Big Give event to provide boost to nonprofits

Melissa Diers is hoping the force will be with area nonprofit organizations next month.
 
Diers, the Fremont Area Community Foundation executive director, has been preparing for the Fifth Annual Fremont Area Big Give that is scheduled for May 4. The event has a “Star Wars” theme of “May The Fourth Be With You.”
 
“We normally don’t have a theme with our Big Give,” Diers said. “We try to do it on the first Tuesday in May if we can. We thought this year, though, it was perfect with the way it fell on the calendar.”
 
The Big Give is a 24-hour event that is designed to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations that are located within the greater Dodge County Area, as well as those that aren’t but have services here. An example of the latter is the Boy Scouts.
 
“They don’t have an office here, but they definitely have programs here in the greater Dodge County Area,” Diers said.
 
A record 70 nonprofits are participating this year. The event runs from midnight to midnight.
 
“It is an online event, but some folks aren’t comfortable getting online or making gifts online,” Diers said. “We do accept checks and cash donations. For those people that want to do that, they can bring their checks to their favorite nonprofit and that (group) can take it from there. If they’d rather, they can bring it to the Fremont Area Community Foundation, and we can enter the gift for them.”
 
Donating online, however, boosts the chances for the nonprofit to be eligible for prizes.
 
“We have a number of generous sponsors who have committed dollars for the prizes,” Diers said. “For example, between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon, there will be a prize awarded to the nonprofit that raises the most dollars during that time.”
 
Diers said that every year the Big Give has seen an increase of traditional gifts — anywhere from $10 to $50.
 
The 2,103 donations set a record last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous record was set in 2019 and came on the heels of flooding in the area.
 
Diers said she isn’t surprised at the support for the nonprofits, despite challenging times.
 
“We live in a generous community,” she said. “We recognize the value of our nonprofit network. We want to help each other. We are willing to come together and give together when given the opportunity.”
 
Last year the event raised more than $325,000.
 
The pandemic has altered the approach of the nonprofits in preparations for the Big Give.
 
“What was unfortunate last year, and is still to some degree this year, is that we really had to encourage our nonprofits to scale back on public events,” Diers said. “Typically we encourage them to host an event that would help them showcase the work that they do. We discouraged that last year. This year we’ve really encouraged them to think of creative ways to use social media to share their stories, rather than (conduct) in-person events.”
 
While the Big Give is two weeks away, early giving began today. That is designed to allow individuals who are traveling or unavailable on May 4 to contribute.
 
For more information or to donate, go to: fremontareabiggive.org.