By Cameron Rasmusson
Reader Staff
Christmas is right around the corner for Idaho nonprofits.
Photo by Idaho Youth Ranch.
On Thursday, May 3, charitable organizations from around the state are banding together to ensure there’s no better day of the year to donate. Idaho Gives is the perfect chance to help a favorite nonprofit while maximizing your donation by giving them the chance to earn additional rewards beyond the basic financial support.
If you’re planning on supporting a nonprofit this year, Idaho Gives is the perfect day to pull out that credit card. For every donation made online at www.idahogives.org, participating nonprofits earn additional cash. Plenty of local nonprofits are getting in on the action, and there are some big goals in place for the day. For example, Bonner Homeless Transitions is hoping to extend the housing it uses to help individuals and families get a roof over their heads and back on their feet.
“We are hoping to raise $100,000 to buy the house next to Blue Haven in order to expand our program,” said Ann Gehring, vice president of Bonner Homeless Transitions.
Likewise, Community Cancer Services is planning to be out all day with other nonprofits encouraging residents to donate. Organization representatives for it and many other worthy charities will be at Evans Brothers from 8-10 a.m. and Idaho Pour Authority from 4-8 p.m. to discuss their work in the community.
“These events will be an opportunity for individuals to meet people from local nonprofits and/or pick up some literature about them so donors can make more informed choices about where they direct their dollars,” said Cindy Marx, program manager at Community Cancer Services. “There will also be some prizes and give-away items as well as awesome coffee or beer depending on which venue you visit.”
It’s simple to see if your favorite nonprofit is participating in Idaho Gives. Simply visit www.idahogives.org and use the search bar at the top of the page to look it up.
One of the best reasons to donate during Idaho Gives are the prizes that are awarded regularly throughout the day. For example, the organization that receives the first donation after 12 a.m. MST will receive a $1,000 prize. A random organization from one of Idaho’s five regions will be drawn every other hour between 8 a.m.-10 p.m. MST for $500. And golden tickets will be drawn every other hour between 9 a.m.-11 p.m., awarding $1,000 to a random organization that received donations in the hour prior to the drawing. Visit www.idahogives.org to see a full list of prizes.
Idaho Gives started in 2013 by the Idaho Nonprofit Center, raising $578,735 throughout the day. Since then, Idaho Gives steadily topped itself year after year, culminating in record-setting 2017 when 10,570 individuals raised $1,379,406 for 628 nonprofits. According to Marx, Bonner County organizations raised $13,000 last year and hope to do better this year.
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