BUCYRUS — On Tuesday, May 5, The Community Foundation for Crawford County is participating in #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving being held specifically for the COVID-19 crisis response. Typically, there is only one #GivingTuesday in a calendar year, and it always occurs on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. However, organizers felt an additional effort was needed very soon to combat all the negative financial impact the coronavirus has created.

Here locally, the Foundation is referring to their event as #Giving2sdayNow. It will be a 2-day online giving event beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5 and lasting through 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. The goal is to get much-needed operating funds into the hands of our local nonprofit organizations NOW.

“This is not a fundraiser for the Foundation,” said Lisa Workman, the Foundation’s President. “We are only facilitating this effort on behalf of the nonprofits in Crawford County who register to participate with us. The Foundation will not be keeping any of the money raised – it is all going back out directly into the hands of the nonprofits for operating expenses.”

The Foundation Board has pledged to match dollar for dollar the first $25,000 raised online and will cover all the donation fees during the event. The “2” in the event title is to help donors remember that their gift will inspire a second one, up to $25,000, and adding the “Now” signifies the urgency of the need.

Any nonprofit organization located in Crawford County that would like to participate in #Giving2sdayNow must register at the Foundation’s website, www.cfcrawford.org, by Friday, May 1st. As usual, the Foundation will be using the NetworkForGood platform, where individuals are encouraged to create their own fundraising page to advocate and raise money on behalf of one of the participating organizations. Creating a fundraising page can be done in less than 5 minutes and can be easily shared to social media on the days of the event.

The platform website is already available for those ready to build their fundraising page and can be found at https://cfcrawford.networkforgood.com.