Give Where You Live is a 24-hour fundraising event* created to rally community support for local charitable causes.  This unique one-day fundraiser is being hosted by the Kearney Area Community Foundation (KACF) and will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2025, from midnight to midnight. 

Community members are asked to make donations and show support for the local nonprofit organizations that positively impact our lives every day.  At the conclusion of the giving day, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will verify all gifts and award nonprofits matching funds from the Challenge Match Pool. 

Give Where You Live is the first Thursday of December each year. This year, the date is Thursday, December 4, 2025.*

*Early Giving will be allowed starting November 6, 2025.

Anyone can give!  Anyone with an internet connection and a credit card can make a donation online during the 24-hour* giving day!  

In addition, donors can also give by cash, check or other means** by making their donations at the Kearney Area Community Foundation office located at 2908 W 39th St, Suite A, in Kearney, on December 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

*Early Giving will be allowed starting November 6, 2025.

**DAFs, IRAs, gifts of stock, gift of grain, etc. Those gifts must be made before December 4.

At the conclusion of Give Where You Live, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will determine how much each nonprofit raised and calculate what percentage that number is of the total raised on the day of the event.  This is NOT a 1:1 match.  If an organization receives 3% of the total funds raised on December 4, they will receive 3% of the matching funds available.  Maximum donations of $20,000 per household, per nonprofit organization, will qualify for matching funds.  (If a donor gives more than one donation totaling more than $20,000 to the same nonprofit, only $20,000 will be matched.) 

Please see the example below (all numbers presented in the example are hypothetical):

Total amount donated to “ABC Charity” during Give Where You Live campaign ($5,000).

DIVIDED BY

Total amount donated to all participating charities during Give Where You Live ($500,000).

MULTIPLED BY

Total amount in Challenge Match Pool ($100,000).

EQUALS

ABC Charity’s share of the Challenge Match Pool ($1,000).

The Kearney Area Community Foundation brings this event to the Kearney area with several goals in mind:

• To raise awareness of the current philanthropic needs of our communities.
• To help local nonprofits identify and cultivate new funding streams.
• To inspire donors to increase financial support to their favorite local causes.

Through a community-wide PR and marketing campaign, people are encouraged to visit GiveWhereYouLive.net, on December 4*, and donate to registered local nonprofit organizations.  KACF contracts with Neon One to provide the online giving platform.

*Early Giving will be allowed starting November 6, 2025.

The Kearney Area Community Foundation (KACF) sponsors and oversees the Give Where You Live giving day.  Because of generous financial support from other businesses and individuals, the Kearney Area Community Foundation is able to provide this 24-hour giving day for our local communities.

Donations up to $20,000 per household received between November 6 – December 4, 2025 count towards prizes. 

 The Foundation will send an email to notify the organization when they win a prize, and it will show up on the Prize Leaderboard. Prizes are also posted on KACF's social media as they are awarded.

Note: Nonprofits are not allowed to give to themselves.

The Kearney Area Community Foundation receives no financial benefit from hosting this event. As a matter of fact, the Foundation has committed to offering a Challenge Match Pool and additional prizes, as well as covering the cost of the giving day website platform and promoting the event.

Any individual, business or organization may donate no matter where they live! Online contributions may be made via credit card, debit card or electronic check only.  Donors who do not have access to a computer or mobile device or would prefer to make a gift of cash, check or other means* may visit the Kearney Area Community Foundation office between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on December 4, for assistance in making contributions. Please make checks payable to Kearney Area Community Foundation or KACF and put GWYL in the memo line.

*DAFs, IRAs, gifts of stock, gift of grain, etc. Those gifts must be made before December 4.

Note: Nonprofit organizations are not allowed to donate to themselves during the campaign.

Yes, we allow Early Giving for online donations between November 6 and December 4. Your credit card will be charged immediately, but your gift total won't show on a nonprofit's givewhereyoulive.net page until December 4.

The minimum donation is $10 per organization. There is no maximum donation limit; however, only gifts up to $20,000 per household are eligible for the Challenge Match Pool.

The nonprofit organization will receive 97% of the donations received the day of the event (including online donations made between November 6 and December 4), plus 100% of any matching funds or prize money obtained during the event.  There will be 3% deducted from the amount donated to the nonprofit organization to cover gift processing fees. 

Note: You can cover the 3% transaction fee when you donate online if you want the nonprofit(s) to receive your entire gift. Be sure to check the box indicating your choice.

The organization(s) you choose to support will receive donor names and contact information, unless you choose to make an anonymous contribution.  As host of Give Where You Live, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will receive contact information for donors who participate in Give Where You Live.  This information is used to help us verify donations, thank the donor for participating, provide the option to opt-in to receiving future notifications and notify the donor of future activities.

If you make your gift online, your tax receipt is emailed to you immediately by the Kearney Area Community Foundation upon successful processing of your donation. To claim a donation as a deduction on your taxes, please retain your email donation receipt as an official record. If you misplace this email, you can view your giving history and receipts by logging into your Neon One donor account (if you set one up). Or you can request a duplicate copy by contacting ashley@kearneyfoundation.org. Please include your full name, date you made the donation and the amount of your donation. All donors that provide an email address will have their receipt emailed to them. If you don't provide an email address, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will mail you your receipt if your total gift is $250 or more.

Donors can expect to receive their tax receipt by January 15, 2026.

On your credit card/bank statement, GiveWhereYouLiveKACF will be listed.

Donations to participating organizations can be made online. On December 4*, the campaign webpage will be live.  Use the “Nonprofits” search box to look for the charity you would like to support, then click “donate” and enter the appropriate donation information. This event runs from midnight to midnight*. As an added convenience, donors may also make online donations between November 6 and December 4, which will count for the Give Where You Live campaign on December 4, as well as the Challenge Match Pool and other prizes.

Donations can also be made to participating organizations by bringing your gift to the Kearney Area Community Foundation’s office located at 2908 W 39th St, Suite A, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on December 4. Mailed checks must be received before December 4.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Kearney Area Community Foundation at kacf@kearneyfoundation.org

*Early Giving will be allowed starting November 6, 2025.

Starting November 6, Early Giving will open up and donors will be able to make an online donation for Give Where You Live. Go to the Nonprofit menu tab to search for nonprofits you want to donate to by name, category, zip code or other keywords (like Shelton or literacy).

Donations for the Give Where You Live campaign between November 6 – December 4 will be charged immediately to your credit card.

When the donation transaction is complete, the donor will receive an email confirmation which is also their tax-deductible receipt. This is the only gift receipt you will receive for your online gift. But if you misplace it, you can request the receipt to be resent to you later.

You can give to as many organizations on GiveWhereYouLive.net as you would like.  Please note that only the local nonprofits registered and approved may receive gifts during this event. You simply choose the organization, make a donation and the nonprofit gift goes into your cart. When you check out, the list of the nonprofits and amounts you want to donate to each will show on the screen. There is a minimum $10 gift per organization.

If donating by check on December 4, please bring one check made payable to KACF (for the total amount) with a list of participating local nonprofits and the amounts you would like to donate to each one. We will have a form to fill out at our office. 

Yes. The Give Where You Live mobile-enabled website facilitates quick, easy, and secure donations on all web-enabled mobile devices and is a great tool for donors and nonprofits during the event on December 4* for giving on the go! 

*This option is also available for Early Giving, which begins November 6.

If you accidentally make a gift to the wrong organization or make a duplicate gift by mistake, please contact us as soon as possible to make the adjustment. After Thursday, December 11, 5:00 pm CST, all gifts made during Give Where You Live are considered final and non-refundable (unless otherwise directed by the merchant processing company). Refunds can take 7-10 business days to process after settling.

Yes, the Foundation can accept gifts of grain, gifts of stock, Donor Advised Fund (DAF) gifts, and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) gifts.

Donors will need to coordinate with Angie Vlasin, KACF's Finance Director to accept these gifts. You can do this anytime of the year*. Ask Angie for details at angie@kearneyfoundation.org.

*This must be done prior to December 4, 2025 for 2025's Give Where You Live.