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Community Corner

More than $192,000 Raised for Valley Nonprofits During 36 Hour Event

The Valley Community Foundation (VCF) announced today that more than $192,000 is being distributed to 29 nonprofits located in the Valley towns of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton thanks to donor support, matching grants and prizes provided through The Great Give® 2014. VCF, an affiliate of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (TCF), was a presenting sponsor of the annual, online giving event created by The Community Foundation to raise visibility and support for local nonprofits in the region.

 

Center Stage, a Shelton-based theater founded in 2005 that strives to enhance the cultural environment within its community by providing affordable entertainment, won a $15,000 Grand Prize, one of the largest awards for the event provided by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for the most money raised by a participating nonprofit. They also won The Community Foundation’s $500 Midnight Snack Golden Ticket prize.

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“I am so pleased with the response to the 2014 Great Give. To have Center Stage, one of our Valley-based nonprofits win the $15,000 Grand Prize is wonderful,” said Sharon Closius, President & CEO of VCF at a gathering celebrating the outcome of the community-wide giving event.

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The Valley Community Foundation provided $25,000 in matching and prize funds to encourage giving by people who live and/or work in the Valley. These funds were further augmented by grants and prizes provided by VCF donor advised funds. Closius announced the names of the nonprofits that received Valley-specific grant prizes at today’s ice cream social – a gathering that has become a favorite among local supporters.

 

The Valley Community Foundation awarded two, $2,000 Grand Prizes after the final results of The Great Give® were tallied. The winners included the Shelton High School Robotics Team for attracting the most number of Valley donors and the Valley Independent Sentinel for attracting the most number of new Valley donors. Valley donors were defined as individuals who live or work in one or more of the five Valley towns served by VCF. The Valley Independent Sentinel also won The 2004 Golden Ticket Prize for receiving the 2004th gift in honor of the year the Valley Community Foundation was founded.

 

In addition to VCF Grand Prizes, two VCF donor advised fund founders encouraged giving by providing grant prizes of their own.

 

The Bassett Family Fund provided Golden Ticket Prizes of $500 to Seymour Pink for being the Valley-based nonprofit to get the most new donors on May 6 and $1,000 to the Father McKenna St. Vincent de Paul Shoppe for being the Valley-based nonprofit to get the most new donors on May 7.

 

Four additional Golden Ticket Prizes were awarded to the following Valley nonprofits: Visiting Nurse Association of South CentralConnecticut ($250 for the VCF Annual Meeting Prize); Housatonic Council, BoyScouts of America, Area Congregations Together and the Boys & Girls Club of LowerNaugatuck Valley ($500 each for the Rifkin Family Fund Home Stretch Prize).

The Ansonia Public Schools – Human Relations Club also won a $500 Early Bird Prize from The Community Foundation for being one of the first five organizations of the event to raise $1,000.

Excluding prize money, nearly $60,000 from 654 donations came from donors who live or work in the Valley; those gifts will support 85 nonprofits participating in The Great Give®. The top five nonprofits in order of highest amount of donations received from individual and donor advised fund gifts were: Center Stage Theatre ($27,400); BHcare ($15,925); The Boys and Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valley ($14,083); Area Congregations Together ($10,315); and TEAM ($7,750).

The Great Give® 2014 generated over $767,700 from more than 5,700 gifts benefiting nonprofits serving the 20-town area served by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, which includes the VCF’s five-town region. To see a list of the participating nonprofits and prizes, visit www.thegreatgive.org.

 

“In previous years, The Great Give was held in the Fall but occurred in the Spring, this year, to coincide with a national day of giving created through Give Local America honoring the centennial of community foundations. I was cautiously optimistic about donor participation because it was so soon after last year’s event, but the donors really showed their appreciation for our community’s nonprofits, including several VCF and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven donor advised fund founders who collectively donated over sixty thousand dollars.”

 

To learn more about how you might be able to support The Great Give® next year or Valley nonprofits through establishing a permanent endowment, please contact Sharon Closius at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org or 203-751-9162. For more information about the Valley Community Foundation, please visit VCF’s website at www.valleyfoundation.org, like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

 

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Media Contact:

Valerie Knight-DiGangi,

Program Officer, VCF

Phone: 203-751-9162

E-mail: vdigangi@valleyfoundation.org

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