What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a Global Day of Generosity launched in 2012 to bring people together in support of the communities they cherish.
Following the busy shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday offers a thoughtful pause, a chance to give back to the nonprofits that matter most through donations and volunteerism.
How has Giving Tuesday impacted Lakeside?
As a nonprofit organization, Lakeside Chautauqua thrives on the generosity and spirit of community that Giving Tuesday represents. Since 2013, hundreds of Lakesiders have joined together on this day to strengthen and sustain our timeless mission.
These collective gifts have touched every facet of the Lakeside community – from enhancing children’s programming at Bradley Temple and creating a teen space at The Underground, to upgrading the basketball courts in Bettinger Park, improving experiences at the Pavilion and Steele Memorial Bandstand, and restoring historic spaces like Orchestra Hall. Most recently, Lakesiders are helping to revitalize the Hotel Lakeside lobby.
How Can I Participate in Giving Tuesday?
Mark your calendar — Giving Tuesday will be celebrated on December 2, 2025. You’re invited to give a special gift on or before that day to support the Lakeside experience you love.
Lakeside Impact Giving
Why Your Gift Matters
Peace, relaxation and reinvigoration take hold every time you visit Lakeside. It’s as if the world pauses for a moment, allowing time and space to replenish and nuture mind, body and spirit.
This special place we call Lakeside is a sanctuary for so many, where families reconnect and grow together generation after generation through the four Chautauqua Pillars — Religion, Education, Cultural Arts and Recreation.
Whether it’s peaceful lake views, meaningful connections with others, or personal growth through the Chautauqua experience, every visit offers the chance to renew and rediscover what matters most.
Families grow closer to God through worship, explore new ideas during inspiring lectures, find joy in diverse cultural performances, and stay active and healthy on the pickleball, tennis, basketball and shuffleboard courts.
Children laugh as they ride bikes to get donuts, experiencing independence for the first time. Couples fall in love along the shoreline and return to celebrate milestones. Grandparents make lasting memories with their families.
These sacred moments, along with our Chautauqua programs, historic buildings and beautiful gathering spaces, are made possible through Lakeside Impact Giving.
Lakeside Impact Giving
Impact Giving is one of the most meaningful ways you can support Lakeside. Each impact gift is an investment in the Lakeside mission, directly underwriting the Chautauqua program and providing ongoing maintenance and care for the grounds and buildings.
You may choose to designate your gift to a specific program, building or garden, or make an undesignated gift that supports Lakeside’s greatest need.
Here’s how your donations can make a difference
- $25,000 fills Hoover Auditorium with classical music performed by the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra.
- $5,000 invites a Preacher of the Week with an inspiring message to strengthen one’s faith journey.
- $2,500 allows individuals to welcome new perspectives and explore the world through a Chautauqua Lecture Series speaker.
- $1,000 sparks wellness and friendly competition through a sailing race or tournament on the shuffleboard, tennis or pickleball courts.
- $500 purchases Rhein Center art supplies so adults and children can create one-of-a-kind masterpieces together.
- $100 purchases basketballs and gaga balls so that more youth can step on the courts and connect.
We need the support of every Lakesider, every year. Our Impact Giving goal for this year is $900,000.
Thank you to the more than 500 families and individuals who have already joined our circle of generosity, donating $448,000 toward that goal. We still need to raise $452,000 by March 31, 2025, so that Lakesiders of all ages can continue to explore, create, love, grow and reconnect.
Each person matters, and every donation truly makes a lasting impact on the Lakeside experience.
Support the Future of Lakeside with an Endowment Gift
Imagine 50 years into the future — your family and friends walking the same paths, worshipping, learning and finding joy at Lakeside. What do we hope they will experience? How can we ensure those dreams become a reality?
By giving to the Lakeside Endowment, you help ensure the Chautauqua experience continues for generations to come.
At the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Endowment totaled more than $11 million and provided over $380,000 to support Lakeside’s operational budget. You can give a gift to the Endowment today or plan one for the future.
Plan a Legacy Gift Just by Signing Your Name
Did you know you can give a gift to Lakeside simply by signing your name? You can update your beneficiary designations at any time on retirement plans, life insurance policies or donor advised funds.
Retirement Plans
IRA, 401 (k), 403 (b), or other tax deferred plan. You can name Lakeside as a beneficiary of all or some percentage of your retirement plan account.
Life Insurance Policies
You can add Lakeside as a beneficiary of your life insurance if it’s outlived its original purpose and you no longer need the policy.
Donor Advised Funds
You can designate Lakeside to receive remaining funds in your donor advised fund account after your lifetime. You can ask your financial manager for a beneficiary designation form.
Lakeside recognizes these types of gifts as part of our Founders Society. We hope you will share about this gift with us so we can thank you.
Volunteer
Volunteers are an essential part in creating the Lakeside experience. They give their time to welcome guests to Hoover Auditorium, lead lectures, help in the gardens, work on a task force or volunteer at special events.
While you’re at Lakeside, we invite you to sign up to volunteer for a day, the whole summer or a special event.
Check out upcoming volunteer opportunities and sign up for one that interests you! After signing up online, we’ll be in touch with additional details about a background check and your volunteer experience. Thank you!
GivingTuesday is Dec. 2, 2025
Give Online
Use the form below to give your secure online donation. In the comment box, let us know which area of Lakeside you'd like to support.
Mail cash or a check
Include a note or write in the memo where you’d like your gift designated. Mail to the Lakeside Chautauqua Foundation, 236 Walnut Ave., Lakeside, OH 43440.
Call the Lakeside Chautauqua Foundation
Call our office at (419) 798-4461, ext. 246 to make your gift over the phone. Our staff will be happy to assist you and answer any questions about supporting Lakeside.