With mixed emotions, Community First Foundation announces the resignation of Dana Rinderknecht, Director of Online Giving and ColoradoGives.org champion, effective December 11. Dana started with The Foundation in 2007 to help manage the year-round ColoradoGives.org program and at the time there were between 160-170 participating nonprofits.

“It was a time when people were shopping and banking online, but not donating online. Nonprofits weren’t sure they wanted to be on a site where their donors could find other nonprofits,” explained Rinderknecht. “It was my job to get them excited and ensure them it would be a great way for them to find new donors.”

Rinderknecht succeeded in the task of getting nonprofits and donors excited about giving. From 160-170 participating nonprofits and $8 million generated on CGD in 2010 to 2,600 participating nonprofits and $39 million generated on Colorado Gives Day in 2019, Dana has done exactly what she was brought on to do and then some. Jenni Foxworth, Online Giving Specialist adds, “Dana has a way of bringing people together. She’s great at uniting people on a singular goal and she’s super talented at joining people together and creating a community and movement.”

Dana’s favorite thing about working at the Foundation has been the impact they’ve been able to make. “One of our goals is to help nonprofits be better at what they do. I have met a lot of people along the way, and I love the people at the Foundation and the people we serve. We have a really good team and we’ve been through a lot during the 13 years I have been here. It’s nice to have the support system of the Foundation so we can support the donors and nonprofits.”

Dana is most proud of growing ColoradoGives.org “I love that through the website a donor can go on any day of the year and support their favorite nonprofit. We have gift card programs and peer-to-peer fundraising campaign options. Money has been raised for fires, floods and we’re very lucky we’ve been able to help people support their favorite nonprofits during the pandemic. I love the little nonprofits and we have truly been able to give them a support system so they can become bigger. We’re helping nonprofits try new things and get donors excited about what they’re doing. I’m proud that we’re there to support the community whenever they need it.”

The online tool has expanded to include multiple programs, thanks in part to Dana’s creativity. “Dana has a talent for generating ideas,” shares Cheryl Haggstrom, Executive Vice President at the Foundation. “Dana likes to say ‘it’s all up here,’ pointing to her head when asked her what her ideas look like. We are going to genuinely miss her and all the ideas that come from ‘up there’ when she’s gone.”

When you’ve been in a position as long as Dana has, there are a lot of life lessons that can be learned along the way. One lesson Dana has learned is that “it never hurts to ask. It never hurts to ask donors for money. The pandemic has made things very challenging and we’ve also experienced fires and a challenging election year. We always worry that donor fatigue is real, but I don’t think it is. It doesn’t matter what type of organization you are; donors want to give to you.”

The data certainly supports Dana’s theory. Online donations through ColoradoGives.org have almost doubled this year. That is a remarkable testament to the need and appetite for a centralized, secure online giving portal for both donors and nonprofits. With Colorado Gives Day right around the corner, and almost 2,900 participating nonprofits, ColoradoGives.org is positioned for one of the biggest 24-hour fundraising events in the nation in 2020.

“Dana’s passion for nonprofits and connecting donors to nonprofits is palpable,’ explains Kelly Dunkin, CEO and President. ‘’We’re going to miss her passion for the program. Her historical knowledge, context, understanding of what we’ve done, why we’ve done it and how it’s grown will be very missed. We’re thankful that she gets to celebrate one more Colorado Gives Day with us before she moves on.”

Dana is leaving a legacy. During her tenure, the program raised more than $357 million. Dana reflects, “I’m a starter. I like to get things up and running. It’s now a $50 million a year program and now is the time to take it to the next level.”

A Vice President of ColoradoGives role has been created to lead the program into the future. Kelly explains, “I am really excited for a new Vice President to think about how we can position ColoradoGives.org to continue to thrive as a state program and how the Foundation can continue to leverage it. There’s so much potential — it’s an entrepreneur’s dream. The new position will be a little different moving forward because we’re looking for someone who understands product development.”

Bryce Wilkinson, senior online giving specialist and the person who was part of the team that hired Dana 13 years ago, reflects on their time together. “Dana will be missed on so many levels. She’s a really amazing person with great people skills. Dana has taught me that it’s important to just try it, to not be afraid to give something a shot and see what can happen.”

“We are so lucky she stuck with us until the program was ready for the transition, and it is,” adds Kelly. “In the nonprofit sector, we can fall into the trap of looking at transitions as a bad thing, but it should be a time to celebrate. When we transition mindfully and with care for one another, we create positive energy that ripples through our organization and into the community. It is a new way of doing business, and I’m glad we’re able to practice this”.

Her talents, expertise and outgoing personality will be greatly missed by so many at CFF. Bryce has good nugget of advice for anyone interested in the new VP role. “Understand and respect the history, but don’t let that define the future. ColoradoGives.org is a gift to the community in so many different ways, and our collective embracing of that concept will continue to help that thrive and prosper for a long time.”

Thank you, Dana. We celebrate you and can’t wait to see what you do next.