Fremont Area Big Give — 24‑Hour Online Drive

Fremont’s big local giving day is live now — and the basic idea is simple. For 24 hours on Thursday, May 7, people can go online and give to nonprofits across the Fremont and greater Dodge County area. But this is bigger than a one-day donation button. The Fremont Area Big Give has turned into a yearly fundraising engine for small and midsize local groups that need unrestricted money, not just one-off project grants. (fremontareabiggive.org) ### What is happening today? The Fremont Area Big Give is a 24-hour online giving event run by the Fremont Area Community Foundation. This year’s edition began at 12:00 a.m. CST on May 7, 2026, and runs until 11:59 p.m. CST. Anyone can donate through the event site, and the money goes to registered participating nonprofits in the Greater Dodge County area. (fr([fremontareabiggive.org)# Who is running it? The organizer is the Fremont Area Community Foundation — the local foundation that underwrites the event, handles the platform, and lines up sponsors for bonus prizes. That matters because a giving day like this only works if somebody is doing the unglamorous coordination — processing gifts, setting rules, and making sure dozens of nonpro(fremontareabiggive.org)scratch. (fremontareabiggive.org) ### How big is this year’s event? This is the 10th annual Fremont Area Big Give, and 78 nonprofits are participating. That gives the event real scale. It is not one charity’s fundraiser dressed up as a community event — it is a shared marketplace for local causes, from housing and food support to arts, parks, youth programs, and emergency services. (ruralradio([fremontareabiggive.org)e-set-for-may-7th/)) ### How does giving actually work? Basically, donors shop the site the way they would shop an online store. You search for an organization, choose an amount, and add gifts to a cart. The minimum donation is $10, and there is no maximum. People can also give from bank accounts, use certain donor-advised funds, and in some cases su(ruralradio.com) for people who wanted to donate before the main day. (fremontareabiggive.org) ### Why do the prizes matter? Because prizes can steer attention and add money. Sponsors fund hourly awards and other incentives, and nonprofits can also benefit from matching gifts. One rule is especially important — once an organization wins an hourly prize, it cannot win another hourly one, which spreads opportunity around. This year also adds a milestone-ye(fremontareabiggive.org)profit a $10,000 endowment fund at the community foundation. That is long-tail money, not just a one-day bump. (fremontareabiggive.org) ### Why is unrestricted money such a big deal? Because nonprofits usually need boring money as much as exciting money. A donor may love funding a visible project, but groups also need payroll, rent, utilities, software, repairs, and the ability to shift resources when demand changes. The Big Give is built around raising unrestricted dollars, which means local org(fremontareabiggive.org) forcing every need into a special campaign. (fremontareabiggive.org) ### Has this worked before? Yes — and that is the real reason people in Fremont pay attention to it. Last year’s event raised more than $480,000 for area nonprofits. Since the giving day started, it has raised more than $3 million, and the event website says the broader running total since 2017 is nearing $3.5 million. Even allowing for site-counter quirks, the directi(fremontareabiggive.org)nprofit funding. (thebestmix1055.com) ### Bottom line This is one of those local stories that sounds small until you look at the mechanics. A single day, a low $10 entry point, 78 nonprofits, and prize money layered on top — that combination turns ordinary small donations into something much larger for Fremont-area groups. (fremontareabiggive.org)