Mark your calendars for March 20. The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers Forum, and presented by First Bank, have announced that day as Arizona’s first-ever statewide day of giving: Arizona Gives Day. The 24-hour online initiative encourages locals to recognize and financially support the efforts of statewide nonprofits from all over the state.

For 24 hours on March 20--beginning at midnight and continuing until 11:59 p.m.--locals can go online at http://azgives.org/ and pledge their financial support to the nonprofit of their choice. The donation will then go directly to their chosen organization.

At this time, there are nearly 200 nonprofits registered to be a recipient of the Arizona Gives Day. Any 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization in Arizona is eligible to participate in the program. (See http://azgives.org/ for guidelines and to register.)