There is value in giving back to your community, no matter how large or small. This is a core principle that the Sacramento Region Community Foundation has continued to believe in since it started its “Big Day of Giving” back in 2013.
Every year in May, Davis and surrounding communities come together during a 24-hour giving drive to support hundreds of nonprofits that take care of our most vulnerable residents and other vital local causes.
The 14th annual Big Day of Giving, taking place this year on May 7, has raised more than $117 million since it began for nonprofits serving El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.
This year’s Big Day of Giving is already breaking records, with 900 nonprofits signed up to participate, the most ever since the event’s inception. More than 100 of those nonprofits are located in Yolo County.
“When it started in 2013, the concept was just to start around arts and it raised over $500,000 in a single day,” SRCF Chief Philanthropy Officer Kelly Siefkin explained to The Enterprise. “The community recognized we were onto something here and we expanded it to include any nonprofit serving the four county region. It’s incredibly impactful.”
Siefkin says that many nonprofits in the region rely on Big Day of Giving as one of their major fundraising sources for the year, as many of them are entirely volunteer-led.
“A lot of nonprofits really benefit from bringing their donors to a central place and welcoming new donors,” said Siefkin.
SRCF works year-round to support nonprofits with things like setting fundraising goals, social media, developing marketing plans, and more. As the Big Day of Giving approaches, SRCF hosts free training workshops to provide peer support and inspiration.
According to Siefkin, the event and its success has caught the attention of communities across the country, with more than a dozen reaching out for advice on how to launch their own giving days.
New this year on the SRCF website will be a tool called, “Discovery Assist” that will allow donors to search for causes aligned with their giving interests. Each nonprofit also has a profile on the SRCF website.
“The Discovery Assist tool is so exciting,” remarked Siefkin. “I think a lot of donors are going to really love a tool that helps narrow it down because 910 nonprofits can feel very, very overwhelming as a starting point for someone. The tool just walks you through it. It asks some basic questions and helps you navigate which organizations you want to support in a specific area or that serve a specific region or mission. It does all this filtering and narrows down so you can look at profiles and read to learn about each organization.”
Siefkin says getting involved with Big Day of Giving is important because it is hyper local.
“When individuals are thinking about the communities they live in and wanting to see positive change occur, it often comes down to them and philanthropy,” she stated. “The minimum gift for Big Day of Giving is just $10. Philanthropy at any size truly creates change.”
Siefkin says in 2025, the greater Sacramento region raised $13.8 million on Big Day of Giving, with the average donation being under $50.
“I think a lot of people are very surprised that you can get to something like $13.8 million with $10, $25, $50 gifts but that’s actually how philanthropy works,” said Siefkin. “If anyone is experiencing frustration or challenges with things going on in the world, I think philanthropy is a great place to start for individuals to help make change.”
Davis Phoenix Coalition
One Davis nonprofit organization that will be participating in Big Day of Giving this year is the Davis Phoenix Coalition.
The mission of DPC is to engage the community to eliminate intolerance for the purpose of preventing hate-motivated violence and cultivate a broader civic culture that embraces and promotes a diverse community.
The DPC has been a part of Big Day of Giving for over five years. This year the organization will be hosting its second annual “Big Day in Davis” alongside the Downtown Davis Business Association and the Davis Chamber of Commerce, which is intended to bring businesses and nonprofits together to connect and uplift each other.
Last year, DPC raised over $15,000 on Big Day of Giving. $1,800 was raised from downtown Davis participating restaurants and divided among over 20 local nonprofit partners from the first ever “Big Day in Davis” event.
SCRF has been instrumental in helping the DPC fundraise successfully on Big Day of Giving, according to DPC office administrator, Marisol Valdes.
“We are especially grateful for their ‘Cultivate’ program that focuses on BIPOC led nonprofits,” Valdes told The Enterprise. “Meetings and mentorship through this program help navigate the particular challenges that exist for BIPOC-led and focused nonprofits.”
With over 900 nonprofits to choose from on Big Day of Giving, Valdes points out some unique things about DPC that donors should consider when thinking about gifting to them.
“Our mission expansively benefits our community because we make great efforts to help amplify the work of other nonprofits doing similar work,” remarked Valdes. “For instance, we have helped with the recent No Kings marches led by Indivisible Yolo and are the fiscal sponsor for Ethnic Studies Yolo Academy. We are known best as the first and still one of the few nonprofits focused on LGBTQ+ advocacy. Our programs support anti-bullying efforts, raise awareness of our diversity, support queer youth, defend vulnerable communities and create safe, welcoming spaces for marginalized groups. We currently host a leadership workshop for immigrant moms and are working with community groups around support for immigrant issues.”
With current events in the world bringing so much uncertainty, both emotionally and financially, Valdes says events like Big Day of Giving highlight the importance of the work that nonprofits like DPC do, especially during times like these.
“When people are unsure of where the economy is going, donations to nonprofits drop off,” stated Valdes. “This hits our community in two ways. During economic downturns, nonprofits fill many gaps, but with less income, the increased work during these times is harder to do. The purpose of the Big Day of Giving is to make the community aware of the groups that do the work in our community and to connect people who give where their heart is to people who turn that money into direct action. When we come together and support the organizations that take care of our most vulnerable, we are participating in making our community more resilient. That is what makes us strong. That is what unites us. We need each other in the darkest of times and also the happiest.”
DPC invites the community to join them at the G Street Plaza in Davis on May 7 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for the second annual Big Day in Davis.
Nonprofits can sign up to participate in the event, and table on G Street or bring resources to network and educate about the work they are doing in Yolo County, by visiting https://forms.gle/CG4gtccYQSa4cbi79
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Another Davis nonprofit that will be participating in Big Day of Giving is Community Alliance with Family Farmers.
CAFF’s mission is to build sustainable food and farming systems through policy advocacy and on-the-ground programs that create more resilient family farms, communities and ecosystems.
According to CAFF executive director Paul Towers, the organization has been participating in Big Day of Giving since the event launched in 2013.
Big Day of Giving is vital to CAFF because it helps attract attention to their important work while making donating to them and other nonprofits easy and immediately gratifying.
Towers says last year CAFF raised $5,000 on Big Day of Giving and that the organization hopes to raise even more this year.
When asked why donors should choose to give a gift to CAFF, Towers explained that the organization’s work is essential to our region.
“In order to honor the region’s commitment as ‘America’s Farm to Fork Capital,’ we need to keep farmers farming,” stated Towers. “CAFF provides family-scale farmers with the support they need to succeed, from implementing regenerative farming practices to getting local, fresh food onto school lunch trays and making sure their voice is heard in state policymaking. This support remains critical. Based on the most recent U.S. Ag Census, California is losing four farms per day. This is made all the more urgent as federal cuts to nutrition programs mean local families will have less access to fresh food and increasing weather extremes — storms, drought and wildfires — all threaten the continued success of farming.”
“Over the past year, we’ve been able to help regional farmers more effectively manage pests without the use of pesticides, provided much-needed produce to local food banks, helped beginning and historically underserved farmers secure land, protected our precious groundwater resources and so much more. We can continue this critical work with additional support from value-aligned supporters.”
With public funding and private foundation funding being so uncertain at this time due to policy and market changes, Towers says even small contributions can make all the difference to nonprofits like CAFF.
“Small, flexible contributions to CAFF help us stand up for family-scale farmers and strengthen our local food systems,” remarked Towers.
Donors can start making donations when early giving launches on April 23 through Big Day of Giving on May 7 as nonprofits host gatherings and special events throughout the region to celebrate. The minimum donation is $10 and donors can pay online with a credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Venmo. Local businesses can also get involved by sponsoring the event, encouraging employee giving, offering matching gifts or helping spread the word to customers and partners.