Basie Center in Red Bank Announces 'The Giving Year'

RED BANK, NJ —It may have been Giving Tuesday yesterday, but the Count Basie Center for the Arts is taking that concept far beyond one day.

On Tuesday, the center and Bank of America announced The Giving Year, a yearlong 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, the center announced.

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 Basie center said.

The goal, according to Basie Center and Bank of America officers, is "to use both organizations’ platforms to highlight important work and causes throughout their service regions."

“The Count Basie Center is a unique nonprofit organization,” Basie Center Board Chairperson 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,” he said.

“Bank of America and the Count Basie Center share many causes and concerns, especially the betterment of our communities,” said Market President Alberto Garofalo, Bank of America New Jersey.

“During ‘The Giving Year,’ we’ll 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,” he added.

Beginning in December, 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 information on the program provided by Jonathan Vena, Basie chief marketing officer.

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 thegivingyear@thebasie.org.

“Part of our responsibility as a nonprofit organization is to look inwards and say, ‘What more can we do?’” said Adam Philipson, president and CEO, Count Basie Center for the Arts. “Last month, 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," he said.

Beneficiary organizations will be announced on a month-by-month basis beginning in mid-December.

For more information about the Count Basie Center for the Arts, contact Vena at jvena@thebasie.org.