On Your Mark, Get Set . . . Giving Spree Planning Starts NOW!

We are at the starting gate for the 2023 edition of one of our community’s greatest annual events. For more than a dozen years, the Adams County Community Foundation Giving Spree has been Adams County’s day of giving: the day when everyone in the community comes together to learn about local nonprofits and give them a financial boost.

In each of the last two years our Giving Spree earned the distinction of being the largest per capita giving day in the USA. Adams Countians gave more than $3 million to support 100 nonprofits in 2021 and again in 2022. Let’s break records again in 2023!

We’re keeping the special Giving Spree features of the last two years: the giving options to “drop it off, mail it in, or give online.” Plus, we’ll once again host a live Giving Spree event on November 9 at the Gettysburg Area Middle School, where you can meet up with the nonprofits you love best and discover some new favorites.  

For donors: As always, we’ll make it easy for you to give to multiple nonprofits with one gift by check, credit card, or securities. If you choose to give with a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA, please be sure your IRA administrator knows the gift is made to the Adams County Community Foundation and allow time for your gift to arrive.

We’re working to make sure that past donors receive just one Giving Spree Donation Form in the mail. But anyone will be able to download the Donor Guide and Donation Form in September from ACCFGivingSpree.org or through the Gettysburg Times and participating nonprofit websites.

Once again, donors will decide how each gift they make is used by the nonprofits they support with a checkbox on the Donation Form. A “today” gift goes directly to the organization for its immediate use. A “forever” gift will be added to your favorite nonprofits’ endowment, to provide an annual grant to the nonprofit for years and decades to come.

For nonprofits: The application process to be a part of the Giving Spree is only open to Adams County nonprofits that provide direct services to County residents. Your application includes your Board of Directors list, a step-by-step plan to raise new money through the Giving Spree and your nonprofit’s nondiscrimination policy. In the interest of transparency and accountability, we’re also asking nonprofits to confirm that their most recent annual financial statements are available to donors online.

Want to help us bring the Giving Spree to a wider audience? Consider joining this year’s early event sponsors: Sharon C. Magraw, Cynthia & David Salisbury, FirstEnergy Foundation, Ryan and Megan Fox, Huston-Fox Financial Advisory, Kampstra Wealth Management, John & Kim Phillips and Rice Fruit Company. Or help donors give more by adding your name to our incentive match sponsors: J. William Warehime Foundation Fund, Thomas E. & Florence B. Metz Fund, Sharon C. Magraw, Cynthia & David Salisbury and the Knouse Foods Fund.

There’s room for everyone in the Giving Spree. How can we help you be a part of this year’s event? I’d like to know. Contact me at rserpe@adamscountycf.org or 717-337-0060. Ralph Serpe is president & CEO of the Adams County Community Foundation.