Views

Local Nonprofi ts Need Your Support on #GivingTuesday

By Amber Jamieson

newsroom@northcoastjournal.com

We have all heard of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday. A few years ago, a new event was added to our list: Giving Tuesday, which is reserved for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a day to encourage people to do good and give back to charities.

Humboldt County has a strong sense of community and a long tradition of supporting local businesses, artists and nonprofi ts. Historically, our unique location behind the Redwood Curtain has required that we become creative and self-reliant, and our region’s farmers, local artists, small business owners and nonprofi t organizations are the fruit of this Humboldt spirit.

However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen unprecedented social and economic impacts in our community. Many people are now working from home semi-permanently, community events have been canceled, people are shopping online instead of downtown and local businesses are closing their doors. As a community, we need to make a conscious e ort to support what we value. If we value our local farmers, artists and small businesses, we need to invest in them by supporting them fi nancially.

Equally important is supporting our nonprofi t sector — the organizations that provide an opportunity for people to work together for the common good to strengthen the fabric of our communities. Nonprofi ts foster civic engagement, provide goods and services to the needy, protect the environment, support traditional cultures, drive economic growth and provide an avenue to transform our highest ideals and noblest causes into reality. But the pandemic has had a major e ect on this segment of our economy. During times of crisis, many nonprofi ts have become even more critical in providing these types of services while, at the same time, funding streams to support activities have become even more stressed, now facing increasing competition for a shrinking pool of funds from an even smaller pool of willing donors.

There are hundreds of local nonprofits on the North Coast that fulfi ll their mission to provide key services benefi tting our communities, but we often do not realize they are there until we need their help. A few of the services our local nonprofi ts o er to our community include feeding the homeless, connecting advocates with foster children, delivering free spay and neutering services, educating people about traditional foodways, protecting wild places from industrial logging and herbicide spraying, providing grief counseling, hospice care, subsidized childcare and so much more. Many assume that large grants cover most of these activities but the truth is that a signifi cant portion of their income comes from individual donations from people like you. Most nonprofi ts are a labor of love; they operate on shoestring budgets and their sta s must multitask, sometimes carrying out essential program tasks while simultaneously fundraising, accounting and doing their own outreach.

Our unique location on the Lost Coast means we have fewer connections with the outside world and larger organizations do not provide services to our area. Over the past couple of years, the pandemic has been incredibly di cult for individuals, leaving people feeling more isolated and alone, and now more than ever, we value the benefi ts of being involved with our community and the importance of working together to create a groundswell of support for the nonprofi ts providing essential services to our area.

This Giving Tuesday, give back to those organizations that make the North Coast special. As we enter the holiday giving season, I am asking you to think of the local organizations that provide benefi ts that serve you or your interests and make charitable donations to support their work on this upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 30. ● Amber Jamieson (she/her) is the Communications and Development director at the Environmental Protection Information Center.

Low income Subsidies and Extra Help programs are available

Call HICAP the (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) for help navigating Medicare.

“The production of this document was supported, in part, by grant number CFDA 93.924 from the US Administration for Community Living (ACL), DHHS, Washington, DC. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration of Community Living policy.” Its contents are solely the responsibility of A1AA/HICAP and do not necessarily represent the official views of ACL.”

Call (707) 444-3000 | 1-800-434-0222 for more information.

“Special APR Financing available on new 2021 models now through November 30th, 2021”

• The 2022 Subaru Outback is a 2021 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ (excludes Wilderness models).

• Best Resale Value in its class for two years running, according to Kelley Blue Book.54

• 97% of Subaru Outback vehicles sold in the last 10 years are still on the road today, more than Honda

CR-V, Toyota RAV4, or Hyundai Santa Fe.51 • NHTSA 5-Star Overall Safety Rating.55

• Best Resale Value in its class for two years running, according to Kelley Blue Book.54

• 97% of Subaru Crosstrek vehicles sold in the last 9 years are still on the road today, more than Honda

CR-V, Toyota RAV4, or Jeep Compass.56

NDD MRC/MRD

McCrea Subaru

1406 5th Street Eureka • 442-1741 www.mccreasubaru.com

0% fi nancing for 48 months. Monthly payment of $15.87 per $1,000 borrowed on approved credit. All advertised prices excludes government fees and taxes, any fi nancing charges, and any emission testing charge. On approved credit. Ad expires 11-30-2021