This week’s Giving Tuesday initiative proved to be a success for local community foundations. Kim Krause with the Community Foundation of Pulaski County had a good response. “I know we still have some gifts that are trickling in, but it’s safe to say that we’ve raised well over $30,000 in one day, for Giving Tuesday,” she says.
The Starke County Community Foundation also saw a good number of donations, according to the foundation’s director of development, Sarah Origer. “In total, we received more than $15,000 in gifts on Giving Tuesday,” she says, “and it was a really nice day to celebrate the accomplishments of our many nonprofits and they work that they’re doing to make Starke County a better place.”
To celebrate Giving Tuesday, both community foundations held open houses. In Pulaski County, Krause says events were held in both Winamac and Francesville. “We had a great turnout at both locations, actually,” she says. “We just had a lot of different tasty treats, and we had people able to come in and decorate our giving tree with just reasons why they gave.”
Meanwhile, Origer says the Starke County Community Foundation gave donors an extra incentive to give to one of the foundation’s community funds. “We offered a match of $2,500 to community funds,” she explains. “So individuals could give up to $250, and it would be matched as long as it was going to a community fund. I do know that we have some additional dollars remain, so we’re continuing to match gifts to community funds, until those dollars are used.”
Giving Tuesday is a global initiative that encourages people to give back to their communities on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
