3:43 a.m. CST
Thursday, February 2nd, is Alabama Gives Day, an opportunity to support your favorite charity, or even find a new one.
About a thousand non-profit organizations have signed up to the Alabama Gives Day website, including local groups like The Foundation for Marshall Medical Centers, Marshall County RSVP, and Hospice of Marshall County.
On February 2nd, from midnight to 11:59pm, Alabamians can use a dedicated online giving portal atwww.alabamagivesday.org where they can make a gift to their favorite nonprofit.
You may give to any of the local non-profits by visitingwww.alabamagivesday.org and searching by zip code -35976 or 35950 for most local groups.
“This is a unique opportunity for the Foundation for Marshall Medical Centers and all other non-profit groups in Marshall County,” says Andrea Oliver, director of the Foundation for Marshall Medical Centers. “Never before has an event of this magnitude taken place in our state and we are hopeful to see great feedback and participation from our already engaged community.”
The Gives Day movement began three years ago in Minnesota as a means to increase philanthropy and help grow the individual donor base of nonprofits. According to organizers in Minnesota, Colorado, North Texas, Pittsburgh, Seattle and other communities with a Gives Day, a key ingredient to their success has been through the support of the local media.
“Rarely do local TV, radio and newspaper groups have an opportunity to make such a large impact on behalf of dozens of nonprofits in their local communities in just one day,” said Russell A. Jackson, Gives Day Manager for Alabama. “Gives Day certainly makes for an interesting news story but it’s more than that. This is a day to help fuel the nonprofits that make our state such a great place to live and to help jumpstart their 2012.”
“Connecting individual donors to nonprofits, while also promoting the safety and ease of online giving, is critical to helping our nonprofits be sustainable,” said John Stone, President and CEO for the Alabama Association of Nonprofits.
"We always say during tough economic times, the needs of non-profits don't go down during a recession. They go up because more clients need more services," Stone said.
To learn more visitwww.alabamagivesday.org
