Support Vital Local Causes in Big Share
Today is the Big Share — a 24-hour online event that began at midnight and ends at midnight tonight. Its goal is to raise $180,000 for the nonprofit member organizations of Community Shares. Those 70 groups do a tremendous amount of good work in our community and around Wisconsin. They include REAP Food Group, Project HOME, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, ABC for Health, Rape Crisis Center, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, Sierra Club — and many, many more.
The Big Share is the first of its kind in our area, modeled on successful events in other parts of the country. Today, you can go to the event’s Web page and check out the sub-pages of the social justice and environmental members of Community Shares. There you can learn about the organizations and direct your donation to the group or groups of your choice. Plus, your gift can be stretched — donors have pledged over $20,000 in matching and challenge gifts to the 70 groups, and Community Shares has raised another $10,000 in cash prizes to be given to the nonprofits.
Check out related events today on the Community Shares Facebook page. They include coffee tastings and giveaways at Java Cat (5:30-7:30 a.m.), both of the Willy Street Co-ops (8-10 a.m.) and Capitol Centre Market (3-4:30 p.m.). This evening at 5 p.m., people from the nonprofits will be at Plan B on Williamson Street to celebrate the event and talk with donors.
Crystel Anders, executive director of Community Shares, explained that while workplace giving has been and will continue to be a key part of the organization’s fundraising, the Big Share “now allows us to reach out to new supporters, including young donors who may prefer to connect with causes online, people working from home, and retirees who no longer have the chance to give through the workplace.”
In addition to collecting funds for a plethora of good local causes, the Big Share — which has the Madison Community Foundation as a principal sponsor — is helping its nonprofit members increase their technical savvy by offering training in digital fundraising and communication skills. CSW is partnering with UW-Madison journalism and mass communications students to work with the nonprofits. A grant from the Evjue Foundation, the charitable arm of The Capital Times, is helping support the training.
If you’d rather donate by mail or in person, that’s fine too. You can mail your donation to Community Shares, 612 W. Main St., Suite 200, Madison, WI 57303, or drop it off today between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Capital Times editorial – March 3, 2015
Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/opinion/editorial/support-vital-local-causes-in-today-s-big-share/article_001c3d3c-5307-5c08-9600-77e6739aae91.html#ixzz3TSlQzlLf
