Cook County News Herald

Community groups join forces for Nov. 14 “Give to the Max Day”




The nonprofits of Cook County are a small handful of the many organizations throughout the state that will once again ask Minnesotans to display their record-breaking generosity by donating to their favorite causes and schools online at www.GiveMN.org during the fifth annual “Give to the Max Day” on November 14.

Give to the Max Day is important as it emphasizes the spirit and generosity of Minnesotans and their support of the work of the nonprofits in our state,” explained Deb Benedict, executive director at WTIP North Shore Community Radio.

Money donated to participating nonprofits will directly benefit their individual missions and strengthen their diverse services offered across the North Shore. From health care to education, arts and culture to youth services—all Minnesotabased nonprofits and registered public schools listed on GiveMN.org are eligible to receive donations.

“It’s an exciting day of philanthropy and this year, the nonprofits of Cook County are working hard to get the message out together,” explained Greg Wright, executive director of North House Folk School. “This is the chance to give to the community you love and the nonprofits that strive in many different ways to make the story of the North Shore even more inspiring.”

Cook County nonprofits are working together to make this a day of record online donations.

On Give to the Max Day, local nonprofits will promote the event throughout the day at Java Moose Café in Grand Marais and Moondance Coffee House in Lutsen. The public may drop in, donate, and celebrate their favorite local nonprofits as well as enter for drawings for gift cards to the coffee shops.

For those who wish to donate but do not have Internet or computer access, there will be laptops available for use. Additionally, there will be a laptop for use at the Empty Bowls dinner taking place at St. John’s Catholic Church from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.

Paula Sundet Wolf, executive director of Cook County Higher Education, said, “The Give to the Max Day website is a tremendous resource for donors. It showcases nonprofit organization achievement, and points to specific critical needs.”

On GiveMN.org, customized profiles of Minnesota charities detail their individual missions, programs and events. The year-round site also lets donors manage their charitable giving by recording online contributions and storing receipts.

“We set single-day records for philanthropic giving in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and want to keep that streak going in 2013,” said Dana Nelson, executive director of GiveMN, which debuted in fall 2009 as a first-of-its-kind giving website and sponsors Give to the Max Day. “This is a day for us to come together as Minnesotans and show our support for the nonprofit organizations and schools that work to strengthen our communities.”

This year GiveMN will offer several incentives to encourage donor participation in Give to the Max Day. Cook County community members can support their favorite local nonprofits and schools for an opportunity to win prize grants up to $10,000 as top donation earners.

Participating organizations will be eligible for prize grants in the form of hourly “Golden Tickets”—hourly drawings to add $1,000 to a donor’s gift, randomly selected from donors who gave during each hour of the event. One donor giving to a nonprofit and one donor to a school will be drawn in the evening for a supersized Golden Ticket and have $10,000 added to their donations.

During last year’s Give to the Max Day, 53,339 people made donations through GiveMN.org. The result: $16.3 million raised for 4,381 Minnesota nonprofits and schools, whose missions range from feeding the hungry to protecting the environment, from teaching young students to promoting the arts. GiveMN hopes to again raise millions of dollars for thousands of nonprofits and schools, showcasing to the world Minnesota’s unparalleled generosity.



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