Arts & Entertainment
Give Big 2022: Your guide to giving
Eighth Annual community-wide fundraising event kicks off May 5 and 6
By Tucker Harris EBS STAFF
Correction: An earlier version of this article failed to include the nonprofit Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance. The article has been updated to include GISA.
BIG SKY – The Eighth Annual Give Big Gallatin Valley event returns May 5-6 as an opportunity to help fundraise and celebrate Gallatin Valley and Big Sky nonprofits over the course of 24 hours starting at 6 p.m. on givebiggv.org/. With so many nonprofits supporting the small community of Big Sky, giving back helps them continue to provide accessible programs and resources to those who make this place special.
Since its inaugural event eight years ago, Give Big has raised over $8.5 million from almost 60,000 gifts for more than 210 nonprofits.
“[Give Big is] a great way for your organization to connect with new and existing donors to raise critical funding for your work and to gain exposure for your nonprofit,” said Bridget Wilkinson, president and CEO of One Valley Community Foundation in a Feb. 3 press release.
Give Big is sponsored by the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, which will be giving away cash prizes to organizations who help promote the event on social media.
For a full list of nonprofits participating in the Give Big event this year visit givebiggv.org/.
Big Sky Give Big participating organizations
The Arts Council of Big Sky offers arts for everyone in the Big Sky community and beyond. Donations will go toward teaching artists and programs in Big Sky’s local schools, building an art-centric community with projects such as the trash can art wraps, special artist initiatives including live NPR shows, creating a sustainable arts ecosystem and further building out the arts council’s home in the BASE community center.
Big Sky Community Housing Trust
The Big Sky Community Housing Trust helps locals access housing. Lack of housing in Big Sky impacts every segment of the community. Giving to BSCHT will help create immediate inventory for locals through their programs like Rent Local and Good Deeds. BSCHT is also offering a giveaway: Any contributors during Give Big will be eligible to win a $2,000 gift card to Vacasa.
Big Sky Community Organization
Big Sky Community Organization connects people with recreational and enrichment opportunities. Donations made to BSCO will go toward supporting year-round outdoor recreation, offering more opportunities for local youth to attend camps, keeping local trails safe and accessible, expanding the recreational programs at BASE for all ages and promoting health and wellness in Big Sky. BSCO is offering an incentive for gifts over $250 with the opportunity to receive a BASE beanie, t-shirt or an Osprey hip pack based on the amount you give.
With 70 students enrolled in Kindergarten through high school, Big Sky Discovery Academy’s student enrollment represents close to 10 percent of the local public school student population. Donations go toward helping provide a flexible, personalized and real-life learning experience and schedule for Big Sky’s local students. As the only independent, nonprofit school in Big Sky, the money raised will go toward scholarships to help relieve any financial burden families may face.
Big Sky Sustainability Network Organization
Big Sky Sustainability Network Organization strives to preserve and protect Big Sky through environmental and sustainable initiatives. One of its current projects is drafting a Climate Action Plan for the Big Sky area with more than 30 community stakeholders in hopes to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 in Big Sky. Donations will go toward becoming a steward for Big Sky SNO and helping reduce carbon emissions in order to be able to continue to enjoy the beautiful outdoors for generations to come.
Friends of the Big Sky Community Library
The Big Sky Community Library seeks to ensure that everyone has access to free and open ideas and information. The library wants to help protect intellectual freedom, promote literacy, encourage lifelong learning and provide library materials and informational services in the community. Your donation will be used to support operational needs of the library staff such as salaries and equipment as well as for expanding the existing collection and shelving to store more materials.
Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance
Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance’s mission is to protect natural resources from the threats of invasive species. Donations will go toward recreation efforts to protect rivers and trails, conserving the Gallatin Canyon and protecting riverfront vegetation, and inspiring a community to “grow wild” with Crail Ranch Native Gardens. GISA is hosting a fundraiser for Give Big at Beehive Basin Brewery, on Thursday, May 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. benefitting the protection efforts for the Spanish Peaks bighorn sheep winter range.
The Gallatin River Task Force is giving the opportunity to become a steward of the Gallatin and water conservation. As the only nonprofit focused on improving and protecting the help of the Upper Gallatin River Watershed, donations will go toward an investment in a healthy river for future generations. The task force is offering a Patagonia or similar vendor item with each donation ranging from a t-shirt or hat to a Sage Foundation rod and reel.
Morningstar Learning Center focuses on providing Big Sky’s youth and families with reliable child care, quality early education and supportive resources. As the only full-time daycare and preschool in Big Sky, donating to MLC will help ensure an affordable and safe educational environment by helping cover operational costs in providing snacks for children-in-need, supporting staff’s health insurance, covering tuition costs and more. Kissell Construction and Property Services has agreed to match 100 percent up to $10,000 in donations.
The Soldier’s Chapel in Big Sky is a non-denominational Christian memorial chapel that provides services every Sunday from Memorial Day through Labor Day at 11 a.m. for the Big Sky community and guests. Donations made during Give Big will go toward maintenance, staffing the new speakers each week and helping to keep the doors open in the summer months beyond the weekly donations and wedding fees the chapel receives.
Warren Miller Performing Arts Center
The Warren Miller Performing Arts Center brings creative vision to the stage in Big Sky though world-class acts, local performances and community inspiration to the mountain community in an intimate experience. Donations to WMPAC will help the nonprofit continue to serve the arts community and bring moments of connection, beaming smiles, standing ovations and transformative experiences to the stage.
Wellness in Action (formerly Women in Action)
Wellness in Action seeks to enrich the lives of the Big Sky community by providing sliding-scale counseling, classes on substance abuse and other behavioral health issues as well as well-being opportunities such as camp scholarships. Donations to WIA will go toward helping make counseling and other programs accessible, affordable and available for the people of Big Sky. WIA’s goal is for people to have the best life experiences that they can in Big Sky.
Prizes:
The Spanish Peaks and Yellowstone community foundations are offering cash prizes to nonprofits in support of Give Big. The nonprofit from the Big Sky, Gallatin Gateway or West Yellowstone communities that raises the most money between 10 and 11 a.m. on May 6 will receive $1,000 from SPCF.
YCCF will randomly select 10 social media posts with the hashtag #GiveBigGV and give $100 to the organization that the post references. Additionally, YCCF will offer three $500 prizes at random selection to any organization that promotes giving to another nonprofit and sends a photo of the promotion to anna@onevalley.org by Wednesday, May 4. The three organizations will be announced on May 6 at 4 p.m.
