Nonprofit fundraising day Give STL is Tuesday

The St. Louis Community Foundation is asking the region to reach deep into its pockets for Give STL Day, a once-a-year drive on behalf of nonprofit groups Tuesday.

Last year, Give STL collected $2.1 million in donations for 790 nonprofits in 15 counties. This year, 912 nonprofits are participating.

Partners for Pets, an animal rescue in Troy, took in $8,000 in the 24-hour marathon last year. The bonus was a huge gain to a small nonprofit with an operating budget of $500,000.

“It was amazing to make that much money in one day,” director Lisa McCormick said. The group put the money toward building supplies for its new, 5,000-square-foot animal shelter. The old one was at her house.

McCormick hopes the group will do better than last year. It has raised about $225,000 toward the building but still needs another $130,000 to complete it.

“There is a nonprofit out there for everyone,” said Mary McMurtrey, the director of community engagement for the St. Louis Community Foundation.

“There is no doubt that as the government safety net decreases, the demand for services and the need for nonprofits that provide those services increases,” she said.

Last year, 20,260 people donated an average contribution of $78.67. About 344 people from Madison County and 555 people from St. Clair County gave money.

Before donating, people should vet the organizations they’re interested in, said Gabe Cohen, a representative from Guidestar, which is itself a nonprofit organization. Guidestar stresses on its website that it is not a watchdog group; rather, it “collects, organizes, and presents the information you want in an easy-to-understand format while remaining neutral” about the groups.

“You should never donate blindly to an organization,” Cohen said.

It can be difficult to learn about a nonprofit — the only requirement to participate in Give STL is that the nonprofit has all the correct information to be a 501(c)(3) group with the Internal Revenue Service — but the best groups, Cohen explained, have the most information on display.

A common problem people think of when donating is how much of their money will go to overhead costs, but that’s not the only, or even the best, standard by which to judge a charitable organization, Cohen said. He recommended reviewing what a nonprofit actually does with its money; information that is available at Guidestar.org, under a charity’s “charting impact,” for free.

For example, Partners for Pets’s profile says that it “rehabbed and adopted 1,348 dogs and cats to new homes” in 2015.

All donations during Give STL are 100-percent tax deductible, according to the group, and donors will receive an immediate confirmation and tax receipt that shows their contribution in an email.

Interested donors are encouraged to visit Give STL’s “Leaderboard” to find a nonprofit of their choice. The minimum donation is $10.

The St. Louis Community Foundation does not collect any money; however, Kimbia, the company facilitating the drive, will assess a 2.9 percent of every transaction.

People can call 314-588-8200 or email info@stlgives.org for more information.

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Nonprofit fundraising day Give STL is Tuesday."