Nonprofits from all over the Roanoke Valley will come together for a second powerful day of action on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Foundation for Roanoke Valley announced today that Roanoke Valley Gives, the first-ever valley wide online day of giving implemented in March 2016, will return.
This innovative online fundraising event encourages Roanoke Valley residents to donate as much money as possible in support of their favorite local charities in just twenty-four hours. The Foundation’s first year goal was to have 50 participating non-profits, and 125 participated. To date, 131 Roanoke Valley nonprofits have joined this year’s effort, with additional organizations in the process of registering.
Collectively in 2016, the organizations raised $366,541, more than doubling the first year goal of $150,000. Over 4,000 donors participated, contributing from $10 to $10,000. Building on that success and believing in the generosity of the community, the Foundation announced that the 2017 goal is $500,000.
Carly Oliver, Foundation Associate Director, noted “Give days had proven to be quite successful in other communities across Virginia and the United States, and the overwhelming results from last year confirmed our decision to implement one locally. Our goal is to help nonprofits raise significant amounts of dollars for their organization in a very short period of time, to expand their donor base, and to provide them with an online giving presence and professional social media and related technical training. Last year, we provided over 1,000 hours of such training We do this work soley to benefit this community we love, as the community foundation does not receive any fee income from the give day.”
To further entice organizations to participate, the Foundation has again raised tens of thousands of dollars in the form of sponsorships to be awarded as incentive prizes throughout the day, such as for the organizations that raise the most money or have the most unique donors. Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group is again the event’s Platinum Partner, and Advance Auto Parts is the Gold Partner. More than two dozen other sponsors comprise the Silver, Bronze, Power Hour, Golden Ticket and Media sponsors. The Foundation indicated that it is still looking for additional sponsors for the day.
Roanoke Valley Gives will begin at midnight EST on March 15 and continue until 11:59 p.m. on that same day. Donors will go online to rvgives.givebig.org to connect with causes they care about and make tax-deductible donations to support the important work of their favorite Roanoke Valley nonprofits.
The deadline for nonprofits to sign up is February 1, 2017, and those interested in participating in Roanoke Valley Gives are encouraged to visit rvgives.givebig.org as soon as possible to register.
Foundation for Roanoke Valley is the community foundation serving this region. It has worked for 28 years to administer and make grants from hundreds of named endowment funds on behalf of the community. For more information, visit www.foundationforroanokevalley.org.
