San Bernardino County, November 4, 2013 – In another bid to foster a culture of philanthropy, the County Board of Supervisors and The Community Foundation are promoting “Give BIG San Bernardino County,” a one-day online giving campaign to benefit 150 nonprofits. The 24-hour web-a-thon is slated for May 8, 2014. Leaders and volunteers will join forces to raise $300,000 in new donations, but they’ll also compete to raise the most money and find new donors, for a chance to win prizes and matching grants. Last year, The Community Foundation conducted the first major online giving campaign in the Inland Empire for the City of Riverside, generating more than $200,000 for nonprofits in that area.
The campaign also trains nonprofits to continue their marketing and fundraising efforts in the future – especially through social media like Facebook and Twitter. To that end, a Give BIG subcommittee has been formed in Big Bear, consisting of Liz Harris, Lisa Patterson and Michael Perry. During the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo & Honors Lunch, they’ll present a workshop to local charities. The workshop will be on November 13th from 8–9:30am at Northwoods Resort. To register, call Pam Scannell at (909) 866-4607 or register online.
The Give BIG campaign follows a growing trend of 24-hour online and technology- based fund-raising efforts. Charities like the American Red Cross have seen success with text-based donation drives. Other organizations are using websites like gofundme.com to help raise money for projects.
San Bernardino County Supervisor James Ramos, who spearheaded our County’s involvement in Give BIG, said, “We hope that Give BIG will not only attract donors who regularly contribute to our local organizations, but will inspire young, new donors to get involved and promote civic engagement in their community.”
Having a successful non-profit sector is key to achieving the Countywide Vision— www.sbcounty.gov/vision. ,but nonprofit agencies in San Bernardino County are severely underfunded and struggling to provide critical services. A study by the James Irvine Foundation reports that “lack of capacity is the region’s key non-profit issue.”
