This article is part of an ongoing #InspiringGenerosity series highlighting people, agencies, and programs the Bay Area Community Foundation supports.
The
2025 Give Local Bay event might feel more like a spring carnival than a fundraiser.
During the annual 24-hour fundraising event on Tues., May 6, you’ll find dunk tanks, food trucks, cornhole games, a scavenger hunt, ice cream, beer, online contests, and more.
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Graphic courtesy of Bay Area Community FoundationThe
Bay Area Community Foundation is organizing the 11
th annual event – and all the surrounding hoopla – with two simple goals. The first goal is to help nonprofit organizations in Bay and Arenac counties raise money to bolster endowments and to use for immediate needs. The second goal is to raise awareness of the myriad of nonprofit organizations in our community.
“There’s a lot going on,” says Nicole Horn, Donor Relations and Communications Officer for the Bay Area Community Foundation. “We’re trying to really blow it up, make it bigger. We want to get some really big, exciting things happening.”
New this year is a partnership with the Foundation’s
Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). Bringing the teens into the event is about more than raising money.
“We’re partnering with YAC, which is the first time that’s ever happened,” Horn says. “We want to teach them about philanthropy and, hopefully, they can encourage other youths to come check things out.”
Also new is a series of mid-day activities at the Pere Marquette Depot, 1000 Adams St., where the Bay Area Community Foundation has its offices. From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on May 6, food trucks will be selling meals, snacks, and treats.
Bay Area Community Foundation President and CEO Shawna Walraven is encouraging everyone to come down for lunch that day. You can get a bite to eat, learn about local nonprofits, and join in some games.
Whether it’s through donations, incentives, contests, or games, Give Local Bay has proven successful. Since the first Give Local Bay event, the annual campaign has raised more than $1.1 million.
This year, more than 50 nonprofits in the two counties are registered for the Tues., May 6 event. The day of giving provides an opportunity for community members to support their favorite agencies and causes. Donors also see their gift magnified through matching dollars.
Each donation received that day makes the recipient eligible for incentive money. The incentives move the receiving organizations more quickly toward building endowments and responding to the community’s immediate needs.
Here’s how it works:
On May 6, individuals visit
www.givelocalbay.org and donate to one of the organizations listed. You also can donate by calling (989) 893-4438 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
At the end of the 24 hours, the nonprofits are eligible for to earn additional funds from a matching pool provided by Rowley’s Wholesale Advised Fund, Michigan Cream and Sugar Ice Cream Company, Tri-City Brewing Company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan, and the Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee.
Straight-up donations are not the only way to generate money for participants. Winners of contests for different milestones, such as being first organization to receive a donation of at least $100 or for making the most creative social media post, also earn incentive money. The prizes and incentives are listed on the Give Local Bay website.
Some opportunities are listed below:
- In the coming weeks, the Community Foundation will post Give Local Bay 2025 Scavenger Hunt clues on its social media pages. The clues will lead to four different sites in Bay and Arenac counties. The first person who visits each site and submits photos will win $2,000 to donate to the nonprofit of their choice.
“We’re hoping that will encourage people to travel out and go check out some of the locations that have been funded,” Horn says.
The $2,000 prize was donated by the Youth Advisory Committee, with support from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan.
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Graphic courtesy of Bay Area Community Foundation- Dunk for Dollars, a dunk tank challenge supported by both the Foundation and the Youth Advisory Committee.
For the next few weeks, you’ll see the first phase of the contest on social media. There, the Community Foundation will invite people to vote for six nonprofits to step into the dunk tank on May 6. The six winners, known as the Super Soaked Six, will take turns in the drunk tank between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. outside the Community Foundation office.
The Super Soaked Six will earn money each time someone takes a shot at dunking them. The Youth Advisory Committee will match every dollar raised, up to $5,000.
- The Cornhole Bonus Challenge provides anyone who donates at least $20 in person at the Pere Marquette Depot with the chance to make a cornhole board shot. If the bag goes in the hole, the thrower earns an additional $50 for the nonprofit of his or her choice.
The YAC is providing up to $2,000 in matching funds for the Cornhole Bonus Challenge.
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Graphic courtesy of Bay Area Community Foundation- Scoops for a Cause takes place at Michigan Cream & Sugar Ice Cream Company, 160 Uptown Drive, from 2 to 5 p.m. on May 6. During Scoops for a Cause, 10% of all ice cream sales will be donated to the Give Local Bay incentive pool.
Teens from YAC will work as guest scoopers. Anyone 18 and under who buys ice cream will be invited to spin a prize wheel to earn additional donations for the nonprofits. The YAC is matching the prize wheel donations.
“That’s another way to get youth familiar with philanthropy and get them exposed to some of the nonprofits in the area,” Horn says.
- Enjoy a beverage during Sip Sip Hooray from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Tri-City Brewing Company, 4170 Shrestha Drive. For every drink purchased during Sip Sip Hooray, $1 will be donated to the Give Local Bay incentive pool.