Valley Nonprofits Raise Almost $300,000 During The Great Give 2019
Thanks to donors, foundations and supportive community
DERBY (May 3, 2019) - The Valley Community Foundation (VCF) is proud to announce that with the help of Valley residents, employees and VCF donor advised fund holders during The Great Give® 2019 nearly $296,000 was raised for nonprofit organizations located in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour or Shelton. This includes sponsorship support from VCF for $6,500 in prizes and $20,000 which was used to match donations from those who live or work in the Valley. All prizes were awarded based on totals as of 8:00 p.m. May 2 when the event officially ended.
"It's inspiring to see our Valley community continue to come together in this event year after year" said Sharon Closius, President and CEO of the Valley Community Foundation. "The success we saw in this year's event was greater than ever before and truly shows the strength of the community we are lucky to be a part of." The Valley Community Foundation is the second largest sponsor behind The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (TCF) of the event, incentivizing local giving for the Valley by offering matching funds and prizes. Read TCF's press release highlighting overall Great Give results here.
Shelton High School Robotics Team was awarded TCF's prize of $3,000 for highest number of peer to peer fundraisers and Center Stage received a $3,000 prize for most money raised. VCF awarded two $2,000 grand prizes. The first to Valley Independent Sentinel for greatest total number of Valley donors and the second to Ansonia Public Schools for the greatest number of new Valley donors. Ansonia Public Schools also received an additional $500 Golden Ticket prize. In honor of the 15th anniversary of VCF, Griffin Hospital was awarded a $1,500 prize for generating the most donors during a 15-minute challenge period on Wednesday, May 1st.
The Liberty Bank Foundation sponsored a prize for the Valley-based organization supporting basic needs that attracted the greatest number of individual donors during a specified time, which was presented to Massaro Farm.
BAD SONS Beer Co., located in Derby, raised a total of $1,341 in prize dollars through a charity tap event that began April 1st, that included support from Derby Mayor, Rich Dziekan, who contributed his tips from guest bartending. This prize money was awarded to Friends of the Ansonia Nature Center.
Other Valley-based prize winners included Derby Historical Society, Center Stage, St. Mary-St. Michael School, Area Congregations Together, Master's Table, Valley Shakespeare, and Shelton Land Conservation Trust.
The Great Give® is the annual online giving event on giveGreater.org®, a local resource for learning and giving created in 2010 by VCF's partner in philanthropy, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to increase philanthropy in the Greater New Haven region of South Central Connecticut. Overall, The Great Give® 2019 generated $1.8 million, including matching funds and prizes from the two foundations and other generous community sponsors for nonprofits serving the 20-town region of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, which includes VCF's five-town service area. Approximately 12,000 donors gave 17,000 gifts. View the official prize results here.
About the Valley Community Foundation
Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation distributes $1.6 million in grants each year to support the local nonprofit sector and the people it serves. In addition to grantmaking, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (TCF), to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton and receives funding from The Gates Fund and other preference funds at TCF. To learn how your gifts of cash, life insurance, appreciated stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets can help to support the quality of life in the Valley, please visit the website at www.valleyfoundation.org or contact VCF President, Sharon Closius, at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org or 203-751-9162.
