Utah nonprofits and schools received a wave of donations Friday from an enormous fundraiser hosted by the Community Foundation of Utah.
Donors went to the Love UT Give UT website, and for 24 hours they could donate to any of the 450 organizations. The foundation followed in the footsteps of other states that have put together a day of giving, hoping to create a platform for unprecedented giving in Utah.
In 24 hours, 6,521 people and organizations made 9,112 donations, raising a total of $633,533.
The U’s nonprofit academy for excellence was also involved in organizing the event.
Shelley Gabriel, outreach educational manager for professional education at the U, said the department got involved to support nonprofit organizations and encourage giving back.
“We’re sponsoring this event as a way to garner donations to our scholarship fund because nonprofits don’t often have funding in their budgets for training,” Gabriel said. “We wanted to be a part of this big event … Ultimately, we’re helping nonprofit people better contribute to the people that they help, the people that they serve.”
The Community Foundation of Utah had four goals for the day of giving. The group wanted to grow philanthropy, revenue, capacity for giving and community. Love UT Give UT established a permanent online platform for donation.
“We’re excited to see what Utahns can do for tomorrow and where they can bring it in,” said Lauren Katz, operations manager for the Community Foundation of Utah, the day before the fundraiser kick-off.
The foundation wanted to create a new way of donating.
“The Community Foundation wanted to put this together so that nonprofits would have an opportunity to raise money in a way that they didn’t,” Katz said.
The event was modeled after similar events across the country, including one Park City recently hosted. Most notably, Minnesota raised a few million dollars on its day of giving, Katz said.
Donors could choose causes to give to from four categories: small nonprofits operating with annual budgets under $250,000, medium nonprofits with annual budgets up to $1 million, large nonprofits with budgets above $1 million and educational institutions.
Utahns weren’t the only ones who were eligible to donate March 22. In fact, the Community Foundation of Utah hoped participants from all throughout the country would chip in.
Katz said that anyone in the country who wanted to donate to one of the 450 organizations could do so.
Donations ranged in size, but even the small ones will add up to make a big difference in the hands of the organizations, which cover everything from caring for horses without homes to supporting community gardens.
“Even $10 to an organization is huge if everyone gives,” Gabriel said.