Sarasota Community Benefits from Impressive Giving Challenge
Press Release – Austin, Texas (Oct. 4, 2016) – Sarasota nonprofits rallied the community to break its own record as the highest grossing 24-hour giving day in all of Florida and the Southeastern United States. The fifth annual Giving Challenge raised $13.39 million for Sarasota nonprofits and was hosted by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and powered by Kimbia, a leading provider of online fundraising solutions and crowdfunding events. The Giving Challenge took place noon Sept. 20 to noon Sept. 21 impacting 559 participating nonprofits.
This year saw an impressive 75 percent increase in participation compared with last year. Over 63,000 gifts were donated from over 45,000 online donors with an average gift of $90. Of the amount raised, $5.5 million was donated online — $2 million more than online results of last year. The remainder came from $7.5 million in matching funds donated by The Patterson Foundation, who matched first-time donors two to one and returning donors one to one with donations up to $100 per organization.
“The Giving Challenge is a way for the entire community to come together to support local nonprofits that have demonstrated transparency by having updated profiles in The Giving Partner, our local online nonprofit resource,” said Roxie Jerde, president and CEO at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. “You don’t have to donate a huge amount to be the one to make a difference, and that is what these events have shown year after year – every gift counts. We’d like to thank all of our community’s donors, nonprofits, volunteers, The Patterson Foundation’s generous giving incentives, partner foundations and technology partner, Kimbia, for making this event possible.”
Another key contributor to the 2016 Giving Challenge success is the amount of work that participating local nonprofits, big and small, put into developing campaigns, rallying local businesses and media to help share their stories about the impact they are making in the local communities they serve.
“The Community Foundation of Sarasota County knows how to host a successful giving day. In-person events, matching funds, prizes, nonprofit participation and marketing are all key ingredients that Sarasota has fine-tuned over the years,” said Lori Finch, Kimbia’s vice president of community giving. “We are honored to have been their partner for the last five years and help support them in their mission to catalyze local giving.”
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