A local group is launching a national day of giving this week aimed at environmental and sustainability nonprofits.

Valley-based Earth Gives has announced the first Earth Gives Day for Oct. 7 as a way to catalyzing environmental philanthropy

.EarthGives.org provides a “one-stop” opportunity for individual donors to invest in mission-driven groups doing critical work. Earth Gives Day is the first national, single issue day bringing focus to the least funded yet most consequential issue of our time – the environment and the climate crisis.

“We want to open the door and welcome people who might feel a bit overwhelmed by the massive scale of the climate problem,” said Rhonda Bannard, founder and executive director of Earth Gives. “EarthGives.org serves as a way to build a community of caring people who are not only looking out for the environment and their impact on it, but also for one another and future generations.”

The platform of a giving day has raised millions for the nonprofit sector in various states or regions. Earth Gives Day is showcasing a small yet diverse group of nonprofits — from land conservancy, STEM education for youth and Black, Indigenous and people of color communities, renewable initiatives, environmental stewardship through the legal system, and work that inspires volunteer engagement like tree plantings and other efforts.

The organizations include those from around the U.S. and are large, small, and in between. The giving day process is “gamified” with a prize fund to inspire a friendly competition to allow those participating to win additional dollars for bringing in the most donors, or those generating the most dollars.

Any donations collected during the early giving period currently underway and through Oct. 7 will count toward the organization’s potential to win prize dollars.

While this startup year prize fund is modest and made possible by every day generous individuals giving from $200 to
$2,000, larger giving days in the country rallied citizens to contribute nearly $60M with a $1.5M prize fund.

Tools on Earthgives.org allow nonprofits to invite board members, volunteers, and other supporters to help. Individuals can set up their own personal fundraising page with a specific fundraising goal to support an organization of their choosing. Those pages and the profile of the organization itself are easy to share on social media channels, helping the giving opportunities to spread.

Bannard said she anticipates future years of this giving day will grow as other similar initiatives and will attract hundreds of organizations and generate millions of dollars to catalyze the critical work that occurs both in small locales and across the U.S. and globe. Subsequent years will build on “next steps” by inspiring action beyond the donation for the novice to the experienced environmentalist.