Arizona Gives Day is April 4, but donations already underway

If you have ever wanted to be a giver, Arizona Gives Day offers the opportunity to become a doer.

Early giving is underway for the annual day of giving which falls on Tuesday, April 4.

Now in its 11th year, the donation drive staged by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and the Arizona Grantmakers Forum has raised more than $36 million for nonprofits statewide. This year, it seeks to boost that total by at least $5 million.

“Early giving started three weeks before Arizona Gives Day as a convenience to donors. We want people to give when it is most convenient for them and still have those donations count toward each organization’s grand total in the Arizona Gives Day campaign,” said Jennifer Purcell, chief impact officer of the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits.

This year, almost 1,000 organizations, including 240 headquartered in Pima County, are registered to vie for $180,000 in incentive prize money courtesy of presenting sponsor FirstBank and other sponsors such as Arizona Community Foundation, Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, Hickey Family Foundation, Vitalyst Health Foundation, Thunderbird Charities, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, SRP, Sechler Morgan, and Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy Services. A total of $10,000 in Early Giving prizes will also be awarded to 10 nonprofits. Qualifying donations for all incentives can be made through the profile pages of individual nonprofits at AZGives.org.

On the day of the event, prize dollars are awarded based on organization size — micro, small, mid-size, large and extra-large — and include categories such as “Most Dollars” and “Unique Donors” as well as “Power Hours” awards at $25, $50 and $100 levels for the most dollars raised each hour between 7 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 5 p.m.

Golden Hour Ticket awards will feature random drawings hourly for donations of $25 or more, with 10 nonprofits winning $500 each between 5 and 10 p.m.

Many nonprofits also obtain matching grants in celebration of Arizona Gives Day, including Sister José Women’s Center (azgives.org/sisterjose), a shelter dedicated to housing up to 40 homeless women and their pets nightly.

“A generous donor, Bonnie Kay, has agreed to match whatever we raise up to $20,000. This match gets people really excited and it is a huge amount of support for us. Right now we have a 42% increase in the number of women we were seeing last year and that is stretching our food budget and our ability to help women as they move forward,” said Chief Operations Officer Nicola Hartmann.

In January, those statistics translated into 1,270 overnight guests and 1,765 breakfasts for 502 unduplicated guests. The shelter also offers day services such as showers, laundry, meals and other resources on site at 1050 S. Park Ave.

“We are still seeing a big increase in first-time homeless and senior guests who were living really close to the edge and were evicted when their rent went up. Lots of this is from the housing crisis and some of it is the drug issues that are happening on the streets. Our goal is to keep them safe and, ideally, to get them housed, but sometimes just a warm shower and breakfast is a success,” Hartmann said.

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Another nonprofit that can benefit from a match is St. Luke’s Home (azgives.org/stlukeshometucson).

Dedicated to providing a high quality of life for low-income elders age 55-plus, St. Luke’s features 64 rooms and offers an alternative to food and housing insecurity through an assisted living community. Residents enjoy three meals a day, snacks, assistance with daily living and medication, and a wide range of activities. Built on innovative models of health and wellness, it is ensures that elders age with dignity, respect and empowerment, according to Executive Director Terri Waldman.

An individual and board members have pledged to match Arizona Gives Day donations up to $2,500 (for a total of $5,000) to boost operating expenses at the 104-year-old facility, which is currently undergoing a $2.5 million renovation.

“Our residents pay rent and service fees, which is an average of $1,200 per month, and it costs $3,000 for each of them to live here, so we pay the difference. That gives you an idea of what we need to keep things going,” Waldman said.

Donors interested in supporting young people might consider a gift to We Care Tucson (azgives.org/wecaretucson).

Formerly World Care, the nonprofit is dedicated to removing barriers to information, education and wellness. We Care accepts donations of used technology — laptops, computers, monitors, cell phones and more at 3029 N. Stone Ave. It refurbishes and recycles the equipment, diverting it from landfills, and sells the computers to the general public at discounted prices. A low-cost computer program is also available for the economically-challenged.

In addition to technology, We Care offers free medical supplies (diapers, incontinence supplies and more) and serves as a loan chest for medical equipment — wheelchairs, walkers, shower chairs, canes and commodes.

“We gave out three semi-truck loads of free medical supplies last year and kept six semis worth of recycled materials out of landfills. We also provided at least 200 low-cost laptops to those in need,” said MeMe Aguila, executive director.

The organization has a very specific goal for Arizona Gives Day: It seeks to raise $10,000 for Send A Kid to Tech Camp, a one-week program designed to teach middle school students about computers. Each weekly camp serves 20 children and each child receives a laptop. There is no cost to the campers, who come from low-income families.

“We want to do six one-week camps, and we need $60,000 to do that. It would make me ecstatic if we could raise the money for that, but with Arizona Gives Day I would really love to meet our $10,000 goal,” Aguila said.