OPINION: Chris Kelly Opinion: "NEPA Gives" lends small nonprofits a big boost
May 31—For a homeless teen or a child growing up in a violent, hopeless household, 24 hours is an eternity.
Single mothers struggling to feed their children, ex-prisoners stumbling back to society and elderly shut-ins starved for connection experience time as a trial. It's hard to receive a new day as a gift when it's so full of what you don't have.
For 24 hours beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday and ending at 7 p.m. on Friday, the Scranton Area Community Foundation, Carbon County Community Foundation, Luzerne Foundation, Greater Pike Community Foundation, and Wayne County Community Foundation and other community sponsors will pull together for the fourth annual "NEPA Gives" drive.
The innovative fundraiser provides a platform for nonprofits of all sizes and missions to solicit donations from a common audience. Incentives that match or multiply individual donations supercharge the event's impact on charities that lack large budgets and public relations staff.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in matching funds and prizes pledged by businesses and sponsors amplify donations. In its first three years, "NEPA Gives" raised nearly $3 million for hundreds of area nonprofits.
"It's the largest regional giving day in Northeast Pennsylvania," Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO Laura Ducceschi said Tuesday. "Every year, we try to make it larger and more impactful. We're trying to expand the definition of what philanthropy is."
This year's event features more than 250 nonprofits from across eight counties. "NEPA Gives" kicks off with a celebration at Rodano's on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. A closing ceremony at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday.
The "NEPA Gives" approach takes networking to another level. Along with funding, nonprofits gain exposure and training in fundraising strategies. In that respect, "NEPA Gives" serves as a "charity incubator."
"We know how hard they have to work to raise funds," Ducceschi said. The "NEPA Gives" platform cuts costs to individual nonprofits.
"For every $100 raised, the average cost to the nonprofit is $2.36," Ducceschi said.
At www.nepagives.org, donors can select and donate to nonprofits ranging from social services charities such as Friends of the Poor, Bread Basket of NEPA and NEPA Youth Shelter to arts and humanities groups such as Artists for Art, the Dietrich Theater and the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. Donate to animal rescues or student scholarships. If there's a cause dear to your heart, you'll find it represented at nepagives.org.
"They've really stepped up their game," Maureen Maher-Gray said of the "NEPA Gives" network. The founder and executive director of NEPA Youth Shelter said the network's public relations reach is beyond anything small nonprofits can manage with limited time and funds.
"We average about 40 kids a day," Maher-Gray said. "Our priority is to provide them a place to be safe and do what we can to get them a place to stay if they're homeless."
NEPA Youth Shelter and many other nonprofits across Northeast Pennsylvania do God's work every day. Most of us don't realize their positive impacts across the region. The Scranton Area Community Foundation and its "NEPA Gives" partners make it their business to recognize and support these civic assets that form the foundations of caring, constructive communities.
Ducceschi said this year's goal is to raise between $1.1 million and $1.5 million in 24 hours. Now that's a day we all can receive as a gift.
CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, thanks the nonprofits who put community first. Read his award-winning blog at timestribuneblogs.com/kelly. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com; @cjkink on Twitter; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook.
