Holiday Campaign 2018 is Open for Business!

The fourth annual Santa Cruz Gives holiday giving campaign is now live at SantaCruzGives.org. Fundraising ends right before your Champagne or Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Juice toast at midnight, December 31, 2018.

Check out the 33 nonprofits and their Big Ideas for 2019 that have been selected for the first (and only that we know of) crowdsourcing website that fundraises for various local organizations countywide.

There’s exciting news, too! Community Foundation Santa Cruz County joined Santa Cruz Gives as a sponsor this season with a $20,000 gift that will be granted in the form of matching funds. This means that the more your favorite nonprofits raise, the more they will receive in matching funds.

The nonprofits are also eligible for three special awards: Most Donors Overall, Most Donors Under 35 years old, and Most Innovative Program. The organizations receive individual donations from the public, plus the following:

Matching funds total $27,000
(amount per nonprofit based on percentage of total funds raised)

Awards total $3,000
($1,000 to each of three nonprofits in the categories named above)

“In the past, only large national organizations had a tool like this at their disposal. Santa Cruz Gives puts this tool into the hands of local people,” said Karen Delaney, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County. “Santa Cruz Gives is the gold standard for giving in this community, in my opinion.”

The website makes it easy to browse the various groups and give using the shopping cart. In 2017, most donors gave to an average of four nonprofits each, and one donor gave to all 33!

The leaderboard makes it easy to track your chosen organizations’ progress, and whether they might place first to win an award for most donors or most donors under 35. Last year, a few got a bit competitive in the run-up to New Year’s Eve and rallied their supporters to push them over the finish line for a late night race!

Good Times and the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County present this annual program, along with our new nonprofit partner Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, and these generous business sponsors: Santa Cruz County Bank, Wynn Capital Management, and Oswald (the restaurant!). A big thanks to them for giving back.

Any size contribution adds to a stronger community this holiday season. Please join us.