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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Commissioners have called attention to a great event taking place this week supporting nonprofits in Centre County: Centre Gives.
Centre Gives was established in 2012 as a 36-hour online giving event, intended to bring attention to local nonprofits and provide a platform for them to raise money and impart fundraising best practices.
This community giving event is hosted by Centre Foundation, an organization that exists to support donors and nonprofit organizations.
Centre Foundation allows everyone to be a philanthropist by managing funds and facilitating donations. Through grants, training and logistical support, they help nonprofits achieve their missions.
Molly Kunkel, president and CEO of Centre Foundation, was in attendance to speak about the event.
"We are really excited and honored to be doing this for the community again," said Kunkel.
Centre Gives has invested over $14,600,000 since 2012 into the local nonprofit network, and provided operational support to missions of many kinds. The arts, animals, education, environment and health and social services have all benefited from the event.
It first began with 74 local nonprofits, and now 200 organizations will be participating in the twelfth year.
Members of the community are invited to visit CentreGives.org, beginning at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 10 to donate to your favorite nonprofit organizations.
On May 11, Centre Gives will be having their "Centre Gives Fest" in Talleyrand Park; they will be celebrating the final hours of Centre Gives with an in-person event from 5:30-9 p.m., and will feature music performances by OK Otter and DJ Elbow Knee Knee of Gorinto Productions.
The event will also include food vendors such as Pizza Mia, Savory Station, Pelican's Snowballs and refreshments by SoBar Space.
Individuals will be able to choose from a list of over 200 nonprofits to support with a gift of $10 or more; gifts made during the event go further thanks to $300,000 in stretch pool funding.
Stretch pool funding is provided by the Centre Foundation and the Hamer Foundation, which for the seventh consecutive year has graciously donated $100,00 in support of Centre Gives.
"Anyone in the community can log on to the site, and give a donation. Anyone can participate. Every gift has an additional bit put on it -- it gains a bit more from the stretch pool as well as makes the organizations eligible for $40,00 worth of prize grants," said Kunkel.
The more money a nonprofit raises during the event, the larger the portion of the stretch pool that the nonprofit will receive.
Donors can help organizations compete for $40,000 in additional prizes that are offered throughout the event.
Thanks to the many generous sponsors, Centre Gives 2023 will have 14 Power Hours spread throughout the event. At the conclusion of each Power Hour, the small and large nonprofit with the most donations from unique donors will receive a prize.
"It's fun to go to the site and certainly support the (organizations) you already support, but just look at the list of organizations and all of the amazing work people do in this community. It's really impressive," said Kunkel
Over 30 nonprofit organizations will be in attendance at the event, offering family-friendly activities to showcase their organizations. Just a few of these nonprofits are:
Centre Wildlife Care, an organization dedicated to caring for injured, sick and displaced wildlife to release them back into the wild. They will be bringing animals as they educate attendees about natural history and wildlife rehabilitation.
Out of the Cold, a low-barrier shelter where guests are provided a hot meal, a cot, warm blankets and a place to sleep as well as basic case management for assistance in acquiring housing. Their activity is focussed on building the community with houses that children can create and take home.
Random Acts of Reading, a nonprofit committed to promoting literacy confidence for all children by providing exciting and equitable access to quality diverse books and authors.
Sock and Buskin Theatre Company, an all-volunteer community theater company that seeks to enrich the cultural life of Centre County. They will bring theater games and crafts such as a costume try-on station, a Shakespearean insults generator and more.
The Art Alliance of Central PA, promoting visual arts by providing art education and offering opportunities for practicing artists to exhibit, teach and more. Instructors will be available to teach children how to work with clay and plein air painters will perform a demonstration as they create a unique Centre Gives Fest painting.
For a full list of these nonprofits and to learn about their missions, visit centre-foundation.org/stories/a-guide-to-whos-who-at-centre-gives-fest-2023