By Tracy Pope
Community Foundation serving
Southwest Colorado
The Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado spearheads a regional effort to increase local participation in Colorado Gives Day, Dec. 8. Beginning this week, donors may schedule their donations through swcogives.org and support local nonprofits with an online donation.
“We are hearing some predictions that year-end charitable giving is expected to decline this year,” said Briggen Wrinkle, executive director of the Community Foundation. “However, we believe our local donors will step up, dig deep and help nonprofits finish 2020 on a bright note. We have seen a tremendous amount of generosity in response to the needs presented by the pandemic, and we expect that impressive level of giving to grow in support of Giving Tuesday, Colorado Gives Day and year-end appeals.”
Southwest Colorado Gives is a safe, secure and easy platform for donors to contribute online to local nonprofits. Last year on Colorado Gives Day $40 million was donated statewide, with $295,283 going to nonprofits in our five-county region. The regional platform, swcogives.org, features more than 85 nonprofits and this year the local giving goal is to exceed $300,000.
Eleven nonprofits on the site are located in Archuleta County: Aspire, Chimney Rock Interpretive Association, Habitat for Humanity of Archuleta County, Humane Society of Pagosa Springs, Loaves and Fishes, Rise Above Violence, Ruby Sisson Library Foundation, Seeds of Learning, Sonlight Adventures, Thingamajig Theatre Company and Vets for Vets.
“Many people are hurting this year, physically, mentally and financially,” said Wrinkle. “Our local nonprofits are working hard to meet the needs of our community. For those of us who have not been impacted financially, we hope to see neighbors helping neighbors, and we invite those who are able, to give where they live.”
Wrinkle added, “The Community Foundation encourages charitable giving that keeps our dollars local. Southwest Colorado Gives Day is an important opportunity for donors in our region to support the nonprofits that are making our communities a better place to live. The site, swcogives.org, offers donors a well-vetted array of nonprofits to choose from to support causes they care about, from animal protection to human services to youth organizations.”
This is the fourth year the Community Foundation has acted as a Regional Champion, seeing nonprofit participation triple across southwest Colorado and donations to our region double. Locally, First Southwest Bank, La Plata Electric Association and the Ballantine Family Fund provide sponsorship and grant dollars in support of our regional nonprofits, helping to maximize the success of Southwest Colorado Gives Day.
For more information,visit www.swcogives.org or call 375-5807.
