Giving Locally, Giving Together
The stimulus checks are starting to show up in the mail, and it’s time to start deciding what to do with them. There are some really good options out there … paying down debt … adding it to savings … buying local …
We’re always fans of buying local, but we’d like our readers to consider something a little different for a second … giving local.
What if we could harness the power of the entire Exit133 reading community to do something really amazing for Tacoma? If we each donated a portion (or all!) of our stimulus check into a single pot, together we could direct that money to the highest good for Tacoma. (Think about it, if just 35 people donate half of their $600 refund, we would have $10,000 to give away.)
The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation has offered to partner with the Exit133 community to pool our gifts and talk to us about our community’s pressing needs.
With us so far? Here’s what we have in mind:
Between now and Friday, June 6th, we’d like our readers to give directly to the Community Foundation through an official Exit133 community giving program we set up. We’ll give regular reports on how we’re doing.
Anyone who gives will be invited to come together in June and hear from the Community Foundation staff on some of the greatest needs they see in Tacoma. And then as a group we will talk about those needs — what we feel passionate about, what we would really like to see happen in our community — and together decide what cause we’d like to support.
From there the Community Foundation will go back to the grant applications they are reviewing in this current grant cycle and decide which agency will best be able to fill that need.
The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation is all about connecting good people with good causes, and we are very thankful for their willingness to help us through this process. None of the money we pool together will go to the Community Foundation or Exit133 — every penny will go to the need that the community decides to fund.
Want to participate? Please visit our group donor page on The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation’s website. You can either enter payment information on-line, or follow the instructions to mail in a check.
Be sure to pass this along to others! Soon, we’ll be setting up a time and place in June for all of the donors to come together and talk with the Community Foundation and each other about the needs of the community. We hope you will join us.
Link to the Exit133 Community Giving Program
Filed under: Get-Involved
3 comments
M Megan May 16, 2008
Wonderful, wonderful idea.
I’m all for reframing how we view these rebate checks— from cash-in-hand to the opportunity to control where our tax money goes.
I’ve already pledged my check to the Tacoma nonprofit Catherine Place ( www.catherineplace.org ), but if I hadn’t, I’d be all over this Exit133 group giving gig. Way to go. I can’t wait to see what y’all decide to do with it.
M Martin May 16, 2008
I heard about what you’re trying to do on KUOW during All Things Considered a couple days ago. I love it.
J jamie from thriceallamerican May 21, 2008
So say there was a person that would like to put some of his/her rebate check towards this. Say that this person also owed money on taxes this year rather than getting a rebate, and though they used EFT to pay the balance, this doesn’t qualify as a “direct deposit” even though the IRS has bank information, meaning he/she has to wait for a check to be mailed. And say that said person has a social security number ending with “98”, putting them at the absolute end of the line for the rebate check, meaning that it arrives sometime in the middle of July.
How would this person donate before a June meeting w/o having to front the money?