Montclair Nonprofit's Unique Fundraiser Earns Statewide Award

MONTCLAIR, NJ — It was a mash-up of "America’s Got Talent," "The Voice" and "Survivor." And in the end, it netted more than $60,000 that will be put towards building Montclair's educational system.

The nonprofit New Jersey Education Foundation Partnership (NJEFP) recently honored the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) with its "Outstanding Achievement in Fundraising" award for 2019.

The MFEE earned the award for holding a unique talent battle dubbed "Showdown Montclair!" that grossed more than $60,000 in its first year and engaged almost 1,000 people as performers, attendees, donors and volunteers.

The NJEFP will present the award for the MFEE and this year’s other honorees on March 29. (See their full list here)

According to the NJEFP:

"The fundraising twist for this staged competition was to create individual and unique crowdfunding pages for each of the ten selected acts, who then tapped their friends and social media contacts to raise a minimum of $750 to perform and compete, along with paid votes on the day of the event, sponsorships, and ticket sales, and also by engaging stakeholder groups like the police department and business owners to increase the fundraising base."

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