If you donate a little of your money to a Seattle nonprofit today, people with even more money will stretch it.
If you donate a little of your money to a Seattle nonprofit today, people with even more money will "stretch" it. John Criscitello

If you are in any way connected with Seattle's arts or nonprofit community, today is a special day—the day when your inbox spills over with pleas to "Give BIG!" in the Seattle Foundation's annual one-day rodeo of altruism.

For some, those e-mails can have a diminishing-returns effect: There is an inverse relationship between feeling badgered and feeling charitable.

But if we set emotions aside and take a cold look at Give BIG!, it's not the worst idea in the world: For one day, whatever money you donate to your favorite organizations on this long list will get proportionately "stretched" by the deep pockets connected to the Seattle Foundation.

If you were planning to donate to any of the 1,600 organizations on the list this year (theaters, medical charities, homeless shelters, forest preserves, immigrant advocates, and tons more), today would be a good day.

Start by finding the organization of your choice on this Seattle Foundation webpage, click through, and get to giving.