CHEYENNE – Action and community service are two things that many organizations all over Wyoming stand for. The Wyoming Nonprofit Network has created a program called WyoGives that accentuates these traits through a 24-hour day of giving once a year in July.
The program, created in 2017 and executed for the first time in 2020, allows residents, businesses and other organizations to visit the WyoGives website, wyogives.org , at any point from 12 a.m.-11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10, to donate to any of the nonprofit(s) listed.
Jody Shields, the Wyoming Nonprofit Network's executive director, said donors can choose from a list of over 380 nonprofits located throughout Wyoming and donate any amount of money they’d like.
“We really started it as a way to bring the state together, to raise funds for Wyoming’s nonprofits, and to raise awareness about what they’re doing in our communities across the state,” Shields said. “It’s really a day of celebration and shining a light on that.”
This year, the giving day lands on Wyoming Statehood Day, Shields said, so they are tying that into the program to encourage community members to celebrate the state’s founding by donating to its nonprofits.
WyoGives has grown over the past five years, Shields said. In 2020, there were 130 participating nonprofits and $571,000 in donations. In 2023, there were 329 nonprofits with a little over $4 million raised.
The Unaccompanied Students Initiative is just one of the local nonprofits participating in the giving day this year. USI is a 501(c)(3) that was started in Cheyenne in 2018.
Jessica Sayers, the USI executive director, said the organization is a shelter and program all in one that serves homeless students who don't have parental figures in their lives through providing free housing, as well as help with education and job searches.
“We help them graduate from high school, meaning we get them registered for classes and meet with their counselors and make sure they’re on track to graduate,” Sayers said. “If they’ve already graduated, we make sure that they have their degree, we help with job placement. It’s catered to whatever the needs are of the student when they come into our program. We provide that stable home environment while they are transitioning into independent living.”
This is USI’s third year involved with WyoGives. Sayers said the organization has found that the relationships cultivated through WyoGives have benefited the nonprofit in many ways.
In the nonprofit sector, Sayers said they all pull from the same money pot, and WyoGives helps unite all the nonprofits so community members know what resources are out there.
“It really shows what a fantastic state Wyoming is in supporting one another to benefit our communities,” Sayers said. “I think that WyoGives is a wonderful platform to do that because it’s not only about fundraising, it’s really about awareness and allowing a platform to talk about our nonprofits and what we all do on a day-to-day basis, and how we’re changing the lives in our community.”
USI’s first year involved in WyoGives, it received close to $15,000, and another year was close to $18,000. The goal this year would be to raise $19,000, Sayers said, which would make a significant impact on the organization, especially now that they’ve opened three separate locations in Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie.
The donations will go toward a capital campaign for the nonprofit’s house in Laramie, as well as expansion into some youth programs, mental health support, relationship courses, increasing capacity within the student houses and buying household necessities.
“I just feel really lucky that we’ve been able to get to be a part of WyoGives,” Sayers said. “I’m really thankful for the Wyoming Nonprofit Network and the way they roll it out and make it so easy for our organizations to do a really solid day of giving. I think it just creates a real family feel for the nonprofit sector that we don’t often get, to come together and really show off what we do for the community.”
Each participating nonprofit has to pay a registration fee of $100 to $350 and put in their own marketing for the campaign, but Shields said the return on investment greatly outweighs the fee.
“It’s a way to collectively gain from this awareness, and for all the participating organizations to be able to raise funds in a collective and collaborative way,” Shields said.
My Front Door, which helps low- to moderate-income families with children end their cycles of poverty and achieve homeownership, is another nonprofit participating in WyoGives.
Brenda Birkle, the group's executive director, said this is the fifth year the nonprofit has taken part in WyoGives.
Birkle said MFD has set a goal for donations the past four years it has been involved, and has always received a ballpark number of about $12,000. This year, they hope to receive closer to $30,000.
The donations MFD receives will go toward continuing the organization's programming. The money will also be used to support the salary for the group's family advocate for counseling, Amy Phillips, and the director of real estate and project management, Toni Pittman.
“We are so incredibly grateful,” Birkle said. “The Wyoming Nonprofit Network membership organization works incredibly tirelessly on our behalf, on the behalf of all nonprofits, and, ultimately, the people we serve with our programming. They just work hours and hours and hours all around the year getting ready for this event, simply to support the work we do.”
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