Case Study: OTR Housing expands end-of-year fundraising and spreads kindness with GiveSmart

Over The Rainbow Housing Kindness Tag Holiday Fund

OTR Housing, an Illinois nonprofit that provides independent living solutions for people with physical disabilities, wanted to move beyond a standard donate button and make its end-of-year fundraising more creative and mission-driven. After years of modest Giving Tuesday and appeal-letter results, the team needed a way to tell the Kindness Tag story, support multiple fundraising options, and manage reporting without juggling multiple platforms.

Using GiveSmart’s fundraising platform, OTR Housing launched the Kindness Tag Holiday Fund with donations, instant buys, text-to-donate, merchandise sales, and customizable donation forms. The campaign doubled what their previous Giving Tuesday and end-of-year efforts had raised, drove a 200% year-over-year increase in end-of-year fundraising, and helped create a growing “kindness” movement that now supports broader programming and donor stewardship.

OTR Housing

Alex Costelle

Manager of Development