The Shepherd’s Office: Do More 24 Fundraising Leader

The DoMore24 Campaign for 2024 is in the books, and what a fantastic campaign it was! In the 24 hours from 6 pm March 7 to 6 pm March 8, over 600 Delaware nonprofits raised over $2.3 million from more than 20,000 donors in 48 states and all ZIP codes in Delaware. But of all the nonprofits, one stood out from all the others, both in dollars raised and number of donors: Tiny but mighty, The Shepherd’s Office of Georgetown raised $75,145 from 901 donors. This is more than $6,300 than the next highest in funds raised and 356 more donors than the following highest number of donors. We spoke with Jim Martin, Director at The Shepherd’s Office, to understand how they did it. (Martin has an interesting backstory, which is covered in a recent article in the Cape Gazette.)

The Shepherd’s Office is a small nonprofit based in Georgetown, DE. Their mission is simple: to feed, clothe, and care for the homeless, hungry, or lonely. The Shepherd’s Office provides 200-300 dinners every Monday- Sunday to anyone who wants to stop by to eat – no questions asked. The interesting thing about their meals is that their facility does not have a kitchen appropriate for preparing food, but they can serve heated, already-prepared meals. So, every day, Jim relies on his small army of “Crock Pot volunteers” who prepare a portion of the day’s meal at home in slow cookers, which are used to keep the meal warm and ready to serve.

The daily meal isn’t the only service The Shepherd’s Office provides for their community. Every morning, volunteers fan out from their facility to clean up the surrounding neighborhood to keep it all looking neat and clean. They maintain a small food pantry, prepare snack bags, and distribute bottles of water to anyone who needs one. Besides feeding their community, they also help to provide shelter: they give out tents and camping gear to provide shelter to people who desperately need it.

So, how did a small nonprofit located in a small downstate town raise $75,145 from 901 donors? According to Martin, it’s a combination of having a good relationship with their local community and doing the groundwork for a successful campaign. He leveraged his 3,000-person email list in the weeks ahead of the DM24 start, garnering over 600 commitments to donate before the campaign’s 6 pm March 7 start. To get around the Gmail limit of only being able to send 500 emails daily, he had volunteers use their own Gmail accounts to send emails, spreading the total around. He created video asks and started sharing those via email and social media a couple of weeks ahead. His formula is simple: do good work, support your local community, lay the groundwork for the campaign early, and keep it up.

At United Way of Delaware, we believe that nonprofits are the backbone of our community, helping to grow local economies, uplifting individuals and families, and supporting those who need help. As a fellow nonprofit whose mission aligns closely with The Shepherd’s Office, we at United Way of Delaware are impressed with their work and Martin’s fundraising acumen. Congratulations to The Shepherd’s Office, Jim Martin, and all the nonprofit organizations that benefited from Do More 24.

United Way of Delaware, along with Spur Impact, is an organizing sponsor for Do More 24.