Over $200,000 has been raised for local nonprofit organizations
at the six Ithaca Alternative Gift Fairs.

The 2009 Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair was a huge success. Over $40,000 $65,000 was collected for local charitable organizations! (Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair's Patron Saint blessed us with a very generous donation again this year!)

You are still encouraged to make contributions directly to the organizations. Links to the Web pages with their gift descriptions and contact information are available below.

None of this would have been possible without the generous support of The First Presbyterian Church, The First Baptist Church, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, Lightlink and an award from the Tompkins Trust Company.

WHAT IS AN ALTERNATIVE GIFT FAIR?
The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair is a fun way to bypass the annual stress of holiday shopping and "stuff" accumulation while honoring friends and relatives with donations to causes that fit their values. What's more, the IthacaAlternative Gift Fair provides critical support for a diverse collection of community organizations whose work has local, national, and international reach.. Last year's gift fair earned more than $45,000 for the participating organizations.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Each organization that participates in the fair offers variously priced gifts that have a specific purpose. Last year, the Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair raised over $45,000, all of which went to the participating organizations. Gifts in the past have ranged from $5 to give a compact fluorescent light bulb to a local, rural household; $10 for a week of school, clothing and two meals a day for an orphan in Zambia; to $100 for a "Golden Opportunity" scholarship fund to help students remain successful in area schools. There were 160 offerings to choose from. For each donation, the giver received a holiday card with a description of the organization and gift.

2009 ORGANIZATIONS:
2-1-1 - Human Services Coalition IACC Day Care Center
4-H Urban Outreach Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair
Advocacy Center Ithaca Children's Garden
Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC) Ithaca City of Asylum
BJM Enrichment Ithaca Health Alliance
Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard
Catholic Charities Tompkins/ Tioga Ithaca Public Education Initiative
Cayuga Dog Rescue Ithaca Youth Council
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center
Child Development Council LACS and Akwesasne Freedom School
Children of Rural Africa Learning Web
Clean New York Loaves and Fishes
Community Building Works! Mental Health Association in Tompkins County
Community Faith Partnership Mira's Movement
Compos Mentis: Working Toward Wellness Multicultural Resource Center
O.U.R.S Program Musicians for World Harmony
Dispositional Alternatives Program NAMI Finger Lakes
Dominican Republic Education And Mentoring (DREAM) Project Offender Aid and Restoration of Tompkins County (OAR)
Dream Factory of Central New York Partnership of African and Lansing Schools (PALS)
Family Reading Partnership SewGreen
Finger Lakes Group Sierra Club Social Business Consulting Group
Finger Lakes Independence Center Southern Tier Advocacy & Mitigation Project
Finger Lakes ReUse Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service
Foodnet- Meals on Wheels Sustainable Tompkins
Friendship Donations Network Tompkins County Public Library Foundation
Greater Ithaca Activities Center Tompkins Learning Partners
Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties Vitamin L Project
Hearts' Cry Women's Opportunity Center
Historic Ithaca Zambian Children’s Fund
  Gifts will be able to be purchased from sponsor
Tompkins Community Action
from December 6 through December 20
For Information Email us at:
ithacaalternativegiftfair@gmail.com

For information write to:
Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair
c/o The Center for Transformative Action
117 Anabel Taylor Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca , NY 14853
Fax: 607-255-9985