season of caring

MAKE HOLIDAY SHOPPING MORE MEANINGFUL with the FM Area Foundation Caring Catalog

How do you show you care?

Perhaps you show you care by taking a friend out for coffee, hosting and attending holiday gatherings, and exchanging gifts with loved ones. What if you could show how much you care for your entire community this holiday season? Now, with the Caring Catalog you can do just that.

The FM Area Foundation’s Caring Catalog is an online, crowdfunding platform that makes giving easy and effective. It connects you to many local charities through just one link. This year, the Caring Catalog runs November 22 through December 31 and features 86 local nonprofits. You can browse the Caring Catalog from the comfort of your own home and make your holiday shopping more meaningful by supporting nonprofit organizations in the areas of basic human needs, the arts, education and community building. All organizations are based in either Cass County, North Dakota, or Clay County, Minnesota, so when you give, your dollars will go to work right here in our community.

For nearly sixty years, the FM Area Foundation, your local community foundation, has been providing philanthropic services to people of this region. The Foundation manages and stewards $80 million in permanent, endowed assets. Charitable funds have been established throughout the years by families, individuals and businesses wanting to make a lasting impact.

“The FM Area Foundation started with a $100 donation in 1960 and, today, we have given away $48 million in grants to nonprofits and scholarships to students. As a public community foundation, we were built on the idea every donation matters, and together, we can accomplish more,” says Tim Beaton, executive director of the FM Area Foundation.

“We are a foundation for everyone who has a desire to invest in our community. Not everyone has the means to set up their own private foundation, but everyone can give to their community foundation to help make a difference.”

The Caring Catalog is a tool designed around a similar concept — many people contributing to make a collective impact.

Gifts made through the Caring Catalog are tax-deductible. Credit card fees are covered by the FM Area Foundation, so 100 percent of your donation goes to the participating nonprofits. ››

“All the charities have specific requests for what they are raising money for this time of year. There are so many wonderful projects to give to, and everyone can find a project to support,” Beaton says.

Requests range from the YWCA seeking funding to provide household items to women escaping domestic violence, to CCRI wanting to purchase smart technology so people with disabilities can live independently, to the Kicks Band looking to bring unique jazz experiences to area students.

“Each organization is requesting $5,000 or less for their unique programs and projects through the Caring Catalog. That means, if our community can come together and raise $400,400 between November 22 and the end of the year, we will fully fund every single Caring Catalog project request,” says Beaton. “Think of how many people will be served in our community because of your generosity.”

There are also incentives for giving. Every Monday, starting November 25, is FundayMonday, which means if you give to an organization on a Monday, that organization will be entered in a drawing for a $1,000 to put toward their fundraising goal. The FundayMonday prizes are generously sponsored by businesses and individuals. There will also be surprise incentives given away on #GivingTuesday, an international day of giving that takes place every year the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, #GivingTuesday is December 3.

“As the community foundation, we provide services, such as endowment and legacy giving, tax credits, scholarship and donor advised funds. The Caring Catalog is just one more way we hope to encourage the spirit of giving in the communities we serve,” says Beaton.

To the right is one of the 86 Caring Catalog requests.

Down Home

Requesting: $5,000 Christmas Tree Package

Give the gift of Christmas for families transitioning out of homelessness this year! Families served by Down Home will receive a Christmas Tree Package, which includes a tree, lights, tree skirt, tree topper, extension cord, ornaments and a container for the storage.

Many of the families Down Home has served have never had a Christmas tree. Imagine the faces of their children decorating and enjoying a Christmas tree this year. Christmas Tree Packages will be given to families at Down Home's annual Christmas party.

Founded in November 2017, Down Home's mission is to completely furnish and decorate homes for families transitioning from homelessness into permanent housing. Down Home turns an empty space into a home to embrace, feel secure, and empower families to succeed and ultimately break the cycle of homelessness. To date, Down Home has served 45 families impacting 140 lives in our community.

Every $250 raised will provide a Christmas Tree Package for a family served by Down Home who transitioned out of homelessness in 2019.