12/11/2024

Friends of the Hubbard Lake Center Wins the Giving Tuesday Golden Goose

ALPENA – 2024 marks a full decade that the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) has provided a platform for local nonprofits to participate in the global Giving Tuesday movement. This year, 60 nonprofit organizations participated in CFNEM’s Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan event to raise a grand total of $350,837 on December 3. The Community Foundation held a special event on December 11 to announce the final totals, award the Giving Tuesday Golden Goose, and celebrate with participants.

“We know our communities are generous, and the past ten years of hosting this campaign has really been a shining example of our region’s giving spirit,” said CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty. “All of our local nonprofits work hard all year long, and the support showed on Giving Tuesday for that work is incredible. Everyone who donated on Giving Tuesday should take pride in knowing they are part of something bigger than themselves and that they have made an impact.”

Giving Tuesday follows the widely recognized shopping events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, offering a dedicated day for charitable giving as the holiday season kicks off. The hope for this worldwide movement is that people will set aside a few minutes, and perhaps some shopping money, to give back to their community through the charities and causes they support.

Sixty nonprofits from Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, and Presque Isle Counties participated in the event through the Community Foundation and its three affiliate foundations, which provided an online platform, marketing tools and all recording efforts, free of charge to the participating organizations. Every penny of each donation received went directly to the organization chosen by the donor.

Grant, the Giving Tuesday Golden Goose, who was unveiled in 2017, was presented to Friends of the Hubbard Lake Center for raising the most funds ($38,790) during the 24-hour giving event. Funds raised on Giving Tuesday will help the organization with construction and furnishing of the new library and community center in Hubbard Lake. The official groundbreaking took place this past spring and construction is underway.

The top 20 organizations in this year’s campaign are as follows:

The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan is a charitable organization committed to providing people who care about the future of our area with unique and effective ways of supporting their community now, and for generations to come. Its three affiliate foundations include Iosco County Community Foundation, North Central Michigan Community Foundation, and Straits Area Community Foundation. Led by a volunteer board of local citizens, the foundation oversees a group of permanently endowed funds from a wide range of donors. Gifts of all sizes from individuals, families, businesses, and agencies are invested in a balanced, well-managed portfolio to build endowments, enabling support for students and local community nonprofits now and forever.

(Pictured above: CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty, Ann Gonsler, CFNEM Development/Marketing Director Christine Hitch, and Julie Mathewson. Ann and Julie attended to represent Friends of the Hubbard Lake Center.)

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