Fremont Area Big Give 24-hour Donation Drive

Fremont’s annual online giving day is back today, and the pitch is simple — for 24 hours, local donors can send money straight to nonprofits across the area. The Fremont Area Big Give opened at midnight on Thursday, May 7, and runs through 11:59 p.m. tonight. This year is the event’s 10th edition, and it’s being run again by the Fremont Area Community Foundation. The point is not just to raise money, but to get flexible money into local organizations that usually spend a lot of time chasing restricted grants. ### What is happening today? The Fremont Area Big Give is a one-day online fundraising drive for nonprofits in Fremont and the greater Dodge County area. Donors pick an organization on the event site and give there, rather than mailing checks or waiting for a gala later in the year. This year’s event started Thursday, May 7, and lasts 24 hours. (Fremont Area Big Give 2026; KTIC) ### Who is running it? The organizer is the Fremont Area Community Foundation, which has turned the giving day into a yearly local campaign. The foundation frames it as both a fundraiser and a community-wide push to celebrate local nonprofits — basically, a way to get many groups in front of donors at the same time instead of making each one compete for attention on different weekends. (Fremont Area Big Give FAQ; Fremont Area Big Give 2026) ### How many groups are involved? This year, 78 nonprofits are participating. That matters because the event is not built around one marquee charity. It spreads attention across arts groups, service organizations, youth programs, shelters, and other local institutions. For donors, that makes the site work a little like a one-day local giving marketplace. For smaller groups, it creates visibility they might not get on their own. (KTIC) ### Why do organizers keep stressing “unrestricted” dollars? Because unrestricted money is the useful kind. A grant might cover only one program or one piece of equipment. Unrestricted donations can go to payroll, utilities, repairs, transportation, or whatever problem is most urgent that month. That sounds less glamorous, but turns out it’s often what keeps a nonprofit stable. The Big Give explicitly says it is meant to raise unrestricted dollars for area organizations. (Fremont Area Big Give 2026) ### How big has this become? The event site says the Big Give has inspired more than 17,000 gifts and raised nearly $3.5 million since 2017. That gives the 10th year some real context — this is no longer a small experiment. It has become a recurring funding channel for local groups, especially the ones that rely on broad community support instead of a few major donors. (Fremont Area Big Give 2026) ### Why does the 10th year matter? Anniversary branding can be fluff, but here it signals durability. A lot of local giving days flare up for a few cycles and then fade. Ten years means donors know the format, nonprofits plan around it, and the foundation has built a habit into the calendar. That kind of repetition matters more than a one-time splash because it makes fundraising more predictable. (Best Mix 105.5; Fremont Area Big Give 2026) ### Where do donations actually go? They go through the event platform at FremontAreaBigGive.org, where donors can search participating organizations and give directly during the 24-hour window. The catch is timing — if someone wants their gift counted as part of this year’s campaign, it needs to land before the day ends Thursday night. (Fremont Area Big Give search page; Fremont Area Big Give FAQ) ### Bottom line This is a local fundraising sprint, but the bigger story is cash flow. Fremont’s Big Give gives dozens of nonprofits one concentrated day of attention — and, more important, money they can use however they need right now.