Silicon Valley Gives: Hundreds of Charities Poised to Benefit from May 5 Fundraising Event
Mountain View, CA (PRWEB) April 07, 2015 -- Silicon Valley Gives – also called SVGives – is hosted by Silicon Valley Community Foundation with lead sponsorship from Microsoft. The event aims to raise millions in charitable donations for nonprofit organizations in San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Benito counties during 24 hours of online giving. Over 50 charities in San Francisco will also participate because of their services to the Silicon Valley community. To gain attention from potential donors – who can support their favorite charities with contributions starting at just $10 – SVCF will host events at Microsoft retail stores, selected Whole Foods markets and other locations on May 5.
“Last year, which was the first time this region ever held a day of giving, SVGives raised $8 million for local charities in just 24 hours,” said Emmett Carson, CEO and president of SVCF. “Now we know the power of this community to raise awareness of – and money for – the many terrific organizations working to improve lives and build for the future. We hope that Silicon Valley residents will again respond generously on SVGives day.”
With support from lead sponsor Microsoft, SVCF has hosted nearly 800 representatives from nonprofit organizations during 14 information and training sessions since last fall (for remaining sessions, visit http://www.svgives.org). Sessions are designed not only to prepare organizations to fundraise during SVGives, but to build their long-term capacity to reach donors and communicate with the public. Session topics range from using social media to engage donors to storytelling strategies for garnering media attention.
“SVGives unites our entire local community — nonprofits, donors, corporations and foundations — and demonstrates that we are stronger together,” said Dan’l Lewin, Corporate Vice President of Technology and Civic Engagement at Microsoft. “Any person who cares about the future of Silicon Valley can donate, and by harnessing our individual donations, SVGives magnifies our collective impact.”
Nonprofit organizations in San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Benito counties are eligible to participate, as are organizations that offer significant service to residents of these counties. Nonprofit organizations have until April 15 to register to participate. For a directory of participating nonprofits click here.
With fewer than 30 days left until SVGives, SVCF and its sponsors are preparing for several day-of events that will attract attention from donors and spur online giving.
On May 5, SVGives volunteers will be onsite at the Microsoft stores at Westfield Valley Fair mall, in Santa Clara, and at the Stanford Shopping Center. Volunteers will also be present at two Whole Foods markets in San Jose, at 1146 Blossom Hill Road and 777 The Alameda. Media sponsor Entercom will publicize the event on its stations KOIT (96.5 FM), KFOX (98.5 FM) and KBLX (102.9 FM). In addition, SVCF is building momentum for the day among donors with a print and digital advertising campaign across the region. To view a video about the success of SVGives in 2014 and the potential of the May 5, 2015 event, click here.
For a second year, PayPal will also support SVGives. PayPal will donate an extra 1 percent to the benefiting nonprofit for every donation made with PayPal on May 5 at http://www.svgives.org, up to $100,000 in matching funds for Silicon Valley Gives 2015.
SVGives would not be possible without the generosity of its sponsors, including Skoll Foundation, Robert N. and Florence Slinger Foundation, Jennifer Secoy Krach, John Dawson and Jennie Savage, Bernard A. Newcomb Foundation, and many other generous companies, foundations and individuals. For a complete list of sponsors, click here.
Media sponsors are NBC Bay Area, Silicon Valley Business Journal, Bay Area News Group, South Valley Newspapers, Rocket Fuel and Freeway Jumbotron.
For more information about Silicon Valley Gives, visit http://www.svgives.org.
About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation makes all forms of philanthropy more powerful. We serve as a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems, and through our donors we award more money to charities than any other community foundation in the United States. SVCF has $6.5 billion in assets under management. As Silicon Valley’s center of philanthropy, we provide thousands of individuals, families and corporations with simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Find out more at http://www.siliconvalleycf.org.
Contacts:
Sidney Griffin, SVCF Vice President of Marketing and Communications
650.450.5525 or sggriffin(at)siliconvalleycf(dot)org
Emily Horn, Microsoft
650.693.2262 or emhorn(at)microsoft(dot)com
Sidney Griffin, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, http://www.siliconvalleycf.org, +1 925-989-2439, [email protected]
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