The Seattle Foundation recently announced that its "GiveBIG" online nonprofit fundraising campaign brought in $7.4 million for more than 1,100 local organizations. The 24-hour event took place on May 2 and earned nearly 38,000 separate donations from nationwide contributors who logged onto the Seattle Foundation's website to raise funds online. Those dollars will be stretched by a pool of funding generated by corporate sponsors, the foundation and families that partner with the foundation.

"The 'GiveBIG' campaign generated a stunning $7.4 million in online contributions for nonprofits, more than twice last year's results of $3.6 million," said Norman B. Rice, president and chief executive officer of the Seattle Foundation. "We are delighted to see many local businesses and philanthropists we work with step up and reward the community for its exceptional generosity."

Originally, the foundation promised a "stretch pool" totaling $500,000 that would in part match online contributions to encourage giving. However, an additional wave of contributions led by The Bezos Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, The Seattle Foundation, the Seattle International Foundation and Microsoft added $300,000 to the fund.

When foundations are launching online fundraising campaigns, they might benefit from fund accounting software and other innovative services that can streamline account management and periodic funding audits.