Donors can help local charities
Local charities are looking for holiday shoppers to become donors for Giving Tuesday, a post-Black Friday, post-Cyber Monday kickoff to the busy charitable season.
And the Columbus Foundation is helping to highlight urgent needs among area nonprofit organizations with a new crowdfunding platform set to launch along with Giving Tuesday.
The foundation's Better Together charitable-giving tool will allow nonprofits to
list specific projects online — perhaps for a new vehicle, building repair or set of supplies — with a defined fundraising goal.
“There’s a progress bar and donors can see how far along the nonprofit is,” said Dan Sharpe, the foundation’s vice president of community research and grants management. “Gifts as small as $20 can collectively get the project funded.”
Most Better Together projects that are accepted for listing on columbusfoundation.org are likely to be “in a sweet spot range of $5,000 to $10,000,” Sharpe said. “We’re interested in nonprofits getting in contact with us to pitch their best ideas.”
The YWCA Family Center, a shelter for homeless families, and the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center will have their projects featured through Better Together starting on Tuesday, Sharpe said.
The ClintonvilleBeechwold center is trying to raise $8,000 to finish work on a new activities room for seniors to give more opportunities for enrichment and social interaction.
The YWCA is aiming for $5,000 to provide necessities — from toothbrushes to clothing — for families in its emergency shelter.
“We’re asking for donations that will go toward basic care
items for families living there,” said Kate Manofsky Anderson, a spokeswoman for YWCA Columbus. “More specifically, winter coats are a huge need right now.”
Organizers behind Giving Tuesday, Better Together and other philanthropic projects know donors are already primed to donate during the holidays. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of all charitable giving in the United States takes place during the last five weeks of the year, largely for holiday season or end-of-year tax reduction reasons.
Giving Tuesday, a movement started to celebrate and encourage giving on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is entering its sixth year. The New York City-born effort leans heavily on social media — and goes by its hashtag, #GivingTuesday — to rally donations of money, time, resources and talents around the globe.
“People look to volunteer or get more involved during the holidays,” Anderson said. “It’s just a really good time to kick off the giving season.”
Better Together starts Tuesday, but it will remain a yearround opportunity through the Columbus Foundation, Sharpe said. The projects are part of the foundation’s Giving Store, an online marketplace of more than 900 area nonprofits.