Donations are coming in daily for the “Giving Tuesday” community fundraising drive, said  Mackenzie Mitchell at the Golden Belt Community Foundation.

Officially, Giving Tuesday is on Nov. 28, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It has become as much of a holiday tradition as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. However, unlike those days, which are devoted to shopping, Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement. According to GivingTuesday.org, it was created in 2012 as a day that encourages people to do good.

 Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity.

That is a perfect fit with the purpose of the Golden Belt Community Foundation, said Mitchell, GBCF development and communications coordinator.

At over $30 million in total assets and more than 180 funds under management, the Golden Belt Community Foundation has been connecting people who care to causes that matter since 1996. GBCF serves the counties of Barton, Pawnee, Rush and Stafford as a vehicle for charitable giving for donors.

For the Giving Tuesday campaign, GBCF invites people to make donations to nonprofit groups from the area, even if they don’t have endowed funds with the foundation.

“We have a few new groups, with a total of 106 on the list this year. That is our highest number yet,” Mitchell said.

“Dollars are coming in the door daily and we are excited to see how this year turns out. This is our 10th year of Giving Tuesday here at GBCF.” With Nov. 28 less  than a week away, she invites the public to “ help us in making this year a perfect 10!”

“This year we have $70,000 in matching dollars and will do a proportional match again this year,” Mitchell said. 

On Nov. 28, Giving Tuesday donations may be left at bank drop-off locations as in years past from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. GBCF will have incentives throughout the day for giving online. Gifts posted from 6-8 a.m. for the kickoff, from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch, from 5-6 p.m. for the end of the workday; and from 10-11:59 p.m. for the “last chance” will be entered in drawings. The winner gets an extra donation to the organization of his or her choice, courtesy of GBCF. 

To give online, head to goldenbeltcf.org and click DONATE. 

Donations may also be dropped in the mail or delivered in person to the GBCF office at 1307 Williams St. in Great Bend. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Find more information and all of the details at the Golden Belt Community Foundation Facebook page.