Football season is here, and the only thing better than showing support by wearing your favorite team’s jersey is to do it for a good cause.
It’s time to let your spirit shine and sign up with the Newton Fund’s Jersey Day campaign to raise funds for local nonprofit organizations through your employer. Jersey Day kicks off at the start of the college football season on Sept. 5, 2015.
Participating employers are designating Fridays as the day each week when approved sports jerseys will be encouraged in the workplace — for just a small contribution of $1, $2 or $5 per employee. Jersey Day, as it’s being called, will build on team spirit — be it the Atlanta Falcons, the UGA Bulldogs or the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, for example — while creating a brand new team to support Newton County’s volunteer organizations.
The Newton Fund, a local fund The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, has worked tirelessly since the year 2000 to sponsor and enhance the best nonprofit efforts to meet critical needs locally. Since 2000, the Community Foundation has invested nearly $2.5 million in Newton County through its competitive grant-making programs and donor-advised philanthropic funds. The Newton Fund itself has awarded over $285,000 to more than 50 local nonprofits, funds raised through annual campaigns and matched in part by The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
The Newton Fund’s new fundraising venture — Jersey Day — appeals to local employers to get in the spirit of nonprofit efforts that support and fulfill community needs outside the purview of government services. Competitive grant recipients feed and house the needy, provide medical care and protection for victims of domestic and child abuse, care for the elderly and after-school students and promote outdoor recreation for physical and mental health, among many other endeavors.
By participating in Jersey Day, local employers will earn distinction as good corporate citizens, encourage employee morale, engage employees in philanthropy and be recognized at the Newton Fund’s annual grantee ceremony. One hundred percent of all funds raised go directly to nonprofits chosen as winners in a competitive grant-making process, with the first $10,000 raised annually being matched 1:1 by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. The Newton Fund will provide participating companies with marketing materials, including, stickers, table tents and business cards. Each company may appoint a representative to the Newton Fund’s grant-making committee. All funds raised are fully tax-deductible.
“What’s unique about the Newton Fund is that all funds collected from Jersey Day and our other fundraising efforts in Newton County go straight to the competitive grant winners,” said Newton Fund Advisory Committee Chair Greg Proffitt. “There’s no overhead between the contributors and those who need the funds. I think Jersey Day is a great way for us to partner with those people who are on the front lines helping to make this community stronger.”
For questions about Jersey Day, please contact Greg Proffitt at 770-385-3571 or Josh Phillipson with The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta at 404-526-1103 or email newtonfund@cfgreateratlanta.org. To learn more about The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta or the Newton Fund, please visit www.cfgreatratlanta.org.
Members of the Newton Fund Advisory Committee are: Greg Proffitt, Chair; Lisa Hanson, Vice Chair; Betsy Morehouse; Katrina Young; Keith Davis; Teri Goodman; Candy Morris; and Scott Willis.
