Community Thrives: APCC, Lower Cape TV part of Gannett crowdsource fundraising program

Naomi Ludlow and Anne Brennan, Cape Cod Times
·4 min read

Two Cape Cod organizations looking to better their communities are now fundraising until Aug. 12 as a part of the Gannett Foundation’s A Community Thrives crowdfunding and grant program.

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod and Lower Cape TV have one month to raise money through the online platform Mightycause to reach a minimum of $3,000 or $6,000, depending on the group’s operating budget, in order to qualify as a grant recipient.

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Users can donate to the Cape organizations of their choice through the site by filtering the cause type, location and category. Donors have the opportunity to help APCC monitor ponds for cyanobacteria and determine toxicity levels, and can help make the Lower Cape TV building and programming more accessible.

The organizations will get to keep the money they raise, but top projects also will qualify for additional grants to support their change-making ideas. Top fundraisers will receive a total $200,000 in grants and all eligible organizations will qualify for consideration of the National Project and Local Operating grants.

Signs warn of the dangers at Santuit Pond where a bloom of cyanobacteria closed the pond to swimming in July 2021. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times
Signs warn of the dangers at Santuit Pond where a bloom of cyanobacteria closed the pond to swimming in July 2021. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times

APCC seeks funds for cyanobacteria monitor program

APCC has operated a cyanobacteria monitoring program for the past few years, which includes volunteers who regularly take water samples in 150 ponds across the Cape, APCC Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb said. The water samples are then tested for cyanobacteria and the results are shared with the public.

Cyanobacteria in certain concentrations are toxic to humans and wildlife. It can cause anything from skin irritation to neurological problems in humans. Grant money would help underwrite the cost of analyzing water samples and other costs associated with the program, Gottlieb said.

Andrew Gottlieb
Andrew Gottlieb

More recently, water samples that have a high risk of toxicity are sent for further analysis, he said. The practice enables the nonprofit to provide more precise information to the public about the health and safety of Cape ponds.

Lower Cape TV seeks funds to make building, programming accessible

Lower Cape TV is in the process of converting its new Namskaket Road, Orleans, building into a studio. Donations and grant money will be used to make the building accessible to people of all abilities and to underwrite closed and open captioning on programs, Executive Director Teresa Martin said.

Open and closed captioning is important, she said, because the demographics of Lower Cape and what is known about hearing loss patterns, statistically more than a quarter of the population has hearing loss that prevents them from consuming information auditorially.

Teresa Martin
Teresa Martin

Beyond the Cape Cod nonprofits, five other Massachusetts organizations qualified for the crowdsourcing phase of the program adding to the more than 700 nonprofits nationwide that qualified. Collectively they seek to raise $2 million.

Gannett Foundation contributed more than $17M to community nonprofits

“A Community Thrives has been an excellent way for Gannett to leverage its platforms to raise attention and funds for participating nonprofit organizations," said Sue Madden, director of the Gannett Foundation. "Over the past five years, the program has contributed more than $17 million to community building projects and local operating expenses of service organizations across the country.”

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In 2020, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod received a $15,000 grant for its cyanobacteria-monitoring program. The association put an additional $7,000 toward the program above the grant amount that year. Two other Cape Cod nonprofits were each awarded $5,000 that year.

This is the first year Lower Cape TV has applied for the Community Thrives grant program.

Elizabeth York is executive director of the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in Hyannis. In 2020, the museum received a $5,000 grant through A Community Thrives to support marine biology summer program for children.
Elizabeth York is executive director of the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in Hyannis. In 2020, the museum received a $5,000 grant through A Community Thrives to support marine biology summer program for children.

National grants strengthened nonprofits nationwide

One of last year’s $50,000 grant recipients, Ciudad Nueva Community Outreach, was one of 16 organizations to receive a National Project Grant. The group was able to support their program’s expansion by 10%, according to A Community Thrives website.

With the help of A Community Thrives program, nonprofits are able to bring community-improvement ideas to life.

In addition to funding, A Community Thrives raises the visibility of participating organizations with national and local media coverage and exposes the organizations’ missions to new potential donors.

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“This is a national program with equal opportunity for small and nascent organizations and well-established organizations alike. Building community through connections and helping communities thrive are key program drivers,” Madden said.

To learn about the 2022 A Community Thrives participating organizations and to make donations, visit acommunitythrives.mightycause.com.

Contact Anne Brennan at abrennan@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnneBrennanCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Community Thrives: Two Cape Cod nonprofits part of Gannett fundraising