Support Big Idea Project on Colorado Gives Day 2016

DENVER - Nov. 17, 2016 - PRLog -- Big Idea Project® (BIP) invites Coloradans to support our efforts to develop a generation of Generous Leaders by donating to us on Colorado Gives Day, December 6, 2016.

Presented by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day is an annual statewide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy through online giving. The event is powered by ColoradoGives.org, a year-round, online giving website.  Big Idea Project supporters can make a safe and secure donation at https://www.coloradogives.org/bigideaproject/overview any time until Dec. 6.  Donors giving $500 or more receive two tickets to the EXPERIENCE Big Idea Project signature event on February 9, 2017, showcasing the work of BIP students, as well as a complimentary bottle of wine from an event sponsor, Moet Hennessy.

Big Idea Project in a non-profit organization that develops high school students into generous leaders who have the skills and confidence to solve challenging problems. The program is a turn-key co-curricular project facilitated in the classroom in any subject area by teachers. Student teams tackle social issues they care about and form action plans with the help of business mentors. The Big Idea Project is not a pitch contest, but a results contest. Students implement their plans, create storytelling videos and present their real impact on stage for the chance to win a college scholarship.

Big Idea Project saw significant results in the 2015-16 school year:

•          79% of students reported an increase in empathy, indicating it is now easier to put themselves in someone else's shoes.

•          85% of students said they learned useful skills they can utilize in the future.

•          Self-efficacy for Generous Leadership increased significantly over the course of the program.

•          75% said they now see themselves as a "Generous Leader."

•          Multiple students testified to the transformational opportunity: "Big idea helped me learn to put others' needs before mine."

•          Educators recruited nearly 70 business professionals to serve as mentors for their students.

"Big Idea Project empowers an army of future leaders who have the confidence, empathy and heart to tackle (and solve!) multitudes of social problems in every corner of society: from childhood cancer to homelessness and everywhere in between," says Tricia Halsey, BIP Co-Founder and Executive Director. "Our Board members have generously offered a $25,000 matching gift for Colorado Gives Day and are challenging our community to join with them to raise a total of $50,000. All donations will go toward providing strengthening the impact of Big Idea Project in schools across Colorado. We also hope to leverage the $1 Million Incentive Fund to make our donations go even further."

$1 Million Incentive Fund

Community First Foundation and FirstBank each contributed $500,000 to create a $1 Million Incentive Fund, one of the largest gives-day incentive funds in the country. Every nonprofit receiving a donation on Colorado Gives Day receives a portion of the fund, which increases the value of every dollar donated. For example, if Big Idea Project receives 10 percent of the total donations made on Colorado Gives Day, Big Idea Project also receives 10 percent of the $1 Million Incentive Fund.

Community First Foundation, a leading foundation dedicated to fueling the power of community to drive positive change, and FirstBank, Colorado's largest locally owned bank, have partnered to present Colorado Gives Day for the past seven years. By making fundraising simple for nonprofits and giving easy for donors, Colorado Gives Day is one the most successful events of its kind in the nation. Last year, $28.5 million was raised for Colorado nonprofits in just 24 hours. Since its inception in 2010, $111 million has been donated on Colorado Gives Day.

For more information about Big Idea Project, please visit bigideaproject.org (http://www.bigideaproject.org/). For more information about Colorado Gives Day, please visit ColoradoGivesDay.org (http://www.GivingFirst.org/COGivesDay).