The Lincoln Community Foundation hosts the fifth Give to Lincoln Day on May 26. The event is a 24-hour fundraiser for local nonprofit organizations, including some from the University of Nebraska.

The friends group that supports the University of Nebraska State Museum is among the groups featured in the fundraiser. The friends group provides a significant portion of operating and capital funding for the museum.

Established in 1871, the museum — which is located in UNL’s Morrill Hall — is one of the nation’s leading research museums. Its internationally recognized collections of natural, geological and anthropological items include more than 14 million specimens and artifacts.

The collections are actively sought after for research projects. For example, a beetle within the museum’s entomology collection was recently declared a new species and highlighted in a peer-reviewed article published May 13.

Through research, exhibits, educational programming and outreach, the museum introduces more than 100,000 visitors each year to the richness of the natural world.

Funding for the museum is split evenly between the State of Nebraska, federal nd state external grants/contracts and admissions/donations.

The Lincoln Community Foundation organizes Give to Lincoln Day. Every participating nonprofit organization will receive a proportional share of a $300,000 challenge match grant offered by the Lincoln Community Foundation and participating sponsors. The share will be based upon the percentage of dollars raised by each participating nonprofit.

The event runs from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. May 26. Gifts can be made online at http://givetolincoln.razoo.com or at the Lincoln Community Foundation, 215 Centennial Mall South.

In the first four years, Give to Lincoln Day has raised $9.4 million for local nonprofit groups.

Information on each participating nonprofit organization is available on the Give to Lincoln website.

Give to Lincoln Day participants from UNL include:

• Friends of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum

• Friends of the Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum

• Friends of the Lied Center for Performing Arts

• Friends of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center

• Friends of the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery

• Lutheran Student Center

• Nebraska Art Association (support for Sheldon Museum of Art)

• Nebraska Human Resources Institute

• Nebraska Legends Scholarship Program

• Nebraska Statewide Arboretum

• NET Foundation (support for NET Radio and NET Television, Nebraska’s PBS stations)

• Spectrum UNL

• University of Nebraska Foundation

• UNL Friends of Opera

• UNL Newman Center