Originally published in the Winter 2019 issue of Spoke+Blossom

It’s the season for giving, and Grand Valley Gives Day is making it easy to support local nonprofits this holiday season.

Grand Valley Gives Day is part of a statewide movement to celebrate and increase local philanthropy through online giving. For a 24-hour period on December 10, community members are encouraged to donate to local nonprofits of their choice through ColoradoGives.org. The goal is to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in the 24-hour span. This year, 39 local groups are participating in the Grand Valley.

“Colorado Gives Day is the state-wide organized effort for donors to be able to give to any Colorado nonprofit that is registered on the Colorado Gives Day site. The Grand Valley Gives Coalition is a group of nonprofits here in Mesa County that have organized together in order to promote Colorado Gives Day as a collaboration,” says Tedi Gillespie, grants and community outreach director at Western Colorado Community Foundation.

The valley’s online donation drive began in 2012 as part of Colorado Gives Day, which was created by the Community First Foundation through FirstBank. Since then, the movement has grown into a yearly holiday of giving in the valley. ColoradoGives.org is the official online donation website, and all donations made through the site will be boosted by the Colorado Gives Day $1.5 Million Incentive Fund and count toward prizes for nonprofits.

This year, participating local nonprofits include organizations for education, veterans, public media, shelter pets, the homeless, children, arts, health, local lands and more.

“It’s really a wide spectrum across the board. It’s animal service organizations, lots of organizations that are helping and working with kids, feeding kids, shelters — everything from Kids Aid to the organizations that are impacting housing, like Habitat for Humanity. There are health organizations like HopeWest and Marillac, environmental organizations like Colorado Canyons Association, and veteran-serving organizations like Operation Revamp,” Gillespie says. “If you can think of a nonprofit sector in the valley, it’s probably represented as part of Grand Valley Gives.”

The goal is to raise at least $220,000 for local organizations on December 10.

“Give where you live! This is just a great opportunity. It’s at year-end; it’s during the giving season. Local nonprofits are going to benefit directly, and it’s an easy way to give,” Gillespie says. “You can go on the website and pick any number of organizations and make your donation right there.”

All donations made for Grand Valley Gives Day are tax deductible and go directly to local nonprofits. Donations can be scheduled in advance or made on December 10 through ColoradoGives.org. Follow Grand Valley Gives on Facebook for more information.