28 million views, 900 donors, $23,000 dollars - and one fantastic couple.
 
When Minnesota residents Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz went dancing down the aisle over the summer, hundreds of Wellstone Action members joined in the wedding celebration.  Jill and Kevin - and their entire wedding party -  became overnight Youtube sensations this summer with their sweet, funny and incredible wedding entrance set to Chris Brown's "Forever" tune.  No Cha-Cha Slide or Macarena moves here - the groomsmen and bridesmaids got down on the aisle and Kevin marked his entrance by somersaulting into the church.   You can see the rockin' wedding party entrance here.
 
The story could have ended there, but given the controversy surrounding the song "Forever", Jill and Kevin asked the millions of people that viewed their wedding video to make a donation to the Sheila Wellstone Institute to help in the struggle to end domestic violence.  Compelled by giving to a good cause with a great visual (who doesn't love the sight of a groomsman doing handstands during a wedding?!), the Sheila Wellstone Institute received more than $23,000 from 900+ donors from all over the world!  The average gift received after viewing Jill and Kevin's video was $25.
 
Here at Wellstone Action we know that having many supporters giving small donations is a great way to sustain your organization and get investment from committed individuals who want to be part of our work.  We teach this method of fundraising in our trainings and we use it in-house here at the Wellstone Action office.  Dollar by dollar, it is these smaller sized gifts that have enabled us to train more than 30,000 activists since we opened our doors in 2003.  These donors have helped to give Wellstone Action a national presence as a training and leadership organization helping to shape the progressive movement.   These active, committed donors who give what they can, when they can have helped to preserve the legacy of Paul and Sheila Wellstone.
 
As donors, we might hesitate to give to a cause we believe in because we don't think we can give enough to make a difference.  Being part of Jill and Kevin's big day, and their joyous celebration, showed us that hundreds of people can be compelled to give by a powerful story.  It also reminds us that many donations of $5, $10, and $25 quickly add up to a huge difference in the lives of the survivors and advocates we work with here at the Sheila Wellstone Institute.
 
On November 4th, Wellstone Action will be reaching out to our members and asking them to help us as we participate in America's Giving Challenge through Facebook's "causes" function.  To win, we have to receive more donations than any other participating organization on that day.  The cool thing about this challenge is that it doesn't matter how much folks give, but rather how many gifts we receive that day.  Our hope is that we can receive enough gifts on November 4th to win the daily award of $1,000.   We'll send out more details soon, but in the meantime please join our cause on Facebook and check out our page for more info.  We'll be doing lots to encourage all our supporters to give on November 4th!