RED BANK — Officials representing the Count Basie Center for the Arts and Bank of America have announced The Giving Year, a year-long initiative to recognize and reward 12 area nonprofits for their contributions to the regional community.
The Giving Year will last throughout 2023, with the Count Basie Center for the Arts donating $1 from every ticket sold to one of 12 area nonprofits, with a different organization highlighted each month, according to a press release.
Organizations will be eligible to receive up to $15,000 during their month, in addition to complimentary tickets for distribution to their volunteers and/or their beneficiaries.
The goal, according to Basie Center and Bank of America officers, is to use the organizations’ platforms to highlight important work and causes throughout their service regions, according to the press release.
“The Count Basie Center is a unique nonprofit organization,” Basie Center Board Chairman Jeremy Grunin said. “In addition to our work in arts education, from classrooms in under-resourced communities to professional development opportunities for teachers, we have world-renowned performing artists on our stages almost every evening. We recognize the platform that affords us and we feel it’s right to use that platform to highlight other organizations attending to vital causes in our region.”
“Bank of America and the Count Basie Center share many causes and concerns, especially the betterment of our communities,” said Alberto Garofalo, market president, Bank of America New Jersey.
“During The Giving Year, we will use our long-standing partnership and platforms to highlight and reward the efforts of 12 area nonprofit organizations whose commitments to our region help those who need it the most,” Garofalo said.
Beginning this month, a team of Bank of America and Basie Center employees and board members will begin reviewing potential organizations to participate in The Giving Year, according to the press release.
Qualifying organizations must be a registered 501(c)3 with an annual operating budget of no more than $2.5 million. Organizations must also have at least one full-time employee, a full year of operational existence and an established mission statement focused on bettering lives within its community.
The Giving Year will focus on organizations serving causes related to arts and culture, health/wellness, food insecurity, diversity, equity and inclusion, or financial management or other services to underrepresented populations.
Organizations interested in consideration for The Giving Year may email [email protected].
“Part of our responsibility as a nonprofit organization is to look inward and say, ‘What more can we do?’ ” said Adam Philipson, president and CEO, Count Basie Center for the Arts. “Recently, we teamed with Charlie Puth to launch our ‘Forever For Everyone’ endowment campaign, which will offer hundreds of Basie Center Academy scholarships in perpetuity to students interested in the arts.
“And because we have this status as a place where world-class musicians, actors and performers come to play, we also have this opportunity, and responsibility, to lend our visibility to others.
“Bank of America and the Basie Center want The Giving Year to become a pedestal for organizations that deserve to have their hard work and purposes known and recognized,” Philipson said.
Beneficiary organizations will be announced on a month-by-month basis beginning in mid-December, according to the press release.