Give!Local fundraising drive begins

WNC's 2016 Give!Local guide

Give!Local returns Nov. 1, featuring 47 local nonprofits who are campaigning for financial support via Give!Local’s one-stop, online, donation platform. Festivities on Nov. 2 will formally kick off this two-month, end-of-year donation drive with a free party at Highland Brewing in Asheville, celebrating the participating nonprofits.

This is Give!Local’s second year. Last year, the campaign raised over $37,000 for 30 local nonprofits.

“Give!Local’s fund drive runs all November and December, ending Dec. 31 at midnight,” says Susan Hutchinson, campaign director. This year’s goal is $100,000.

The Give!Local website makes it quick and easy to give a little or a lot to multiple causes via one online visit, she noted. “Using a simple online shopping cart, you pick and choose which nonprofits you like, and then you give them any amount you want, from $1 up. There’s just one credit card transaction and you’re done.”

Give!Local makes a point of rewarding modest philanthropy (the kind people generally don’t report on their taxes). Thanks to participating local businesses, donors who give $20 or more get a fun voucher book for freebies and discounts from local businesses. Bigger donations earn additional rewards (all the way up to gift baskets delivered to the donors’ doorsteps). Give!Local also delivers drama and excitement, too: On select “Big Give Days,” there are drawings for featured prizes (for example, last year, one donor received a $500 gift certificate from Ski Country Sports).

Right off the bat, this year, the first Big Give Week features a home improvement themed prize package which includes: a Green Gauge home assessment from the Green Building Council, $100 worth of cleaning from Green Home Cleaning, a$50 gift certificate for the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a pass to Organic Growers School’s spring conference, and a dog or cat adoption package from Asheville Humane Society (only if you really want it).

The basic rundown

The mission: Raise funds and awareness for 47 worthy local nonprofits that make a big difference where we live. Make giving simple and fun, no matter how small or large the gift.

The method: Offer contributors hundreds of fun, valuable incentives that are provided by dozens of area businesses. Make giving easy — with a simple online shopping-cart system that allows gifts from $2 to $20,000, whether to just one or to many nonprofits.

The party: Come celebrate and get to know the folks behind the 47 participating Give!Local nonprofits — it’s their party! The party features prizes, theatrics, music, interactive activities for all ages. It’s free and open to all who are interested in this fabulous community. Have an awesome time!

When: Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 6-9:30 p.m.

Where: Highland Brewing

Details: Admission is free. Kids and adults invited.

Festivities will include:

  • The official launch of Give!Local and its website.
  • The presentation of the Give!Local Julian Award to three young professionals doing outstanding work for nonprofits.
  • Interactive activities for people of all ages presented by the 47 honored nonprofits.
  • Fabulous prizes!
  • Music by the students of Asheville Music School and Girls Rock Asheville.

Can’t come? Your virtual participation is welcome and encouraged through the website! Visit givelocalguide.org.

How to participate in Give!Local

  1. Check out the 47 participating nonprofits above and learn about their missions and how they are helping make this a great community.
  2. Go to givelocalguide.org and create an account.
  3. Decide which nonprofits you want to give to, and how much, from $1 up to as much as you like. The site’s shopping cart will total what you’re giving to each nonprofit, allowing you to go back and adjust your amounts before you check out.
  4. Check out and pay with a credit card.
  5. You’re done! If you donate $20 or more, you’ll receive an incentive packet in the mail in January–unless you give $1000 or more, in which case, we will hand-deliver a bag of goodies to your home or business.

Check online for opportunities, offers, and updates!

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