The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County is making it easy for donors everywhere to make a difference in our community through a new online giving platform called power2give  www.power2give.org/WinstonSalem.  This site empowers people in Forsyth County or who live elsewhere but have ties to the area to give directly to local arts and cultural projects they are passionate about.  Grants from Wells Fargo and the North Carolina Arts Council are supported the launch in June 2012.

The concept is simple. Arts and cultural groups post projects online and give the community a site where donors can find out about and support projects that speak to them.  “We have found that younger donors, especially, like to have a personal connection to specific projects where they can see a tangible result,” said Dara Silver, Arts Council Grants Director.

“For as little as $5, anyone can be a ‘philanthropist’ and support arts and cultural projects here in Forsyth County,” said Silver. “Our goal is to broaden our giving base and generate new dollars in an imaginative way. Through power2give we hope to reach a whole new generation of donors who would like to support specific projects and invite family and friends to join them through their social media contacts.”

power2give.org was launched by the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg in August 2011 as an additional mechanism for nonprofits to raise dollars for arts and cultural projects in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.  Since that time, four other arts organizations across the country have begun using the platform.  Plans are underway for the site to launch in additional cities.

Currently, only Arts Council member organizations, which are all 501c3 arts and cultural nonprofits, can post projects in need of funding on power2give.org for up to $6,000.  Organizations promote their projects to individuals through a variety of print, electronic and social media channels.  Projects have 90 days to reach their requested funding level.

For more information about power2give.org contact Dara Silver at winstonsalem@power2give.org or 336.747.1426.