Local foundations can have profound impact in the regions they serve in various ways.
Sometimes the impact of that transformative work is seen over years. Other times, foundations can help the communities they serve in mere hours.
For a case of the latter, look to Erie, Pennsylvania. And specifically, look today, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.
Today, in Erie, for the 13th year in a row, the Erie Community Foundation is hosting Erie Gives Day, a single day when donations can make a world of difference for some 470 nonprofits.
For those outside of, or new to, the Erie area, Erie Gives is a 12-hour-long campaign that raises both awareness of and funds for area nonprofits. Donations can, of course, be made year-round, but today’s receive an extra injection of cash through a percentage match from a pool of funds supplied by corporate sponsors to the Erie Community Foundation.
Last year, the event raised over $8 million for 467 nonprofits through 11,234 donations. Over its 12 years so far, it’s raised over $48 million for area nonprofits.
I share this because, I think this is an excellent model with a proven record of success to bolster the work of nonprofits throughout an area in a span of just 12 hours. I also share it because, like in years past, I will be donating to several nonprofits. And also like in years past, the Erie Reader, the independent, alternative publication where I serve as a Contributor Editor, has put together its annual Erie Reader Gives, a list of nonprofits some of the Reader’s editors and contributors wish to spotlight.
It's a great list of suggestions — and many more nonprofits can benefit from your generosity.
My suggestion is L’Arche Erie, a space where people with and without intellectual and development disabilities can share life together (with the bonus of giving to L'Arche USA, which I explain in that Reader write-up).
I am also using the GiveGab nonprofit giving platform for the first time.
Of the 470-plus nonprofits, I am partial to L'Arche Erie, because I am the chair of the board of directors. I am also partial to the Jefferson Educational Society, which is also on the list of nonprofits you can donate to, given my employment there.
No matter where you give, if you can, giving makes a difference no matter the amount.
Two years ago, I had a conversation with Karen Bilowith. At that time, she was in the process of leaving her tenure of President and CEO of the Idaho Community Foundation to move to Erie where she’d become the next President and CEO of the Erie Community Foundation. We discussed her experience and her vision for what was lying ahead. For a look into what’s happened since she’s taken the helm in 2021, and more about Erie Gives Day, Karen offers insight in a column for the Erie Times-News here.
Three other examples of transformative work starting at the local level and stemming up that I’ll close with: the Arras Foundation, in Lancaster, South Carolina, which I wrote about here; a conversation I had with the team at the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation in northwest Ohio here; and a panel discussion that included Jason Neises of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque in Iowa for the JES’s Global Summit here.
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