Trending
Uncertainty is a very real part of all fund-raising campaigns.
The main uncertainty is whether the cause for which money is being raised -- or whatever else is being sought -- will be deemed by potential contributors as worthy of their support.
Even large-scale fundraising such as what Penn State University's annual dance marathon THON seeks to accomplish carries with it a degree of uncertainty -- such as whether the state of the economy will result in smaller or reduced-number of pledges, or whether the event was publicized enough prior to the start of the event.
Then there's the Mirror's annual Season of Sharing campaign that now is starting to gear up for its official kickoff in several weeks. What's happening now is the process of seeking nominations for a 2026 recipient of all money that this year's campaign will raise.
There is no shortage of possible worthy causes for this year's campaign. Unfortunately, only one can be the successful cause this year, as in the past, and the Mirror will muster all of its efforts to make readers and other members of the general public aware of that cause and the many good things for which it is responsible -- and why it is worthy of everyone's financial support.
But first the nominations process, which will conclude Oct. 13, must run its full course so as many nominations as possible can be received and weighed for possible selection as campaign-recipient designee.
If you want to submit a nomination, do so by mail or hand-deliver the nomination to the Mirror offices at 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona.
If you are submitting the nomination by mail, address the envelope to Season of Sharing, 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602. Again, the deadline for nominations is 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13.
A brief nomination form can be found as a PDF by going to bit.ly/320j9cz.
Referring to this year's campaign, Dan Slep, Mirror publisher, said "we know we'll get nominations from very deserving nonprofits, and we look forward to selecting another worthy recipient for Season of Sharing."
Last year's campaign raised $48,183 for the Dreams Go On therapeutic riding program, and Season of Sharing, now in its 20th year, has raised more than half-a-million dollars since its inception in 2005, when the U.S. Armed Forces Mothers organization was chosen as the initial recipient.
But despite benefiting worthy causes, there always has been uncertainty revolving around the campaign -- for much the same reasons why THON and other worthy efforts experience the same pangs of uneasiness.
In 2005, uncertainty also swirled around whether the campaign would be well-received since it was being conducted during the busy end-of-year holiday season.
However, once that initial campaign proved successful, the decision was "go" for each subsequent year -- and the campaign spirit, alive and well in 2005, remains that way today.
The Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation again will be donating its expertise on behalf of the campaign's success, so all money raised will go to the designated recipient.
A great decision, once the nominations committee has completed its work, will be to Give Early and, thus, help erase all uncertainty about the campaign's ultimate success.
Know that Season of Sharing is about you as a wonderful concerned giver as well as about the recipient's worthiness for support.