The coronavirus crisis has changed the way we congregate but it hasn’t changed the way we come together. The DeKalb community is supporting nonprofits that provide much needed services to the community.
The Give DeKalb County campaign, a 24-hour fundraiser, takes place May 7.
Ben Bingle is the director of the DeKalb County nonprofit partnership. He said they’ve had to cancel their walk-in donation option due to COVID-19. This option was replaced with a mail-in one.
Bingle said this change hasn’t impacted the generosity of the community.
“We’ve seen a really strong response so far through the mail,” he said. “And so, we believe we’re going to have a very strong turnout.”
Bingle said donors can also support by using the Give DeKalb County website or their mobile phones.
He said the website will include profiles for each organization. Bingle suggested that the community may not even know what services are out there for them and the profiles allow them to see what’s available.
“It’s important for the public to know about this because they might need to access these services or they might know somebody that needs to access these services,” he said.
Bingle said nearly 40 community partners have donated more than $100,000 to a bonus pool. This is Give DeKalb County’s version of a match.
He said this is the largest bonus pool so far. He said whatever percentage the nonprofit raises, will be the same percentage that they receive from the pool.
Bingle said Give DeKalb County comes at a very important time because a lot of the organizations have had to cancel their own fundraising events.
Some nonprofit organizations include Adventure Works, Acromusicaland DeKalb County Farm County Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.