SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz Gives is back, and the annual countywide crowdfunding holiday campaign is bigger than ever.
Following a year that saw skyrocketing donations, Santa Cruz Gives has doubled the number of nonprofits it will raise funds for from 40 to 80.
The online campaign, now in its seventh year, allows donors to browse individual profile pages to learn about each nonprofit’s mission and project, or “Big Idea,” for 2022 that will be funded by the donations.
The campaign removes barriers found in traditional philanthropy by providing supporters with a simple donation process akin to ordering goods off a website. The minimum donation is $5.
Supporters can make donations through the end of the year.
The number of nonprofits participating in 2021 doubled due to the retirement of the long-running Human Race. Santa Cruz Gives will support more organizations in order to absorb some of the need for fundraising, says co-founder and organizer Jeanne Howard.
Total donations leaped forward in last year’s campaign with an increase of 73% over 2019 to a total of $709,617. Santa Cruz Gives last year also saw an increase in the total number of donors, from 1,022 to 1,200, and in the average donation amount, from $189 to $259.
That was despite the dual disasters of the Covid-19 pandemic and the CZU Lightning Complex fires.
What was key, organizers say, was a rush of new donors, described as “the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations.” Participants in Santa Cruz Gives reported that a majority of donors are new donors as well as younger donors.
Nonprofits participating in this year’s campaign dot the map across the county and their projects tackle a variety of needs, including youth development, older adult support and animal wellness. There are also several nonprofits benefiting the environment, education, health and wellness, food and nutrition, housing and homelessness, the arts, veterans and the disabled.
Selected nonprofits will not only receive donated funds and matching funds from participating sponsors, but they will also be eligible for three special awards: Most Donors Overall, Most Innovative Program and Most Creative Campaign. Each award comes with an extra $1,000 donation.
A six-member committee with diverse nonprofit experience vetted the applications. The number of participants has been limited each year to provide the potential for each group to raise sufficient funds for the staff time spent on the campaign.
“If any of the local nonprofits tried to create a platform like this for fundraising, it would not be economically feasible,” said Karen Delaney, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, in a press release. “Only large national organizations have had a tool like this at their disposal. Santa Cruz Gives puts this tool into the hands of the local nonprofit community.”
Good Times and the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County are the presenting sponsors. Additional sponsors include Community Foundation Santa Cruz County; three funds at the Community Foundation SCC: The Applewood Fund, The Joe Collins Fund and the Bud & Rebecca Colligan Fund; and Driscoll’s, Inc.
Other business sponsors are Santa Cruz County Bank, Wynn Capital Management, Oswald, the Press Banner and this publication.
To learn about the participating nonprofits and donate, visit SantaCruzGives.org.
