Charities ready for Arkansas Gives

■ Thursday’s event is a source of donations that help keep nonprofits operating.

The goal is to get people excited about giving to nonprofits, according to the Arkansas Gives website and several nonprofits in Bella Vista will benefit. This is the third and final year for the statewide Arkansas Gives event. It takes place tomorrow, April 6 and it’s online at www.arkansasgives.org.

Between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., donations can be made online, using a credit card, and are directed to the nonprofit the donor chooses. The minimum donation is $25. There is no maximum. Results are live on the web page on April 6.

Last year the 12-hour event raised $4.1 million from the public, but distributed $4.6 million. The difference is prizes and bonus dollars, according to the website for the parent organization, Arkansas Community Foundation. The bonus dollars are distributed according to the amount raised. The prizes are donated by First Security Bank.

Last year, Bella Vista Courtesy Van received a total of $5,600, according to board chairman Bill Puskas. Of the total, $500 was bonus.

The Courtesy Van board learned last year that their United Way funding would be cut, so Arkansas Gives was especially important for the all-volunteer agency. Courtesy Van is a driving service for Bella Vista residents who can’t drive themselves. They take clients to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store or hair salon and to Village House.

Village House, an adult day care located in the Highland Crossing building, is also affected by the United Way shifts in funding. Even with the funding issues,

Village House needs some renovations, Sara Scott, the new director said recently. They would like to add space for more clients in their current location and eventually open another facility outside Bella Vista. There are families that need their services, she explained.

The Bella Vista Animal Shelter participated in Arkansas Gives last year, executive director Dee Dee Knight-Matney said, but they didn’t publicize the event. This year, she’s trying to get the word out.

The animal shelter is a nonprofit organization, not a city shelter. Much of their budget comes from donations.

The Arkansas Gives minimum donation of $25 is more than enough to pay for vaccination, microchip and worming of one animal, she said. With $50, an animal can be spayed or neutered. In 2016, the shelter cared for almost 800 dogs and cats with a euthanasia rate of only 2 percent. The national average is 65 percent, Knight-Matney said.

Other local charities participating in Arkansas Gives include Bella Vista Community Television, Bella Vista Historical Society, the I’ll Fly Away Foundation and Oasis of Northwest Arkansas.

Arkansas Gives was designed to support the state’s nonprofits and give them another platform to tell their own story, Lea Whitlock, communications director, said. It’s also a way to focus on giving before year end, when many people are conscious of their coming tax bill.

Small nonprofits don’t always have the technology for online giving, so Arkansas Gives supplies that at least once a year, she said. Although credit card transaction fees are paid out of the donation dollars, the Foundation doesn’t take a cut, she said. Everything but the transaction fee goes to the nonprofit.

Both Village House and the Animal Shelter have donate buttons on their websites. Knight-Matney explained that in spite of the small fee paid for online transactions, they believe the option to donate online is important. Many people, she explained, don’t carry cash or even a checkbook these days. They want to use a card for everything.

While Arkansas Gives has been successful, it was never meant to be permanent, Whitlock said. Between the bonuses and the costs of running the event, the Arkansas Community Foundation spends $500,000 for each one-day event. This will be the last year for Arkansas Gives.

The Foundation is looking at other ideas to help the state’s nonprofits, Whitlock said, but no decision has been made on the next event.