11/19/2018

To help raise awareness and support of many of those organizations who work year round to improve the quality of life for our local communities, the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) and its affiliate foundations, including the Straits Area Community Foundation (SACF) will help over 55 local nonprofits participate in Giving Tuesday on November 27, 2018. Five of those nonprofits and two featured SACF funds serve Cheboygan County and Mackinaw City.

“Last year, we were absolutely astounded when over $120,000 was raised for local nonprofits in just 24 hours,” said CFNEM Executive Director Patrick Heraghty. “This is our fourth year of hosting Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan, with just over $30,000 raised in 2015, and over $41,000 in 2016. We know that our region is full of incredibly generous people, and we hope they’ll show up online on November 27 to make this year another successful year for the nonprofits in our service area.”

Although this will be the Community Foundation’s fourth year leading the event here in northeast Michigan, Giving Tuesday as a global day of giving is now in its seventh year. Meant to harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to celebrate generosity worldwide, the 24-hour giving event is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.). It follows the widely recognized shopping events, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, to kick-off the holiday giving season. The hope is that people will set aside a few minutes from holiday shopping to give back to their community through the charities and causes they support.

“We are really excited that out of the 55 nonprofits participating this year, 29 of those are organizations that have not previously been part of Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan,” said Christine Hitch, CFNEM Marketing Communications and Affiliate Director. “You’ll definitely see many organizations that have participated previously as well. And one new thing this year is that donors will be able to see what their donations will be used for, particularly if they will be used for a certain program or project.”

Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Brad Somers says he and his staff were overwhelmed last year by the more than $8,000 in donations received in support of the area’s youth and what his organization does.

“We were wiping away tears from our faces, in awe,” said Somers. “We work in a sometimes thankless environment, and to have the community stand behind us like that on Giving Tuesday brought about so many emotions of joy and thankfulness!”

To help local nonprofits participate in Giving Tuesday, CFNEM and its affiliates will provide the technical infrastructure through its website and social media to showcase and manage donations for over 55 nonprofits that meet IRS tax requirements to operate as a nonprofit, all at no cost to the organization. Donors will be able to visit www.sacf.net on Giving Tuesday and make donations to any or all of these nonprofits.

In 2017, Grant the Giving Tuesday Golden Goose was introduced as a fun way to bolster some friendly competition between nonprofits. Grant is awarded to the nonprofit raising the most money on Giving Tuesday, and went last year to the Northeast Michigan Women’s Giving Circle. Grant’s residency is up for grabs in 2018.

“Grant the Golden Goose symbolizes the generosity of Northeast Michigan. Every nonprofit organization participating in the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan’s Giving Tuesday campaign would love the honor of having Grant reside at their institution for the year,” said Christine Witulski, Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan Executive Director. “He serves as a daily reminder of just how much our community values and supports the work we do.  Although we would all love winning Grant, we are all winners thanks to the generous support of our community!”

Nonprofits serving Cheboygan County and Mackinaw City that are participating in the 2018 Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan event are:

Beginning at 12:00 a.m. on November 27, and for the next 24-hours, individuals and businesses throughout northeast Michigan will have a unique opportunity to support local nonprofits of their choice that are participating in the event, with prizes given throughout the day for such things as the 100^th gift, the donation that helps exceed last year’s numbers, etc.  The public will be able to monitor the total amount donated online throughout the day. The total amount donated to each organization will be announced at an event shortly after Giving Tuesday with participating nonprofits at the Community Foundation headquarters.

“This is a great opportunity for nonprofits to mobilize their supporters and rally them around their organization,” emphasized Heraghty. “The more enthusiastically they promote their nonprofit for Giving Tuesday and utilize the tools we give them, particularly through social media, the more donations they are likely to receive.”

Heraghty notes that while Giving Tuesday Northeast Michigan is primarily an online giving event, donors are welcome to drop off checks at the CFNEM offices at 100 N. Ripley, Suite F, in Alpena. Checks must be dropped off on November 27 in order to be counted as a Giving Tuesday donation.

To learn more about northeast Michigan’s participation in Giving Tuesday, or to join in the celebration of giving, please visit: