Have you heard a new buzz building in Grundy County? It started in October and it’s starting to grow…rapidly.
#GiveGrundy is a new partnership of 12 nonprofits who have dedicated time and talent to shout from the rooftops the great work that each is doing and the impact that each of the 12’s work is having on the quality of life in our community.
For a few years the Community Foundation of Grundy County has been hosting monthly technical assistance hours called “Nonprofit Tools for Success.” We’ve covered a variety of topics including human resources, financial reports, planned giving, media relations, and more. The task is to bring training and education to our local nonprofits so that they can operate at maximum effectiveness and efficiency.
In March we brainstormed around the idea of “Giving Tuesday,” which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and a bookend for the big shopping weekend. It starts on Thursday with a day of Thanksgiving, then Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and wrapping it up with another thankful day – Giving Tuesday. On November 28th, the nonprofits across the nation invite everyone to make a charitable gift to their favorite charity(ies) in the spirit of giving at the holidays.
But that’s once a year. Can’t we do more all year round?
That’s where #GiveGrundy was born. But it’s much more than charitable dollars. It’s about engaging the community in the great work of local nonprofits so that we reach more residents about our services. If you need our services, please come use them. If you believe in our work, please come be a volunteer or be a board member or give a charitable gift.
The very elementary base of #GiveGrundy is that we 12 don’t care where you give – just give. Nonprofits come in all shapes, sizes, and issues. So do donors. Not every charity fits the personality of every donor, and we recognize that. We instead invite you to get to know the nonprofits who serve Grundy County and choose the one(s) that fit you, your talents, your time, and your charitable giving goals.
In our polite society we are raised to be kind to one another, but that sometimes translates into not being able to tell a charity “no.” We invite you to do that – if that’s your inclination.
On the flip side, we also invite you to get engaged with the charities who you DO like and who are tackling the issues you care about.
So who are these 12? In alphabetical order, the Community Foundation of Grundy County, Community Nutrition Network (Meals on Wheels), Easterseals Jump Start, Grundy Area PADS, Grundy County Housing Authority, Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission, Grundy-Three Rivers Habitat for Humanity, Illinois Valley Industries, Morris Downtown Development Partnership, Morris Hospital Foundation, Will-Grundy Medical Clinic, and We Care of Grundy County.
GiveGrundy has a website and a Facebook page. We’ve each created a very cool piece called “We are…” Please read our stories on https://givegrundy.com
Collectively, we are backyard barbeques and shopping downtown. We are friends, family, neighbors, and Friday night lights. We are a community of people with one thing in common: the place we call home. Together we make that home a great place to live. Together we are one voice and many hands. We are Grundy County.