Tuesday is the second annual "Give Day Tampa Bay."
The event is a 24-hour online fundraiser that starts at midnight and lasts until midnight on Tuesday. Last year, 385 non-profit organizations participated and the event raised over $1 million. This year, 550 non-profits are participating and organizers are hoping to exceed the amount raised last year.
The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and the Florida Next Foundation are leading the online challenge. Wilma Norton, a spokeswoman for the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, said hosting this fundraiser online is important for encouraging people of all ages to donate, especially younger donors.
"It's about raising money, but it's also about encouraging people to get in the habit of donating to invest in our community, and to spread the word about the great work that all of these organizations are doing," said Norton.
Anyone is able to donate and there is a minimum donation of $25 dollars. All donations must be made online through the Give Day Tampa Bay website. Norton said the event's hosts have raised $125,000 to give out as prizes to the participating non-profits. There will be numerous donation challenges occurring throughout the day, and the organization that receives the donation closest to sunrise or sunset will be eligible to win a significantly larger prize.
"All of these non-profits are helping build up the community, helping people who may need a hand up to get back to being productive citizens, helping take care of our animals and our arts and culture, and our veterans and all those sorts of things," said Norton. "If it weren't for non-profits doing all of that work, we couldn't have the great, strong, vital community that we have."
People who donate will receive special drink discounts and other deals when visiting participating venues along Channelside Plaza. To see the full list of participating non-profits and for more information, visit www.givedaytampabay.org.
WUSF is one of the participants in the event.
