Over 250 nonprofits participated in the 24-hour Give Big Gallatin Valley initiative, raising a record-high $3.3 million across Gallatin County
By Victoria Smith EBS CONTRIBUTOR
Thousands of donors came together for the 12th annual Give Big Gallatin Valley on Thursday, April 30 to Friday, May 1, raising a record-breaking amount of $3.3 million for local nonprofits.
The annual 24-hour giving initiative is organized by One Valley Community Foundation, and it connects community members and nonprofits through grassroots philanthropy. A total of 265 nonprofits participated this year, and 5,695 donors raised a total of $3.3 million. Since the initiative was started in 2015, Give Big has raised a total of $23.7 million to support 525 nonprofits.
“Our role is to set the table. [The community’s] role is to come and do the giving,” said Anna Burkholder, One Valley’s marketing and communications manager, in a phone call with EBS. “And so when we hit $3 million, it was a very good representation of the generosity in our community and the way that our community chooses to show up for the nonprofits they care about.”
This year, all donation fees were covered by the Jill and Nicholas Woodman Foundation—a donor-advised fund held at One Valley. Roughly one-fifth of gifts were $20 or less, showing participation from community members of all financial means.
“For me personally, it was the last piece of creating Give Big as this very intentional, impactful event where giving really excels, and we reduce barriers to make it as easy as possible so people can give and feel the joy of giving,” Burkholder said.
On Thursday, April 30, individuals gathered for kickoff events across seven communities as part of Give Big Fest. These events were held in Belgrade, Big Sky, Bozeman, Gallatin Gateway, Manhattan, Three Forks and West Yellowstone.
“Give Big is an incredible representation of this community,” Burkholder said. “I can’t say it enough that Gallatin County has an incredibly generous and strong community, and our nonprofits play a huge role in keeping this place so unique and special and such an incredible place to live.”
Reflections from Big Sky
This year’s Big Sky kickoff event was held at Big Sky Center for the Arts. Tamara Knappenberger, events and volunteer manager for Arts Council of Big Sky, said 21 nonprofit organizations participated.
The event featured live entertainment, interactive activities and an artist showcase with John Piacquadio. Event organizers focused on incorporating activities that would teach kids about philanthropy, with an overall event goal to increase donor engagement.
“[It’s] a chance for us [nonprofits] to all get together and collaborate because we’re all so small in terms of staff, we don’t really have a chance to check-in or commiserate or problem solve together,” Knappenberger said. “So this is definitely a lovely avenue for that.”
Local businesses supported the event, including Rocky Mountain Toy Company in providing prizes for the kids’ raffle, Scoops in providing ice cream cones to kids who donated and Blue Moon Bakery in selling pizza and donating the proceeds back to organizations.
“I just thought that was so cool, that… kids get exposure to [philanthropy] early on,” said Liv Grubaugh, director of development and communications for Big Sky Community Organization. “Especially for kids living in our community that get to benefit so much from nonprofit work.”
Various organizations worked with the Arts Council of Big Sky in planning the event such as BSCO, World Language Initiative and Warren Miller Performing Arts Center.
“[All organizations] checked in on their friends, brought something to contribute,” Knappenberger said. “We’ve been meeting since January, so most of the organizations have had people in the meetings.”
BSCO raised $19,550 across 37 donors during Give Big Gallatin Valley, and the funds will be used to support the nonprofit’s year-round programming, including recreation leagues, youth programming, and fitness and wellness classes.
BSCO was further recognized with an award given to the nonprofit between Big Sky, West Yellowstone and Gallatin Gateway with the highest number of donors between 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, May 1. The prize totaled $1,000.
“This was the biggest Give Big fundraiser that BSCO has ever seen. It’s like more than three times what we’ve ever done over Give Big,” Grubaugh said. “So I think that the more that we continue to showcase it as a nonprofit, kind of collective initiative in our community, the more momentum it’ll grow for everybody.”
Another nonprofit present at the kickoff event was Big Sky Community School—a new nonprofit, independent school that partners with the online learning platform Aeon. This was the nonprofit’s first year participating in the giving initiative, and it raised $1,965 across six donors. As the school utilizes a variety of local businesses and organizations—such as Moving Mountains, BASE Community Center and Big Sky Center for the Arts—the funds will financially support these opportunities for students, in addition to supporting other student needs, explained Jeremy Harder, head of school.
“[The funds] go into that bucket to serve students,” Harder said. “… All the money we raised there will go into something that will help students.”
Another educator and leader of the arts, WMPAC raised $2,575 across seven donors. These funds will go into a general fund to cover various program expenses throughout the year—artist fees, technical production, ancillary artist requirements and marketing—which helps the nonprofit keep ticket prices affordable.
“Give Big is great timing for WMPAC to say thanks to all of our patrons after the end of our season,” said John Zirkle, WMPAC executive director. “It’s also an opportunity for new donors to participate, and we are so grateful for a nice end-of-the-year surprise.”
In addition to BSCO, another local group received an award from One Valley. Big Sky OUT, an inclusivity-focused nonprofit that aims to create and support queer spaces for the community, received the “Equity as a Lived Value” award, which provided a prize of $1,000.
“We’re really honored to be recognized in such a way because that is what we shoot for. Equity is our core value,” said Grey Shamburger, board member for Big Sky OUT. “I think that it’s nice to see our platform recognized as such when there are so many nonprofits based around the same thing.”
Across 21 donors, Big Sky Out raised $2,725 during the giving initiative. These funds will be used to support the nonprofit’s upcoming Pride Day celebration event, which is slated for June 28. The nonprofit plans to feature a vendor fair, a speaker and other festivities during the event.
Representatives of participating organizations expressed gratitude for Give Big Gallatin Valley. They noted the support of community members and the opportunity to further connect with fellow nonprofits during Give Big Fest.
“This fundraising campaign, I think, further recognizes and identifies that we are all one valley here, even though we’re separated by a canyon that’s full of cars all day,” Zirkle said. “We really are serving one big community here.”
