Many know Willamette Week as a weekly newspaper from here in Portland, established in 1974. It’s a well-established paper and website focusing on news and local politics—with a very Portland feel. Now that it’s November, Willamette Week ends the year with its annual Give Guide, stylized as G!G or Give!Guide.
Give Guide, established in 2004, is an end-of-year guide stretching from Nov. 1–Dec. 31. With the Give Guide website, users can navigate through different groups and nonprofits hosted by Willamette Week. The organizations focus on a variety of topics from hunger to animals to creative expression and can be easily searched and sorted as such. Donations made to these organizations are the newspaper’s way to end on a hoorah. G!G has raised over $40 million since 2004 for hundreds of nonprofits and continues the tradition for the 17th year.
As the G!G continues to grow, so does the technology surrounding it. This year, donors are able to see which organizations are led by Black, Indigenous, people of color—over half of their leadership identifying as such—in addition to groups that are new to G!G or Oregon Cultural Trust (OCT) certified. All of the organizations are 501(c)3 tax deductible.
Willamette Week focuses on wanting to reach young donors,by opening up the ability to donate in smaller amounts. This creates an opportunity for more to get involved as they grow financially and professionally. The initial donation amount is just $10. Additionally, donating on a Big Give Day enters the donor to win prizes, on top of the charitable contribution.
In order to get into the G!G, a nonprofit must be registered 501(c)3, do meaningful work in the Portland-metropolitan area, and be in Multnomah, Washington or Clackamas county. This year, 37% of the G!G members are brand-new.
The Give Guide website is simple to navigate, allowing potential donors to select a non-profit, read its mission statement with more information about its cause and business partners—and possible incentives. Some are providing bonuses and pairing up with local businesses.
The Oregon Justice Resource Center is giving the first 50 people who donate $25 or more a free coupon to Salt & Straw for a cone. Pueblo Unido is doing random drawings at different tiers for gift cards. Others are connected within bigger prizes on Big Give Days.
The Give Guide website has more information and is open through Dec. 31.
