The funds will be used to help fund the fall programming for their flagship Caterpillar Program.
For more on GlobalGiving projects, visit www.globalgiving.org