By Chris Whitney; News Channel Nebraska
NORFOLK – With Lincoln, Omaha, Columbus, and other communities throughout Nebraska holding an annual Big Give event for local non-profit groups, Norfolk is gearing up for their first installment later this month.
Chairman of the Northeast Nebraska Philanthropy Council Anders Olson notes that although this is the first time the council has conducted the Norfolk Area Big Give, the council has been involved with other charitable events, such as through the Youth Philanthropy Contest, Celebrate Giving, and the Philanthropy Awards. Olson says it was time to get Norfolk a specific day to collaborate in their charitable events as other communities have done.
“We’re a group of non-profits that already work together on a lot of other projects, so it made sense to essentially start a holiday of the non-profit work that goes on in our community.”
Olson feels it’s important to give all of the participating non-profit groups a platform to show how they impact the Norfolk area with their causes.
“By creating this platform, it’s giving 31 different organizations in our community the opportunity to share their message and really get out a message of why the work they’re doing is important to the community and how they’re impacting the lives of people here in Norfolk.”
Olson says that while they don’t have a particular monetary goal for this year, the goal is to encourage a specific number of donations and build on those numbers.
“The philosophy behind this whole day is that it’s more of a friendraiser than a fundraiser. We didn’t set a financial goal, but we are hoping to engage 300 different individuals to make donations that day. We think that is achievable and we hope that we can surpass that.”
You can donate to the Norfolk Area Big Give through the council’s website athttp://www.norfolkareabiggive.org and at stations throughout Norfolk on May 24, including in the Sunset Plaza Mall, Elkhorn Valley Museum, Faith Regional Health Services, and Norfolk High School. Donations are tax deductible.