By: Sara Davis
The month of May is swiftly approaching, and for nonprofits all over Middle Tennessee, that means one thing: The Big Payback! G.O.D. Int’l has registered for the event for years, but in 2019, Laurie Kagay, former Director of Communications saw the need to intensify our efforts. She pushed up her sleeves and got to work, gathering a team of fun-loving folks together who had some things in common: 1.) They believed in the mission of G.O.D. and 2.) they really like winning. That year, and every year after, G.O.D. Int’l has walked away with prizes in a variety of categories due to faithful friends, volunteers and donors who are looking for creative ways to give and participate, from getting up at the crack of dawn to make a on-the-dot sunrise donation, to participating in a Big Payback themed costume competition.
I sat down with Laurie to hear from her about what makes The Big Payback special to us. Enjoy her responses, and join me in preparing for a great 2021 Big Payback event!
Q: What is The Big Payback?
A: The Big Payback is an annual 24-hour event hosted by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Every year, hundreds of nonprofits come together through The Big Payback to raise funds for causes they believe in. Rather than giving directly to the nonprofit, you donate via The Big Payback website. By doing so, nonprofits become eligible to win certain prizes based on donor participation and they keep tabs on totals throughout the day. It feels pretty awesome to look at their live counter and know that as Middle Tennesseans, we raise millions of dollars to help give back to charities that serve our city every day.
Q: How many years have we participated?
A: We’ve been registered for it for several years, but two years ago was when we first really “went for it.”
Q: What’s the story behind how we got started?
A: I think people in our organization used to just feel a little defeated. Like, “we don’t know rich people, how are we going to take advantage of a contest like that?” So I didn’t really promote it because it seemed people were busy doing other things and the enthusiasm just wasn’t there.
After a few years of helping push forward our holiday giving campaign, I started to realize that attitude was fading. People did want to give to our organization, they just needed to know how to make the biggest impact.
Fundraising isn’t about knowing people in high places, it’s about organizing people around a certain goal. I felt I could do that. I felt motivated to help our community members, loved ones, and friends of our ministry have one day to show our joy to give to a nonprofit we believe so deeply in.
So, in 2019, I asked CFMT if I was too late to sign up. I just barely made it. I filled out all our info, started promoting it, and had so much fun. The Community Foundation showed up in our lobby with one of those big cardboard checks when we won our first prize -- surprising everyone. I got some officemates and friends to join me in the costume contest downtown. We loved playing minute-to-win-it games and got lunch after. It was just a few hour break, but we had so much fun together.
Laurie Kagay (center) and a group of friends and coworkers represented G.O.D. Int’l at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Big Payback Costume Contest in 2019. Pictured left to right: Kelly Jobe, Laurie Kagay (& kids), Jaimee Arroyo (& kids). Each costume represented the various Nashville communities served by G.O.D. Int’l, from immigrants and refugees to mothers in need of advocacy.
The Big Payback is a really well done contest that doesn’t just reward organizations with “big donors.” It rewards participation. The more we participated, the more competitive our team got to win prizes. It’s become such an enjoyable experience that now, people don’t forget about it.
Q: What makes the event special?
A: The Big Payback is an opportunity for Middle Tennesseans to “show up” and “pay back” for the nonprofits who spend themselves for others all year round. This year feels extra special because it’s the 25th anniversary of G.O.D. International. We hope to really celebrate who God has made us. We’ve invited fans old and new to either learn more about our work in Middle Tennessee, or celebrate who we are together. I think of the verse from Ephesians 2: “we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (vs. 10). Who we are is who God has made us, and we’re so happy to do those good works in our home base of Nashville.
Q: What is G.O.D. Int’l raising funds for this year?
A: G.O.D. Int’l has served immigrant and refugee populations in Middle Tennessee ever since our ministry re-located here in the early 2000’s. We believe that caring for the foreigner is something very near to God’s heart, and obeying him means making them feel welcomed, loved and respected. Our whole faith story is based on people who had to flee their homes, from Abraham to the Exodus to Jesus. So, we’ve done our best to help the foreigners in our city in the ways we can. That has included everything from offering Bible studies, to drivers education, childbirth education and labor support, distributing clothing, and teaching English. We’ve also offered summer camps to kids and installed community gardens at apartment complexes populated mostly by immigrants and refugees.
A few years ago, the situations of our friends grew even more difficult. The semblance of community they’d maintained by living in close proximity was being disrupted by rent spikes across Nashville. Our friends were sometimes uprooted from their homes with very little notice. Their requests for help changed. They started asking if we knew self defense, because they began to feel unsafe and had stories of several women being attacked. It became harder to gather them for classes or Bible studies because they were no longer living near each other. COVID interrupted their jobs and normalcy, creating even less access to one another. We responded by offering many of our programs, including English Language Learning and a children’s Vacation Bible School, via zoom. Like any of us, they were both grateful for the opportunity and missing the physical presence of their friends.
While we can’t change all of their living situations, we have come up with a plan to help them continue to experience community. We’ve partnered with Mill Creek Baptist Church, which has provided us an ample space for carrying out our courses. We’re going to bring everyone back together! During this year’s Big Payback, we’re raising money for a bus to transport our friends to class, plus several other needs like compensation for translators, supplies for the kids, and more. Our goal is $40,000 to carry out a year of service to three groups we serve: Hispanic immigrants, Burmese refugees and Congolese refugees.
Q: What’s the best way for me to participate?
A: It depends - how competitive are you??
Any amount of funds helps us towards our goal of $40,000. But remember, to really get in on the fun we need that given on The Big Payback website. Because we still don’t have a lot of “top dollar” donors, we compete for the highest number of donors, not the highest number of dollars. So everyone, even your kids, giving $10, makes us more likely to win extra prizes that the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is just giving away! We’re going to try to defend our title with the Night Owl prize, so we urge you to give between 10pm and 2am on May 5th-6th. If you really like winning, you can play all day. They give select prizes related to the first donation, last donation, donation closest to sunrise and sunset, and more. If you’re into that, see the list of pop-up prizes here.
We’re also hosting two events to celebrate the Big Payback. If you live in Middle Tennessee, you’re invited to both! (If you don’t, you can still participate in our day of giving, we just sadly won’t be able to host you.)
A Dance Kick Off! - May 5th 6pm We’ll be celebrating the launch of the Big Payback (May 5th at 6pm) with a Dance Party on the G.O.D. field. Local fitness instructors Trinity Thomas and Ashley Moore will be leading some dance, some toning, and some HIIT exercises that you and your kids (8 and up) can join in on. The suggested donation for this event is $10 given on The Big Payback website. This will launch us into our day of giving and help us all to experience community together.
2. A Community Farm Day - May 6th 9am-12pm
If you don’t have any funds to give but still want to do some good, or if you like getting your hands dirty, join us at Hopewell Farms for a community farm day. Hopewell Farms is a program of G.O.D. International and Farm Manager Geoff Hartnell will be making sure everyone has a project to ensure we can grow even more food together. We regularly deliver fresh produce to these immigrant and refugee communities, so your hard work will help our overall goal of blessing these sweet folks!
During the full 24-hour period of The Big Payback (May 5th at 6pm - May 6th at 6pm), Califarmia Food Truck & Nyumbarista Coffee Shop have pledged to give 10% of all sales towards our Big Payback goal! Califarmia & Nyumbarista will be open during both of these events, so you’re welcome to join us for some awesome garlic parmesan fries or an iced latte.
We would love for you to join us for either of these events, as well as The Big Payback in general! We’re all created for community. This year’s event is all about celebrating the strength of community and ensuring even the newcomers in Middle Tennessee aren’t deprived of that blessing. Join us and share in the blessing, May 5-6, 2021! We’ll see you there.
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