Local News

BY JEANNE HOWARD

 Jeanne Howard founded Santa Cruz Gives on behalf of Good Times.

Ecology Action, their Big Idea for 2023: Youth Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Education for All

Many donors are giving throughout the year as well as during the “Gives” campaign, and many have become volunteers.

Thanks to you — residents of Santa Cruz County — Santa Cruz Gives raised more than $1.1 million for a wide variety of local nonprofits during the winter holidays last year, and we’re gearing up to launch this year’s campaign. It runs from November 16-December 31.

The projects that will be presented are the most diverse yet, and they cover every area of the County. Whatever you like to support, you’ll find it at SantaCruzGives. org: education and vocational training, the environment, homelessness, mental wellness, the disabled, the arts, youth, seniors, animals, local news, LGBTQ+, and more.

Donations increased by 64.4% in 2021 over 2020 — and have increased just as dramatically or more every year since the campaign was founded in 2015. Reports from nonprofit participants demonstrate just what we hoped would happen with Santa Cruz Gives:

Because of the online platform and the public exposure that nonprofits gain through the Santa Cruz Gives campaign — which are beyond what any could afford or achieve on their own — the ripple effect is larger than the campaign itself in terms of stimulating fundraising countywide. Many donors are giving throughout the year as well as during the “Gives” campaign, and many have become volunteers. It wasn’t easy to learn about the nonprofits toiling away to improve YOUR neighborhood until SantaCruzGives.org put them all on one convenient site. Each has its own page that succinctly describes what they do. So much of their work is about preventing problems or mitigating problems that it’s often not noticed out in the real world that they make safer, more equal, more tolerant, more pleasant, or perhaps cleaner community.

Another heartwarming result is that many of these organizations had little contact with one another prior to SC Gives. We gather in two annual meetings where they get to meet, and many are now collaborating — sharing ideas and learning from one another. Santa Cruz Gives proves every year that a rising tide does lift all boats.

No salaries, rent or basic overhead is paid by donations, so your gifts are efficient. And keep in mind that we all benefit from what we give. Santa Cruz Gives is a gamechanger for countywide fundraising, so please join in to keep the momentum going!

Three big heart emojis to 2022 sponsors (more will be confirmed by mid-November):

Good Times, The Volunteer Center of SCC, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, The Applewood Fund, The Joe Collins Fund, Santa Cruz County Bank, Wynn Capital Management, The Pajaronian, and the Press Banner.

Donate at SantaCruzGives.org | November 16, 2022 – December 31, 2022

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