Unprecedented Giving for Local Nonprofits

[The Community Foundation for GNH]

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (The Community Foundation) announces that $1,291,096 will be distributed to area nonprofits thanks to more than 7,000 donors who made more than 9600 gifts during The Great Give® 2015, May 5-6. This outpouring of support far surpasses the amounts raised and the number of gifts made during The Great Give® in previous years. 

“Our Community’s response to The Great Give 2015 is deeply gratifying,” said William W. Ginsberg, president & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “It is a tribute to the strength of our local nonprofit sector and the generosity of our community.”  

The Great Give® 2015 shows that children and youth are top on the minds of area donors this year. By category, the most money ($223,682) was donated to children- and youth- serving organizations. 

To incent giving, $170,000 was provided in pro-rated matching funds and prizes by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the Valley Community Foundation (VCF), Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Higher One CARES (Community Action for Resources Education and Service). 

Grand Prizes were awarded to the nonprofits that attracted the greatest number of new donors ($10,000 to Elm City Internationals) and the greatest number of donors ($15,000 to Music Haven). 

Grand Prizes of $5,000 each were also awarded to nonprofits for the most money raised by an all-volunteer organization (Greater New Haven Community Chorus), most money raised by an organization with five or fewer full-time staff (Shoreline Village CT) and most money raised by an organization with more than five full-time members (St. Martin de Porres Academy).

New to the prize pool in 2015: a $5,000 prize to the organization that received the largest single gift (LEAP with a gift of $50,000), a $5,000 loyal donor prize to the organization that attracted the most repeat donors (Neighborhood Music School with 93 repeat donors), a $3,000 prize to the organization participating in its first Great Give that received the greatest number of individual donors (Calvin Hill Day Care), $3,000 prizes to the organizations that showed the greatest increase in the number of individual donors over last year (Women & Family Life Center and The Institute Library), a $2,500 prize for the organization participating in its first Great Give that raised the most money (The Graduate Institute), and a $2,500 prize to the organization that showed the greatest increase in total money raised over last year (ConnCAT).

The Valley Community Foundation provided additional prizes during The Great Give® 2015, incentivizing residents and workers in the five Valley towns of Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Shelton and Oxford to give locally. Nearly 1,000 gifts were made as a result, which, combined with the prize money, totaled over $172,000. VCF Grand Prize winners will be announced on May 14 at an ice cream social at St. Mary’s Church in Derby; to learn more, please contact the Valley Community Foundation at 203-751-9162 or visit their website at www.valleyfoundation.org.

“We are thrilled to see so many new and returning organizations participate in this online giving event, as well as the growing number of supporters,” said Sharon Closius, president & CEO at VCF. “Those living and working in the Valley region have truly come together in The Great Give to collectively impact and invest in our community.”

Event sponsors Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Higher One CARES each provided special prizes by category for the second year in a row. 

A complete list of participating nonprofits and prize winners is available at www.thegreatgive.org.

The Great Give® is the annual online giving event on giveGreater.org®, a local resource for learning and giving created in 2010 by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to increase philanthropy in the Greater New Haven region of South Central Connecticut. Donors wishing to support their favorite cause or charity can visit the giveGreater.org® website to find information on 328 nonprofits, including their mission, governance, programs, financials and community impact. 

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded more than $22 million in grants and distributions in 2014 and has an endowment of over $460 million through hundreds of individually named funds. In addition to its grantmaking, The Community Foundation helps build a stronger community by taking measures to improve student achievement, reduce New Haven’s infant mortality rate, promote local philanthropy through www.giveGreater.org and encourage greater understanding of the region at www.cfgnh.org/learn. For more information, visit our website at www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh.

[Susan Huizenga]

Glad to see some Wallingford entities in the mix this year.