During the first annual Kitsap Great Give on May 6, nearly 4,000 gifts totaling $539,000 were made to 200 nonprofits working to help and improve Kitsap County.
Additionally, $106,000 sponsor donations were awarded to these nonprofits, resulting in a total of nearly $650,000 raised.
The event, produced by the Kitsap Community Foundation along with the United Way of Kitsap County, exceeded its goal of raising $500,000 for local nonprofits.
“We are absolutely stunned by the generosity of our community,” said Harriette Bryant, the board chair of the foundation. “We set an audacious goal of raising a half-million dollars in one day and we did it.”
Kol Medina, the foundation’s executive director, credits the local nonprofit community and sponsors for the day’s success.
“What I love the most about this event,” added Medina, “is how it’s a team effort. We at the foundation were proud to produce it, but it was the 200 local nonprofits, generous sponsors and thousands of donors who made it successful. A truly historic day of charity for our community.”
Copying a model that was first used in Washington by The Seattle Foundation with their GiveBIG, the Kitsap Community Foundation was the catalyst that created this 24-hour online giving event for the greater Kitsap area. The model relies on sponsors donating funds in advance that are then used to match donations made on the day of the event.
This resulted in every donation made during the Kitsap Great Give being magnified or “stretched” so that the nonprofits all receive more money than is donated to them during the event.
“That’s why these days of giving work so well. It’s a win, win, win,” said Medina. “The sponsors get great publicity, the nonprofits get publicity and the donations and the donors get to have their donations stretched so the nonprofit gets more than they actually donated. How awesome is that?”
Visit www.kitsapgreatgive.org to see the list of nonprofits that participated in the event, including how many gifts were made and how much money was donated to each nonprofit.
