2026 Giving Day Guidelines

Find all the info specific to your Giving Day below!

  1.  Participating organizations must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization or government organization located in or significantly impacting residents of Bay or Arenac counties.
  2. An endowment fund held at BACF in support of your organization must be active. New endowment funds must be established no later than March 10, 2026, to participate in the 2026 event.
  3. Participating organizations must sign the statement of agreement by March 13, 2026, and complete an online profile at www.givelocalbay.org by April 6, 2026, to remain eligible.
  4. 50% of donations, matching funds and incentive prize dollars generated during Give Local Bay will be allocated to the non-spendable principal of your endowed fund.
  5. Donations must be a minimum of $10.
  6. Only gifts made online through givelocalbay.org on May 5 are eligible for incentive prize dollars. Online donations can be made from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm on Tuesday, May 5 at givelocalbay.org.
  7. Participating organizations are eligible to earn a percentage of the matching pool dollars, with the exact amount determined by the total funds they raise during Give Local Bay. To be eligible for matching pool dollars, a donation must be:
    a.  Received online through givelocalbay.org on May 5 between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm
    b.  Received as cash or check at the BACF office located in the Pere Marquette Depot at 1000 Adams Street between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm on May 5
  8. All checks must be made out to the Bay Area Community Foundation and designated with Give Local Bay and the name of the organization to direct the funds.
  9. Bulk offline gifts (more than 10 gifts of check/cash at a time) must be received no later than 4:00 pm on May 5th at the BACF office and include offline donor gift forms (provided by BACF before the event upon request).
  10. Participating organizations are encouraged to focus most of their marketing efforts (newsletters, social media, email campaigns, etc.) on Give Local Bay in the weeks leading up to the event. BACF will provide several messaging templates, or you can create your own.
  11. Participating organizations that have a website are encouraged to add the Give Local Bay logo/link on the home page of their organization’s website before and on the day of the event.
  12. Participating organizations are encouraged to have a Facebook page. Through this platform, your organization, staff, and board of directors are encouraged to help promote Give Local Bay leading up to and during the 24-hour event.
  13. BACF covers all online credit card and/or processing fees associated with Give Local Bay so that 50% of each donation will be allocated to the non-spendable principal of your endowed fund.