‘Incredibly proud of our community.’ Here’s how much Centre Gives raised for local nonprofits
Centre Gives wrapped up its 11th year by raising $2,180,591 for 200 local nonprofits during the annual 36-hour online fundraiser, which ended Wednesday evening.
Through more than 15,500 donations, the money will go toward local nonprofit organizations ranging from the arts, animals, education, environment, health and social services, and more.
Last year’s total of $2.24 million was a new record for the annual online fundraiser.
“We’re incredibly proud of our community and the generosity that helped nonprofits raise over $2 million this year. The organizations that benefit from Centre Gives are able to do so much good, and we are blown away by our community’s continued support of these nonprofits,” Molly Kunkel, Centre Foundation executive director, said in a written statement
The event had a $300,000 stretch pool provided by Centre Foundation and the Hamer Foundation, and $40,000 in prizes for nonprofits.
This year’s prizes included:
$1,000 awarded to the top five large organizations with the most unique donors for the entirety of Centre Gives: Centre County PAWS, Schlow Library Foundation, Centre Volunteers in Medicine, State College Food Bank, and Pets Come First.
$1,000 to the top small organizations with the most unique donors: Centre Wildlife Care, Nittany Greyhounds, Park Forest Preschool, Nittany Beagle Rescue, and The Hundred Cat Foundation.
The New Participant Prize winner: Centre County Orphan Care Alliance.
The Centre County Commissioners proclaimed May 10-11 as Centre Gives Day in Centre County during their meeting Tuesday. Kunkel said during Tuesday’s meeting they were expecting another great year and figured they would again bring in around $2 million. She said she and the Centre Foundation were excited to provide assistance to critical services that the nonprofit organizations provide in the county.
Commissioner Mark Higgins said people are very generous in their donations during this “great event.”
“Those nonprofits do a lot of good in Centre County, for culture, for human services, for recreation, historic groups, et cetera … including the Orphan Care Alliance that works closely with the county for our foster children. So wonderful groups out there,” Higgins said.
Through stretch pool funding and prizes, donations go even further during Centre Gives.
Commissioner Steve Dershem added: “They touch a lot of lives, (it’s a) fantastic way of showing support because there is that multiplier in there that certainly helps not only the organization but the community as well. So everybody benefits.”
New this year, “Centre Gives Fest” was an in-person celebration during the final four hours of Centre Gives on Wednesday at the MLK Plaza in downtown State College. The Centre Gives Fest gave the community a chance to celebrate this large fundraising event with music, photo opportunities, giving stations and more.
Centre Gives has raised more than $14.6 million since 2012 to support local nonprofit organizations.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 7:07 AM.
