Donations made during this year's Give DeKalb County fundraiser could be the key to survival for some of more than 90 local organizations participating in the event.
During the 24 hours after the clock strikes midnight going into Thursday, donors can give back to their community by visiting givedekalbcounty.org and making a donation to an organization of your choice.
Girls on the Run of Northwest Illinois is an after-school running program through which girls in third through fifth grades train for 10 weeks and participate in a 5K race. The program also promotes such values as self-esteem, confidence and cooperation.
DeKalb County Coordinator Jessica Eber said the organization, which is participating in Give DeKalb County this year, needed $15,000 to cover participation costs for girls last year.
Ebert said last year's Give DeKalb County provided a third of that amount for them in one day. Usually, she said, a single fundraiser would bring in $800 to $1,000 for the organization.
"It was really significant for us," Ebert said.
Ben Bingle, director of DeKalb County nonprofit partnership for the DeKalb County Community Foundation, said donors also can visit the foundation Thursday at 475 DeKalb Ave. with cash or a check, but the person who writes the check must be the person who drops it off.
Bingle said more than $465,000 was donated last year – a high-water mark for the event “by a noticeable amount,” he said.
Ebert said that kind of fundraising is important for the 145 participants this year for Girls on the Run because the organization asks parents to pay on a sliding scale for girls to participate. She said it costs $200 a girl to keep the program going, but the most a parent would pay is $175 a girl.
"We never want finances to be something that would prohibit a girl from participating," Ebert said.