Nearly 1,000 Colorado Nonprofits to Take Part in Colorado Gives Day

ARVADA, Colo., Nov. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Those looking to donate online to Colorado charities on Colorado Gives Day and year-round now have nearly 1,000 nonprofits to choose from—thanks to Community First Foundation, an Arvada-based foundation that strives to improve the quality of life in the Denver Metro area, and its online giving resource, GivingFirst.org.

Nov. 12 marks the beginning of Community Foundation Week, and Community First Foundation has big news to announce: approximately 850 nonprofits are live on GivingFirst.org. GivingFirst.org, a website that features hundreds of Colorado charities, launched in 2007 by Community First Foundation. The website shares comprehensive and standardized information to help donors learn about and support local charities. Charities benefit because they do not pay processing or monthly fees and 100 percent of donations go directly to the organization on Colorado Gives Day. Requirements for charities to be part of GivingFirst include being headquartered in Colorado, having a 990 form and possessing 501 (c)(3) status in Colorado.

Not surprisingly, many nonprofits are excited to be GivingFirst participants in time for Dec. 6, the second annual Colorado Gives Day, an initiative created by Community First Foundation to increase philanthropy in the state through online giving. On the inaugural Colorado Gives Day (Dec. 8, 2010), 540 Colorado nonprofits were live on GivingFirst.org. With the support of FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day 2010 far surpassed the original goal of raising $1 million, with Coloradans donating $8.4 million online for local charities.

"Nonprofits saw the success of Colorado Gives Day 2010 and are excited to expand on the success. New nonprofits from Greeley to Grand Junction and Fort Collins to Pueblo are participating via GivingFirst.org," said Dana Rinderknecht, GivingFirst manager at Community First Foundation. "This is wonderful news as we ultimately want GivingFirst.org to be used by nonprofits and donors statewide."

"The Learning Source is thrilled to be a new GivingFirst.org participant," said Susan A. Lythgoe, executive director of The Learning Source in Lakewood. "The opportunity to reach donors beyond the scope of our individual organization's efforts, combined with no processing fees for donations, means more funding will go directly to our programs. This support for our annual appeal efforts is unprecedented."

Similar to last year, Colorado Gives Day processing fees will be covered by Community First Foundation, FirstBank and local foundations so that 100 percent of Colorado Gives Day donations go directly to nonprofit organizations. FirstBank, Colorado's largest locally owned bank, has renewed its role as corporate partner of Colorado Gives Day, committing $500,000 to kick off the 2011 campaign including $300,000 for the FirstBank Incentive Fund. The FirstBank Incentive Fund will be proportionally allocated across all donations received, increasing the value of each donation. FirstBank is also sponsoring 12 new High Five prizes at $5,000 each.

"Colorado Gives Day brings the community together while creating awareness about important needs across our state," said Brad Meuli, president and CEO of the Denver Rescue Mission. "The Denver Rescue Mission is appreciative to participate and be part of GivingFirst and Colorado Gives Day."

For more information about GivingFirst.org or Colorado Gives Day, please call 720-898-5911.

About Colorado Gives Day

Colorado Gives Day is an initiative to increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving. Presented once again by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day will take place during a 24-hour period on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Donations will be accepted through the website GivingFirst.org, with a goal to inspire and unite Coloradans in supporting local nonprofits. Colorado Gives Day media partners include The Networks of 9News, Clear Channel, Comcast, Rocky Mountain PBS, Colorado Public Television (CPT 12, Channel 12), Entravision Communications and 5280 Magazine.

About Community First Foundation

Community First Foundation helps donors and nonprofits come together to improve quality of life in the Denver metro area. We use our resources to fund community programs, support the services of nonprofit organizations, and assist individuals with charitable giving. By monitoring the pulse of the community, we create new and innovative programs such as GivingFirst,org, an online giving resource, and Colorado Gives Day, an initiative that inspired Coloradans to donate more than $8.4 million in one day last year. We've been serving the region since 1975.

About FirstBank

FirstBank operates more than 125 locations in Colorado, Arizona and California. FirstBank is the largest locally owned banking organization in Colorado, serving more than 600,000 customers. Since its inception in 1963, FirstBank has contributed $40 million and thousands of volunteer hours to charitable organizations. The bank was recognized as a 2010 "Partner in Philanthropy" by the Denver Business Journal because of its philanthropic activities. FirstBank is unique in that a majority of its stock is owned by management and employees. For more information, go to www.efirstbank.com.

SOURCE GivingFirst.org