The results of three separate West Virginia based Give Local America 24 hour campaigns have raised nearly $750,000 from West Virginians based in the Mountain State and across the country in the course of 24 hours.
This year the Give Local America Day in West Virginia involved: The Amazing Raise with Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, Give2WV supporting Hinton Area Foundation and Tucker Community Foundation, and Give Local MOV with Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates. To say the least, all of these communities, the staff and volunteers who helped coordinate the efforts are thrilled as to the results of this year’s campaign.
“We’re in awe by the turnout and participation by so many West Virginians throughout the United States who donated,” says Paul D. Daugherty, president & CEO of Philanthropy West Virginia. “This is a testimony to the power of giving local and how much West Virginians across the country care about meeting needs right here at home and giving back to the places that are so important to them. We send our immense thanks to everyone who participated.”
During the 24-Hour event from May 5-6, 2015, a total of 3,250 donations were received among the four community foundations from donors in at least 15 states, the majority were West Virginia residents, and contributing nearly three-quarters of a million dollars going toward critical community organizations and programs serving twenty-four counties.
The 24-hour crowd-funding event used local, state and national giving to empower and equip people in the Mountain State counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Doddridge, Jackson, Wirt, Calhoun, Gilmer, Mason, Roane, Wood, Tucker, Preston, Randolph, Pocahontas, Grant, Mineral, Barbour, and Summers to invest in their communities. These four community foundations in West Virginia join with more than 8,000 additional nonprofit organizations throughout America, making it one of the biggest giving days in U.S. history.
With West Virginia projecting a multi-billion dollar transfer of wealth from the oldest two generations to the younger two generations in the next ten years, Give2WV Day is just the first phase of a multi-year approach to engage private wealth to expand our state’s base of local community philanthropy assets. Give2WV is the community philanthropy promotion campaign of Philanthropy West Virginia, the statewide leadership association of private, family, corporate, community and public grantmaking foundations and giving programs.
In 2014, two West Virginia community foundations participated raising about $450,000 and nationally participating communities for Give Local America raised more than $53 million for local communities. This year’s growth of the program in West Virginia saw a nearly $300,000 increase in giving. Nationally, Give Local America for 2015 raised $68,684,106 from 273,089 donations, a growth of $15 million from 2014.
Daugherty adds, “Give2WV is a great way to promote giving and keeping it local for long-term community needs right here in the Mountain State. Every one of the participating organizations works tirelessly to keep our communities vital and strong to ensure the greatest of quality of life for our citizens.”
