by Yellowstonian
Yes, cornball it may be, but answer this: Why do we cry every single year while watching Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life and seeing the difference that George Bailey made in preventing Bedford Falls from turning into Pottersville?
Right now, every single reader absorbing the above, has the potential to be a Bailey. How, and why? Because you matter in the ability to alter the trajectory of a community trendline you either don’t like or want to improve. Here, we can also invoke the lesson of Ebeneezer Scrooge or better yet recite the short parting thought from Dr. Seuss in The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Accumulation of money in so many ways is a gauge of “success.” But money cannot assure it. It cannot, as they say, buy happiness; it can’t bring back departed people, pets and other beloved things lost to the sands of time, destruction or indifference; hoarding wealth does not deliver respect; nor do material riches accompany us on our journeys into whatever personal hereafter awaits.
But even scientific studies show charitable giving can—and does— make us all feel better, and, metaphorically, it enlarges the heart, soul and spirit of communities. It lifts us up, together, at a time when gravity seems to possess so much accumulating weight.
“Give Big Gallatin Valley,” the annual 24-hour fundraising blitz hosted by the One Valley Community Foundation, returns April 30-May 1, 2026 and for many non-profit groups it represents the essential lifeblood of their survival. Ponder how the 266 non-profits participating in Give Big create ripple effects. Click on this link beginning April 30 or through the end of day on May 1.
Bridget Wilkinson, CEO and president of One Valley Community Foundation, says the trickle-down impact of Give Big is like a rain-making event of critical importance but more importantly it’s the foundation of community building. This year, in a landscape where billionaires dwell, Give Big has a goal of raising $3 million based on involvement of 6,000 individuals—young, old, of modest and greater means.
Give Big was launched in 2015 as an initiative, not unlike the Old Bill’s event in Wyoming sponsored by the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole to tout a “marathon of giving,” and highlight the good deeds of all non profits in this corner of southwest Montana.
“In Give Big, our generous participants vote with their resources for what matters,” Wilkinson explains. “The thing that matters most to you may not be the same for your neighbor. But I hear it a lot that that deep down in their roots people are here because of quality of life. Quality of life can be created in a lot of ways. The non-profit sector adds a lot in covering the areas that go into it. As a thought experiment, imagine if non profits didn’t exist or if some were to go away.”
Watch this inspiring testimonial to One Valley’s success from local Bozeman philanthropist, community advocate and lifelong conservationist Dotty Ballantyne.
As demonstrated by Give Big, when force of impact is expressed at the level of every citizen possible playing a part, it can significantly change the trajectories of individuals and families, giving people second chances to fulfill their promise, bolsters the hope quotient of what’s possible, saving landscapes from ruin and, for groups devoted to public education—like Yellowstonian—leaving us better informed to make wiser decisions about sustainably co-existing with one of the most iconic natural areas remaining on the planet.
Wilkinson started with the Gallatin Foundation in 2013. She cites an essay by writer David Brooks, former a columnist for The New York Times and now with The Atlantic who notes the importance of “social weavers,”—people doing brilliant work operating off the radar of recognition.
“Give Big is about effecting positive change in this moment and having agency. There’s so much change taking place, and responses to that change happening in hyper-local manner that you never hear about,” she says. A few years ago, Wilkinson gave a TEDxBozeman talk about the importance of showing up and how it can be an antidote to the current pandemic of loneliness that landed hard during Covid.
Wilkinson (who is a friend of Yellowstonian founder Todd Wilkinson, but no direct relation) notes that large contributions remain bulwarks in helping local non-profits achieve their transformative potential, but she also points out how philanthropic causes can be engines of social empowerment in other ways. “Five dollar contributions are important. We want everyone who partakes in Give Big to know they are stakeholders in creating maintaining a better Montana. Collective impact is a powerful force,” she says.
Whenever and wherever she has chats with people, she hears a tension in their voice about the impacts of growth. “There are shared layers of grief and people tell me they miss things. They miss those who are no longer here, favorite places that are changing. While some places are booming there are others in rural areas that are dying economically and socially. We have unique challenges but they will not be addressed if there is an ‘us versus them.’”
The Community Foundation has been on the front lines of an inspiring phenomenon, she notes. Arriving newcomers drawn to the natural beauty and community spirit of southwest Montana have often, within weeks or months of their arrival stop by the Community Foundation office and how they can lend support. The first recommendation is the Community Foundation website that lists more than 266 different non-profit entities.
“It doesn’t matter who they are but they chose to come here because of the quality of life and they know, from being involved with charity work elsewhere, how it can make a difference. It’s not that they don’t care. They are grateful to be here and want to give back but they don’t yet know how,” Wilkinson says.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
—Parting wisdom from The Lorax
“We also have elderly people who are descended from families who have been here for five or six generations. They no long drive but they have someone give them a lift down to our offices and they make a point of each other going through the options of giving back they have,” Wilkinson added. “People may not have the same political beliefs or may have different understanding of the history of this corner of Montana but they are united in their concern about people and struggles they face and how the environment that means so much to them can still be saved.”
We at Yellowstonian are profoundly grateful for your support during the Give Big fundraiser. In the year ahead, we have ambitious hopes of expanding our in-depth reporting that has attracted national attention, holding more public events/including live-stream capabilities that have been enormously popular, expanding our collaborative efforts and hatching other ideas in the works. At no time has Greater Yellowstone, its public and private lands, been under greater threat. Again, your generosity is appreciated.
However, we also strongly encourage you to support groups involved with improving the quality of life and alleviating hardships of our fellow citizens, those in need of shelter, food, health care and affordable housing We also recommend supporting groups devoted to permanent land protection, such as land trusts, and advocacy organizations working on behalf of wildlife, clean water and keeping families devoted to sound stewardship on the land.
(One hundred percent of your gift goes to the non profit of your choosing. A generous donor’s contribution has made sure that no fees are deducted for using a credit card).
