F.S. child care organization competing nationally

Non-profit charity hopes to raise $10K by Dec. 3

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The Child Care Council of Nassau, located in Franklin Square, is competing in crowdfunding website Razoo’s national #givingTuesday competition on Dec. 3. Crowdfunding refers to the practice of raising small amounts of funds from a large number of people or organizations. The goal of the competition is to raise as much money by Dec. 3 to be eligible for Razoo’s prizes and donations.

The #givingTuesday competition is being held the week after Thanksgiving and after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday because it “is a day to remind us that giving means much more than the exchange of material goods,” Razoo CEO Lesley Mansford told the Herald.

In its first year last November, the competition generated 185,000 mentions on social media channels and was supported by Bill Gates, the White House and the Clinton Foundation. Razoo will contribute $100,000 in prizes to the top fundraisers and organizations. The grand prize for top fundraiser is $15,000; grand prize for the top nonprofit organization is $5,000. To be eligible for prizes, organizations must raise a minimum of $100 on their fundraising pages. Pages are linked to the Razoo platform.

Mansford said that the day is dedicated to encouraging people across America to give to worthy causes.

“By hosting this national day of giving competition, donors and nonprofits alike will be inspired to give a little more this holiday season in the spirit of friendly competition,” she said. “Whether it is through volunteering at [a] local shelter, helping a friend in need, or donating to a worthy cause, [we] encourage everyone to get involved.”

The Child Care Council of Nassau is raising funds to spread awareness of its initiatives and to take advantage of an opportunity to create a campaign for a new Parent Engagement Program. The program would help hone leadership skills of parents and addressed the needs of children more effectively. Jennifer Brackman, community events assistant for the CCCN, told the Herald that the organization last year found out about the competition just a few days prior to being held but realistically expects to raise $10,000 this year, especially given the fact that it will match all donations.

“Without much time to put together a campaign, only a few hundred dollars were raised for #givingTuesday [last year],” Brackman said. This year, we’ve had plenty of time and are using so many different tools and strategies that this seems like a truly realistic goal. In past years, we usually raise between $5,000 and $10,000 in year-end gifts prior to participating in #givingTuesday. Since we’ve decided to include our #givingTuesday project in this year’s annual appeal, and with the incentive that the matching gift will create for people to give towards the project, we feel pretty confident about our $10,000 goal.”

Brackman said that the organization has spread the word about its goals and the competition by sending emails to parents, child-care providers, volunteers, friends and supporters. In addition, links on the organization’s website have been included in all emails, a Razoo donation application has been added on the CCCN’s Facebook page, the hash-tag has been used on the organization’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts and the CCCN has created a Thunderclap account. Thunderclap is a website that allows people to pledge using Twitter or Facebook to relay specific messages to a directed audience.

“Our #givingTuesday fundraiser encourages people who care about the work that we do,” Brackman said, “and the work that we have planned for the future, to give to us.”