BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Want to support local charities or nonprofits but don’t know where to start? The Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Giving Store lets donors find and give to active fundraising campaigns sponsored by capital-area nonprofits.

Sarah Gardner of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation described the new tool as, “a website where you can donate to specific causes nonprofits are fundraising for 24/7/365. Donations can be made to a nonprofit you already know about, or you can search by area of interest (arts, animals, education, etc.) to find new opportunities benefitting causes you care about.”

She said local philanthropists have multiple reasons to consider using The Giving Store.

“The Giving Store allows people to make a donation with as little as $10 to one or more nonprofits. Previously, you would have had to visit each nonprofit’s page one by one to make a donation, but here you can save time by processing donations to multiple organizations in one centralized area,” Gardner explained.

In addition to this, donors can trust that their support is going to an immediate, actionable need in the community.

Gardner highlighted another benefit, saying, “The Store can also be a helpful tool for people to discover nonprofits working in areas they care about that they might not have known about before.”

Who can be listed on The Giving Store?

The Giving Store isn’t for individuals, like GoFundMe, it’s only for charitable organizations.

BRAF said as long as the agency is in good standing with the IRS and Louisiana Secretary of State, it’s eligible to apply to the Foundation to get a fundraiser included. There’s no fee for being included on the website.

How can a listing on The Giving Store benefit a nonprofit?

Gardner said nonprofits leveraging the Store for fundraising efforts will likely see many positive results.

By partnering with BRAF and the Store, charitable organizations can experience “relationship building with the team staffing the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, a division specifically dedicated to furthering the health of our nonprofit ecosystem,” Gardner said.

Many nonprofits have limited resources when it comes to staff and administration. This is another area where the Store can be of assistance.

Gardner said, “Once donations are received through The Giving Store, the Foundation will handle the necessary logistics that some nonprofits do not have the capacity or know-how to conduct themselves.”

She added that these agencies will also have the opportunity to “discover other nonprofits working on similar causes in the area. This can help forge new partnerships and increase the networking power of nonprofits amongst one another.”

Networking is typically a key aspect of the process that leads a charity to meet fundraising goals successfully.

BRAF is known for helping local nonprofits make the connections they need. With the creation of the Giving Store, the Foundation aims to do so more intentionally.

“Since our establishment nearly 60 years ago, we’ve taken pride in engaging philanthropists to support causes they care about and keep them up to date on the most pressing needs of our community,” Gardner said. “In the last five years alone, nearly $200 million has been distributed across South Louisiana and the world from funds held at the Foundation.”  

Click here to visit the Store.