A quiet request to GiveBIG

If you support any nonprofits in the Puget Sound area – heck if you ever even thought of supporting a nonprofit in the region – you’ve probably been deluged with messages from organizations to participate in the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG effort on Wednesday, May 2.

And that’s a good thing: More awareness about philanthropy helps create more philanthropic activity. It’s the “if you build it, they will come” theory.

You can give to us on GiveBIG Day by going to our page on the website between midnight and midnight on May 2 and making a contribution.

We applaud Seattle Foundation for providing this incredible venue to talk about, and encourage, giving. And we thank them for developing the “stretch pool,” money that gets allocated to participating nonprofits on the basis of how much they bring in through their Seattle Foundation webpage on the 24-hour GiveBIG.

If you are already a Solid Ground donor, this is a great way to make your regular gift. If you are unable to come to our annual luncheon on May 11, you can make your “lunch gift” through GiveBIG. If you are on our email list, we’ll send you a message closer to the day to remind you about this opportunity.

If you’ve not yet contributed to Solid Ground, this is a great way to start. It’s a community-wide celebration of giving, and what better way than to extend your philanthropic circle to include us?!

One thing you should not expect from Solid Ground, however, is a ton of over-the-top hoopla about this event. We are not making a video, sending in the clowns, or sponsoring hydro racers. We know every human service, animal welfare, environmental, etc. agency in town is already screaming about GiveBIG, and we didn’t want to add to the noise.

We just wanted to quietly remind you that Solid Ground is at the GiveBIG party, and we hope to see you there.

What would it be like to change the world in one day?

How would it feel to focus all of our community’s goodwill through a single historic philanthropic effort to support basic human services, arts and culture, education, the environment and other areas?

Let’s find out what happens when we all giveBIG together!

GiveBIG is The Seattle Foundation’s attempt to create the biggest charitable giving day in the history of King County!

June 23 is giveBIG day. The Foundation is asking people to make credit card gifts through their website between 7am and 12 midnight.

You can designate your gift to any of the nonprofit organizations that has a profile (like Solid Ground!). A $500,000 match pool will be distributed proportionally to all participating agencies. The amount of a nonprofit organization’s share of the pool will be based on the percentage of donations the nonprofit receives of the total online contributions made through the site.

To direct your gift to Solid Ground, go to our page on The Seattle Foundation’s website.

But remember to do it ON JUNE 23rd so that your gift is eligible for the match!

The giveBIG idea has been very successful in other cities around the country, in part because the community-wide enthusiasm entices folks who are not already philanthropists to get involved.

We want to see The Seattle Foundation’s giveBIG exceed their wildest dreams! We are asking you to help by giving and by letting others know about this unique opportunity. So post something on your Facebook page, send an email to friends, or write a note on your blog about giveBIG!

It would be great to designate your gifts to Solid Ground by going through our page. But you can also go to The Seattle Foundation’s homepage and search for other participating nonprofits.

Just remember, giveBIG is June23rd!