VANCOUVER — Southwest Washington’s fourth annual day of online giving is planned for Thu., Sept. 21. The event, called Give More 24! runs from midnight to midnight and encourages local residents to donate online at give-more-24.org.
Those who wish to give during the 24-hour event can choose to support any of the 132 participating nonprofits, which are categorized into ten broad cause areas: animals, arts and culture, community improvement, education, environment, health, housing, hunger, social services and youth development.
Jennifer Rhoads, president of the Community Foundation, said “No matter what your passions may be, you’ll find a good reason to contribute and make a difference during Give More 24!”
Every gift given during this event will stay local, because each of the participating nonprofits serves Clark, Cowlitz or Skamania Counties. Gifts will also go a little further thanks to a $30,000 stretch pool, $15,000 in nonprofit prizes and additional matching gifts for certain participating nonprofits. The stretch pool benefits every participating nonprofit by adding a small percentage to each dollar given, while matching funds benefit a single nonprofit through a one-to-one match. More information about the prizes and what it takes to win one for a nonprofit can be found on the website.
Give More 24! was created by the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington as a kind of “giving holiday” that allows charitable gifts to “give more” for 24 hours. The hitch: charitable contributions must be made through the Give More 24! website in order to get the boost from the stretch, prize and match dollars.
This year, the online event aims to raise $1 million for local causes in 24 hours and engage more than 4,000 donors. Last year, 3,062 donors — enough to fill 85 city buses — donated more than $920,000 during the 24-hour period. Donors didn’t just come from southwest Washington either. Gifts came from 41 states and as far as Melbourne, Australia.
To take part in this online giving marathon, visit the website on Sept. 21. Here, potential donors will be able to choose from 132 nonprofits and make charitable gifts to their favorites via the website’s secure donation form. All the donations will be tallied in real time so that everyone can watch the dollars add up and cheer on their favorite cause. The website also allows users to tap into their social networks by allowing donors to post messages in support of their favorite causes, which can rally their friends and family to show support as well.
“This event is all about what inspires us to give and bring others along with us,” Rhoads said. “It’s relationships — in this case taking the form of social networks — that allow us to make a larger impact on our region and the causes we care about.”
Rhoads also said that this event gets people excited about giving by introducing them to new nonprofits. Last year, more than 1,000 donors said that they gave to a new nonprofit they found through Give More 24!
This event would not be possible without the support of a generous group business sponsors and individual donors. Give More 24! is presented by Davidson & Associates Insurance representing PEMCO Insurance. The stretch pool is largely supported through private donations from generous individuals such as Ron and Mary Legg and the late Mason Nolan.
First Pacific Financial is this year’s giving lounge sponsor. ADCO Printing and Graphics is the longstanding printing sponsor. And prize sponsorships from the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, The Convenience Group, First Pacific Financial, Heritage Bank, the Wayne D. Kuni and Joan E. Kuni Foundation and Pacific Continental Bank provide prizes for the participating nonprofits.
Information provided by the Community Foundation.
