Amazing Raise raises $1.5 million for local nonprofits

People across the globe gave over 18,000 donations to area nonprofits, making this year’s Amazing Raise the most successful (and most lucrative) one yet.

September 23, 2013; 6:56 AM • by Nathan Cushing

Update #5 — September 23, 2013; 6:54 AM

Richmonders and people all over the world donated 18,108 individual gifts to local nonprofits during the 36-hour fundraising blitz, which netted $1.5 million in contributions and incentive prizes.

“We created The Amazing Raise to increase and expand charitable giving in our region because nonprofits cannot do what they do best without the support of individual donors,” said Darcy Oman, president and CEO of The Community Foundation, organizers of the annual event.

Of this year’s 571 participating nonprofits, 467 received at least one donation, with 101 receiving more than 50. Donations came from 47 states and 22 different countries. This year’s event generated 20 percent more gifts and 25 percent more money than last year’s.

The top prizes were awarded to the three organizations with the largest number of unique gifts of $50 or more:

Church Hill Activities and Tutoring (CHAT) edged out last year’s winner, Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corp, to reclaim the top spot this year. CHAT won the grand prize when the Amazing Raise began in 2011.

Here’s a full list of this year’s participating nonprofits and awarded prizes.

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Update #4 — September 19, 2013; 7:08 AM

24 hours into the 2013 Amazing Raise, and the blitzkrieg fundraising event has raised over $875,000 for local nonprofits. Last year the even raised over $1.2 million.

Dozens of nonprofits have also been awarded specific, goal-oriented prizes including:

  • CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation — Midnight Madness prize ($1,000) — Awarded to the organization that receives the donation made closest to midnight.
  • Monument City Music Productions, Inc. — Primetime Prize ($1,000) — Awarded to the organization that receives the most donations between 8:00 – 10:00 PM.
  • Offender Aid and Restoration of Richmond, Inc. — 10,000th gift prize ($1,000) — Awarded to the organization that receives the 10,000th gift.

Check out the leaderboard and prize winners here and the full list of available prizes here.The Amazing Raise continues until 6:00 PM tonight, so there’s still time to help support your favorite local nonprofit.

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Update #3 — September 18, 2013; 2:40 PM

As of 2:30 PM Richmonders have donated over $600,000 to local nonprofits. The Amazing Raise has also awarded two new goal-oriented prizes:

  • Mathews County Visitor and Information Center, Inc. — The Lunch Break prize ($1,000) — Awarded to the organization that receives the most donations between 12:00 – 2:00 PM.
  • Richmond Symphony — The Raise the Bar prize ($1,000) — From among those who give $250 or more between 10:00 – 11:00, one donor will be randomly chosen and $1,000 will be added to their donation.

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Update #2 — September 18, 2013; 9:15 AM

As of 9:00 AM over $300,000 in donations to area nonprofits have been raised through this year’s Amazing Raise.

The first 15 organizations that received 50 unique gifts were awarded a 50/50 Early Bird Challenge prize of $2,500. Further prizes will be awarded throughout the day.

50/50 Early Bird Challenge winners ($2,500)

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Update #1 — September 18, 2013; 7:23 AM

A couple of weeks ago, the folks over at The Amazing Raise asked local nonprofits to make videos to encourage participation and donations to the 36-hour fundraising event. The winners have have been announced, watch them below:

Winner: Goochland Free Clinic ($1,500)

Runner up: Arts in the Alley ($500)

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Original — September 18, 2013

The third annual Amazing Raise starts Wednesday at 6:00 AM. The 36-hour fund drive is designed to increase the amount of financial gifts to local nonprofit organizations.

Here’s how it works: people are encouraged to donate to their favorite nonprofits during the 36-hour window. In addition to the donations, eligible nonprofits (PDF) can win prize money based on the total number of donations that are $50 or more. The nonprofit that receives the most donations of $50 or more will receive $20,000.1

There are also other specific prizes. For instance, the first 15 organizations to receive 50 unique gifts of $50 or more will receive a grant prize of $2,500. Here’s a list of other prizes totaling $133,000 as well as contest rules.

Last year roughly 15,000 donations were made to nonprofits, resulting in $1.2 million raised for local charities.

The Amazing Raise ends on Thursday at 6:00 PM.

Related

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Footnotes

  1. Second place gets $15,000; third place gets $10,000. ↩
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Nathan Cushing

Nathan Cushing is a writer, journalist, and RVANews Editor.

September 23, 2013 6:56 AM 0 5 updates

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