Be a philanthropist for a day

When the clock strikes midnight May 6 to kick off the inaugural 24-hour day of giving event—titled Silicon Valley Gives—any individual with $10 to spare can be a philanthropist in that very moment they click the donate button on their computer screen.
“For a $10 minimum donation, everybody can feel like a philanthropist that day,” said Gilroy Foundation Executive Director Donna Pray, whose local nonprofit has 16 vehicles for donors to support, including three community needs funds that generate thousands for its grant programs as well as more than a dozen partnering organizations.
The 24-hour online fundraising blockbuster, run through the crowdfunding website Razoo with Silicon Valley high-tech giant Microsoft as the lead sponsor, stands to benefit thousands of nonprofits ranging from philanthropic organizations like the Gilroy Foundation and the Morgan Hill Community Foundation to schools such as St. Mary School and the entire Gilroy Unified School District.
“It’s a very exciting opportunity for St. Mary School. We appreciate the generosity of all our donors,” said Development Coordinator Kelly Barbazette of St. Mary School, which has an endowment fund through the Gilroy Foundation. “On May 6, all friends and family of St. Mary School will have the opportunity to give to St. Mary School. It’s an unprecedented giving event.”
Potential donors can check out what the technology-driven, philanthropic event—one that generated $10 million in donations for approximately 1,000 nonprofits in Minneapolis—is all about on svgives.org, razoo.com or by visiting the targeted nonprofit’s site directly.
“Our goal here is to raise an enormous amount of money and raise awareness that anybody can be a philanthropist,” Pray said. “You don’t need $10,000 to start a fund. You just need $10, and you’re part of us.”
The purpose of the tri-county effort, covering Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Benito counties, is aimed at inspiring and uniting local communities to support philanthropic causes.
There are fun matching games and prizes throughout the all-day May 6 event offered by various sponsors in an effort to maximize donations.
Microsoft, for example, will donate a set of five new Surface 2 tablets for the nonprofit that recruits the most unique donors during the 24-hour event. The Silicon Valley company will also offer a new XBOX One for a nonprofit serving youth which raises the most individual gifts during the 7 p.m. hour and a full software upgrade, valued at $250,000, for the nonprofit with an annual budget less than $2 million that raises the most individual gifts during the 24-hour event.
Local businesses have gotten behind the day of giving event as well, with Gilroy’s Black Bear Diner, Old City Hall restaurant, Chevys Fresh Mex, and the Westside Grill committing 10 percent of all May 6 sales to the Gilroy Foundation.
Pray said foundation volunteers, ambassadors and staff will be spreading the “Give Where You Live” message and Silicon Valley Gives event information locally at various locations throughout the day May 6. Confirmed locations include First Street Coffee from 6:30 to 9 a.m.; Union Bank from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the Gilroy Premium Outlets from 1:30 to 4 p.m.; and Raley’s Knob Hill from 2 to 4 p.m.
The Gilroy Foundation has awarded about $4 million to a diversity of causes over the last 30 years.
“It has been very exciting,” Pray said of finding ways to promote the SV Gives event and generate a contagious buzz throughout the community that draws as many individuals as possible to make a donation in the 24-hour window. “It’s been a fun experience. I hope this is just year one of many years to come.”
The beneficiaries are endless such as the Morgan Hill Peace Project through the El Toro Culture and Arts Council—an effort organized Janet Librers-Leach to construct a peace monument outside the Morgan Hill Library.
“We’re looking forward to having another opportunity to support Morgan Hill through donors that support us,” said MHCF President Amy Whelan, who instructed each of the foundation’s partners to pick a specific project to promote for the event. “We’re excited to be a part of it.”
The MHCF has awarded approximately $450,000 since its inception in 2002 through its own efforts and its partners. Some of MHCF’s partners who stand to benefit are the Mizuno Student Exchange Program, Edward Boss Prado Foundation, El Toro Culture and Arts Committee and Friends of the Morgan Hill Senior Center.
Each participating nonprofit registered on razoo.com—considered the world’s fastest-growing crowdfunding site for causes—and set up a webpage describing what their organization is all about, such as its programs and funds set up by partners, to attract as many donors as possible.
• What is it? 24-hour online fundraising platform on crowdfunding site Razoo hosted by the Silicon Valley Foundation
• When is it? May 6 from 12 a.m. to midnight
• How to donate
1) Go to svgives.org, Click on schedule a donation, Search by name, keyword or ZIP Code
2) Goto gilroyfoundation.org, click on “Give Where You Live”
3) Go to morganhillcf.org, click on Silicon Valley Gives
• Lead sponsor: Microsoft
• The purpose of the tri-county effort, covering Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Benito counties, is aimed at inspiring and uniting local communities to support philanthropic causes.