It’s time for Idaho Gives!

By Cameron Rasmusson
Reader Staff

While local nonprofits rely on donations year-round, there’s only one day a year when Idaho Gives.

The annual statewide event brings together nonprofits from Bonners Ferry to Boise in the shared goal to raise as much money as possible. If there’s one day a year to pull out your wallet and support your favorite nonprofit, Idaho Gives is a great choice thanks to a chance that your donation will be enhanced with bonuses from event organizers. Check out which nonprofits are participating this year at www.idahogives.org and start planning who to support when the event rolls around Thursday, May 2.

“Idaho Gives is a great day of collaboration, celebration and fundraising. Panhandle Animal Shelter will be focused on social media awareness, peer-to-peer fundraising and, of course, celebrating at Idaho Pour Authority,” said Mandy Evans, executive director of Panhandle Animal Shelter. “We look forward to working with other nonprofits to honor the great work being accomplished in our community.”

Idaho Gives isn’t just a reason for state nonprofits to rally together and mutually boost fundraising, although that alone is valuable. The event also gives nonprofits a chance to earn extra cash when donations meet certain benchmarks.

The Training Titan $1,000 prizes are randomly distributed to nonprofits that participated in all seven Idaho Gives training sessions. The first organization to receive a donation at 12 a.m. Mountain Time on May 2 receives the $1,000 First Donation prize. Three nonprofits that receive donations between 12 a.m. and 6:59 a.m. Mountain Time will randomly receive a $250 Early Riser Rush prize. Donations received before May 2 qualify nonprofits for the random $500 Scheduled Donation prize. That’s just a fraction of the prizes to be awarded this year. To get a full list (and potentially plan your strategy for winning prizes), check out www.idahogives.org/prizes.

It all adds up to a big day for dozens of North Idaho nonprofits. And it goes a long way to fund the very worthy work they do. Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education, for instance, hopes people to donate to their youth scholarship fund, which gives individual families, schools and youth groups access to the organization’s nature-based experiential learning programs. But the organization is also spreading awareness of its Mountain Field Campus at Schweitzer, which is being developed as an outdoor learning center.

“Because over 50% of the 1,200 youth we served last year live in poverty we will be encouraging folks to make contributions to provide safe, affordable access to SOLE’s place-based experiential education programs,” said Dennison Webb, executive director of SOLE.

Several local nonprofits are teaming up to provide one convenient location for people to donate. They will operate booths from 8-10 a.m. at Evans Brothers Coffee and from 5-8 p.m. at Idaho Pour Authority on May 2. It’s the perfect time to stop by, grab a drink and learn more about the diverse collection of nonprofits in North Idaho.