Since it’s the season for giving, I hope you’ll indulge me while I make a short pitch for an organization I’m involved with that’s doing a lot of good in the community: GIVE 365.
The idea is simple. You give $365 – a dollar a day – to make our community better. Those daily dollars are pooled with others’ donations. Each year the members choose a theme for the grants and then invite nonprofits to submit applications about a program that fits the theme. That’s GiVE 365 in a nutshell.
Through the end of December, you’ve got a chance to triple your gift because of two matching gift challenges. The group is more than halfway to its goal of getting 100 members needed to get the maximum match.
Here’s a link to a video from one nonprofit that received a grant in 2011.
In GIVE 365’s first year, grants went to organizations working to build community – in whatever way the organization members defined it. One grant went to a group building skateboard ramps for inner-city kids (Splinter Youth, Inc.). Another helped pay for free concerts at Overton Park. Another helped low-income women trying to re-enter the workforce (Dress for Success).
The next year, the focus was self-sufficiency. This past year, the grants went to organizations helping to improve high school and college graduation rates.
GIVE 365 now has 261 members, and growing. The organization has given $135,000 in grants to 23 organizations in its first three years.
Here’s how to get involved or get more info.
