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Support Colorado Wildfire Relief on GivingFirst.org: 100% Goes to Charity

By Dana Rinderknecht, Manager of Online Giving

I am a Colorado Native and love this beautiful state where we live. In recent conversations with friends we have been comparing memories, as I do not remember fires happening when I was child. Now I am sure they did but I don’t remember them. I do remember Smokey the Bear telling us that "only you can prevent wildfires," so they must have happened.
The first forest fire that hits my radar is the one in Yellowstone back in 1988 and how devastating that was. In Colorado, the first that we all talk about is the Hayman fire and the destruction and consequences felt.
Once again, we find our state on fire. I watched and read about all the amazing work that nonprofits around Colorado were doing to support those affected. Over and over again I saw the names of nonprofits who I knew were on GivingFirst.org. So, I began to wonder how we here at Community FirstFoundation could help.

Wait! Every single day I talk about the fact that we have an online giving tool that is an easy way for donors to support their favorite nonprofit. Better yet, it is an easy way for donors to support multiple agencies across the state in one single donation. Fires are burning across Colorado – north, south, east and west. Where do you donate to support all of these?

So with the simple question “How can we help?” the team here at Community First Foundation got into action! A logo was designed to show donors easily where to click for more information. An e-mail was sent to all of our current participants asking how they were supporting the fire victims. New pages were created to highlight those that were accepting donations and those who were accepting non-cash donations. Press releases were issued, social media was enacted, and our fire support was off and running.

As we worked to get all these pieces in place, the senior team decided that in conjunction Community First Foundation would pick up all the processing fees for these donations through GivingFirst.org through the end of July! So 100% of all donations would go to support those who need them most.

I have learned so much from this process. First and foremost, there are so many groups needed to support victims of fire. We always hear about the Red Cross and rightly so as they are a tribute to their mission. But there are also many animal organizations, food banks, mental health organizations and housing assistance organizations that are also true to their mission, helping those who never thought they would need their assistance.

Coloradans are amazing. We see that year round but, of course, especially on Colorado Gives Day. We are also willing to help with our time, treasure and talent. The Colorado wildfires are once again reminding us of this.
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