More than $168,000 was raised April 26-27 to benefit local nonprofits and special projects through Unity Foundation of La Porte County’s Friends Helping Friends Give Day event.
In celebration of Unity’s 20th anniversary, the board of directors approved $20,000 in special grant prizes, which were awarded to the competing funds during the 39-hour Give Day.
Donations were mainly logged through an online web site developed to take credit card donations for the event. A total of 399 gifts were given to support favorite causes, ranging from animal care and the arts, to the environment and youth programming.
Fifty seven of Unity’s nonprofit and donor funds chose to participate in the event, and the top five fundraisers split $15,000. They included:
$5000 prize - Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City for raising $23,216.
$4000 prize - Salvation Army of Michigan City Endowment: raising $20,150
$3000 prize - Lindsey O’Brien Kesling Wishing Tree Foundation: $17,822
$2000 - La Porte County YMCA: $10,650
$1000 - Ivy Tech Michigan City Pejic Campus: $10,285
Additional organizations showed their competitive spirit and won special prizes totaling $5000 during the 39 hours. The Lindsey O’Brien Kesling Wishing Tree Foundation scored the highest number of donations at 92, earning them an additional $500 through the “Most Friends” prize. They also were the first fund to draw 10 donors making contributions of at least $50, which resulted in $250 being added to their fund in the “Eager Beaver” category. The group further earned “Procrastinator” and “Saturday in the Park” prizes for their outstanding outreach efforts, garnering $500 for each.
The Teacher Innovation Fund, which makes grants to Michigan City High School teachers, won $500 as the “Early Bird” bringing in the highest individual contribution between 6-10 a.m. on April 26.
International Friendship Gardens achieved the “Lunch Buddies Friend” $500, with the largest gift made between noon and 1 p.m. Friday.
The Michigan City Schools’ Dress for Success fund earned the “Weekend Warrior” prize for the donation made closest to midnight on Friday.
Five of the funds shared a $1,000 prize for securing a planned gift pledge, such as inclusion in a will or transfer of an IRA. They were La Porte Family YMCA and La Porte YMCA Community Child Care Center Endowment; CASA / Harmony House; Dunebrook; and Unity’s Operating Fund.
To view all the Give Day Leaderboard results and prize winners, log on to www.LPCountygiveday.org/leaderboard.
Unity President Maggi Spartz said, “We believe that a lot of awareness was raised about the Unity Foundation and the many organizations involved. We were delighted with the results. This is a win-win for the entire community! The Unity Foundation was designed to do good forever, and raising $168,000 in just 39 hours is an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations to the winners, and eternal thanks are due to all who donated or helped out. “
The participating nonprofit and donor funds may spend half of their Give Day donations immediately, along with any special prize monies. The additional gifts are placed in their Unity endowment, providing “forever” funds to support their good works.
With its new online donation technology in place, Unity Foundation hopes to repeat its successes in May 2014, joining in a national Give Day effort with a “Give Local” theme. In addition, a regional Give Day is planned for the future.