News

A Million Dollars, Baby!

RVA rises to the challenge, raising $1.24 million for local charities

 

Newly released data for The Amazing Raise 2012:

In an “amazing” show of generosity, the Greater Richmond region raised a total of 15,149 charitable gifts and $1.2 million for local charities in just 36 hours through the second annual Amazing Raise, hosted by The Community Foundation (TCF).  Beginning at 6 am on September 19th, donations began to flood in through GiveRichmond.org. The most activity occurred within the first hour at $2,453 per minute, followed by the final hour at $1,511 per minute. By the conclusion at 6pm September 20th, 400 organizations had received a total of $1.24 million – blowing past last year’s total of $630,000 in just 9 hours and doubling it by the event's end. The breakdown includes $1,095,297 in individual donations and $148,000 in incentive grant prizes sponsored by TCF.

The Amazing Raise generated buzz on social media sites, at the watercooler and in living rooms throughout the event. Representatives of nonprofits large and small expressed their gratitude. Donna Pippert, the President of Friends of Center for the Arts, said “I’ve been crying all day because I’m so happy.” David Fisk shared that the Richmond Symphony well-exceeded its goal of raising $20,000 through The Amazing Raise. They ended in 5th place with 333 eligible gifts totaling $25,525. Even Governor Bob McDonnell took notice, sending a “retweet” from his Twitter account to help the region celebrate as donations surpassed $300,000 after only 4 hours.

Nonprofits used both traditional and creative methods to reach out to potential donors.  They organized phone banks, sent emails, created videos and partnered with local businesses to spread the word and earn support for their work in arts, education, the environment, health and so much more.  Out of 472 participating organizations, 400 received at least one donation and 139 received more than 25. Incentive prizes ranging from $500 to $20,000 also drove participation from across the region, and across the globe. Gifts came in from 49 of 50 states, and from 27 different countries. A donation made from Waterford, Australia earned Blue Sky Fund the Long Distance Donor prize of $1,000. Other prizes included the $1,000 Notable Newcomer (most gifts to a new organization) to Bay School Community Arts Center and the $5,000 Million Dollar Baby Prize to Henrico CASA for the donation that pushed the event over the million dollar threshold.

Based on the largest number of unique gifts of $50 or more, the grand prizes were awarded to the following organizations:

     1st Place ($20,000): Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation – 856 eligible gifts, $81,588 raised

     2nd Place ($15,000): Church Hill Activities and Tutoring – 819 eligible gifts, $70,113 raised

     3rd Place ($10,000): Fredericksburg Academy, 774 eligible gifts, $41,050 raised

2012 LEADERBOARD AND PRIZE WINNERS: https://giverichmond.s3.amazonaws.com/leaderboard.html. 

GO TO GiveRichmond: http://giverichmond.guidestar.org
Throughout the year, GiveRichmond features hundreds of local nonprofits with profiles that offer comprehensive information about an organization's mission, leadership, financials and major programs.  It provides the transparency donors need to turn a simple act of giving into a wise investment.