Annual Giving Event Raises $2M For 280 Local Nonprofits

Press release from the Connecticut Community Foundation:

April 29, 2021

Give Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills, an annual online giving event hosted by Connecticut Community Foundation for the ninth year, concluded a 36-hour flurry of giving at 7 p.m. on April 21, raising a record breaking $2 million. The bounty is earmarked for over 280 nonprofit organizations serving the Foundation’s 21-town service area* and will ultimately provide countless benefits to organizations serving tens of thousands of people in the region.

“Every year we're humbled by the generosity of local residents, who broke all Give Local records this year. Their support for the extraordinary and critical work of local nonprofits makes an enormous difference, particularly now when needs have been high and organizations continue to struggle to raise the funds needed to adapt their services to the pandemic environment. It is truly moving to see so many thousands of people step up and dig deep to support the people and organizations that serve us all so well,” said Julie Loughran, president and CEO of Connecticut Community Foundation.

Over 6,700 individuals throughout the region and beyond contributed during the campaign. Giving continues to be particularly important as the pandemic persists. Communities are hopeful that the possibility of recovery is on the horizon. “The recent Give Local fundraiser will help organizations that have been stretched for resources over the past year to address such critical issues as food insecurity, shelter, access to vaccines and other health care, supporting kids during distance learning, and much more," adds Loughran.

Connecticut Community Foundation, presenting sponsor Ion Bank Foundation, and many other sponsors provided over $145,000 in bonus funds to boost all donations during the event. And, as the giving tallies grew in real-time on the Give Local website, nonprofits vied for $44,000 in cash prizes from sponsors—adding fun, urgency, and some friendly competition to the event.

Total dollars raised for each of the participating nonprofits can be viewed on the leaderboard of the Give Local Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills website at www.GiveLocalCCF.org. Grand Prizes were awarded through the generosity of the Ion Bank Foundation.

Leading organizations by the end of the campaign included:

Top five nonprofit organizations based on number of donors:

1. Wellmore Behavioral Health (414)

2. StayWell Health Center (340)

3. Landmark Community Theatre (208)

4. Washington Ambulance Association (199)

5. Warner Theatre (192)

Top five nonprofit organizations based on dollars raised:

1. Wellspring ($54,004)

2. Pratt Nature Center ($52,501)

3. Roxbury Land Trust ($45,350)

4. ASAP! ($44,303)

5. Children's Community School ($41,926)

*Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Cheshire, Goshen, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, New Milford, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Southbury, Thomaston, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, Woodbury

This press release was produced by the Connecticut Community Foundation. The views expressed here are the author's own.