Thursday’s all-day giving spree, Give More 24!, raised $915,539 for Southwest Washington charities. While it was $84,461 shy of the day’s $1 million fundraising goal, it’s almost $240,000 more than was raised last year.
While there were more large gifts this year, Maury Harris with the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, the host and marketing power behind the day, said the charities are getting better at navigating the day and attracting donors. Nearly half of the gifts came from people in Vancouver.
“Vancouver is driving a lot of the donations, and that’s largely because a lot of the nonprofits are based in Vancouver,” Harris said.
In total, 3,062 donors gave 4,421 gifts through the Give More 24! website. Camas Christian Academy garnered the greatest number of gifts, 267, and raised $15,575. That’s about $59 per donation. A central message of Give More 24! is that all donations, even small ones, make a big impact when a lot of people contribute.
“The whole goal is to make more people interested in charitable giving,” Harris said.
“Most of our funds came through our family and friends of our school,” said Erin Ring, the academy’s development coordinator. “Having succeeded in that way shows how much of a family we are at CCA.”
She was “thankful and amazed” by the number of gifts. It was the small private school’s first year participating in Give More 24!, which replaced the school’s annual fundraising fun run.
Money will go toward two new classrooms, a soccer field and replacing a play structure. Cindie Boyles started the school in 2004. The academy serves preschool through eighth grade, about 175 students in total, with about 75 of them in early learning or preschool.
At this point, the school is looking for independent supporters, Ring said.
“We’re thinking as long as our feedback is good from our families, we’ll continue to do Give More,” she said.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington surpassed its goal of getting 200 donors. The nonprofit after-school program raised $37,480 through 226 gifts. The local Boys & Girls Clubs relied on its staff to raise awareness about the day of giving.
“They did a good job bringing in a lot of new people,” said Kaitie Swengel, communications and events manager.
There was a big push on social media that Swengel said helped them earn a $1,000 bonus prize.
Options 360? Pregnancy Clinic decided to forgo a fund-raising banquet and focus on Give More 24! instead, a move that paid off. The nonprofit raised $54,485, the largest amount of money raised by one group on Thursday. Homeless service provider Share came in a close second with $54,070, thanks in large part to a $25,000 matching fund.
“We’re still in amazement. We put a ton of effort into it,” said Renee Wooten, CEO and co-founder of Options 360?.
The free clinic offers free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STD testing and treatment, parenting lessons and counseling. Most patients are low income. Since 2004, the privately-funded clinic has seen more than 27,000 patients.
By mid-2017, Wooten aims to offer women’s wellness and prenatal care. There will be a separate money-raising campaign to add a doctor and nurse practitioner to the staff.
Last year, they didn’t really understand what Give More 24! is about and not a lot of effort was put into the day, Wooten said.
“This year, we thought ‘let’s go for it,’ ” she said.
Chrys Hauser led a social media campaign and went to every class put on by the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington. There was a $10,000 donation, a $5,000 and a bunch of smaller donations.
Among the smaller nonprofits, the Longview-based Southwest Washington Symphony Orchestra performed best; the organization raised $29,020 through 87 gifts, which included $6,000 in matching funds and a $1,000 bonus prize. In the past couple of years, the symphony has raised around $12,000 to $13,000 during Give More 24!, said Sarah Koss, chair of the fundraising committee.
That might have to do with the symphony offering all of its concerts free this season in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
“We just had some very, very generous donors who I think really appreciate that we are offering free concerts,” Koss said. “This was an especially important year with our fundraising efforts.”
On Thursday, musicians from the symphony played in small ensemble groups at Teri’s Restaurant.
The season’s first concert is Oct. 14 at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, 1231 Vandercook Way in Longview.
Educational nonprofit iUrban Teen, was also one of the standout small nonprofits. The organization raised $14,320, including $7,000 of matching funds, and took part in Give More 24! activities at Vancouver Mall.
In total, 128 organizations took part in Give More 24! — 18 more groups than last year.
