New Haven, Conn. (May 6, 2024) – The Great Give raised $3,843,475 for 550 nonprofit organizations serving Greater New Haven, both record numbers. Now it its 15th year, The Great Give has raised $28.6 million since it began.
The 36-hour online giving event presented by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is a community-wide celebration of nonprofits on social media and beyond, with many organizations hosting both virtual and live events for supporters. This year’s Great Give was held May 1-2 and featured $242,000 in matching pools and random prize draws sponsored by businesses and organizations throughout the region along with The Community Foundation and the Valley Community Foundation.
"This community showed once again how extraordinarily generous it is," said The Community Foundation & President Will Ginsberg. "The elevation of the important work of our local nonprofits over these two days translates into support for these organizations all year long. It’s tremendous."
While the official event with prizes ended on May 2, donations were accepted until May 6. At the conclusion of the giving, 15,901 unique made 25,904 gifts.
“ The Great Give allows organizations to address pressing local needs and respond to specific challenges faced by the community. By rallying together, these nonprofits can make a tangible difference in improving the lives of residents,” said Manmita Dutta, Director of Advancement, New Haven Free Public Library Foundation, which raised $22,800 and won a $1,000 draw prize.
“For The New Haven Public Library, The Great Give provides us with the opportunity to supplement municipal funding, expand our resources to fund programs for all demographics — and all this while engaging and connecting with the community,” Dutta added.
Integrated Refugee and Resettlement Services (IRIS) received the highest dollar amount in donations — $108,919. New Haven Chorale received the greatest number of unique donations, 464, and raised $71,118.
“It would be virtually impossible for the New Haven Chorale to do a fundraiser of this magnitude and achieve such a successful outcome if we didn’t have The Great Give as an incentive for our members,” said Executive Director Alice Hummel.
Cheshire Food Drive, participating in its second Great Give, also benefitted from the event, winning a $1,000 Early Bird draw prize and raising $2,161 from donors.
“We are a very small, very local nonprofit that funds a food voucher program. Participating in The Great Give offers us the opportunity to raise money for that program, and winning the Early Bird drawing will go a long way toward helping to feed our neighbors,” said Co-President Marléna J. Soble.
Jackie Downing, Senior Director of Grantmaking and Nonprofit Support at The Community Foundation, confirmed that both the amount raised and the number of nonprofits receiving gifts were record numbers for The Great Give.
“Once again, Greater New Haven’s nonprofits told compelling stories about the work they do with our friends and neighbors, and generous people responded with support,” Downing said.
The Great Give is open to any nonprofit providing programs and services in the 20 towns served by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Now in its 15th year, the event has evolved into an important way for organizations of all sizes to engage and expand their donor bases. Most of the top fundraisers and prize winners are small organizations.
The Great Give 2024 was supported by multiple sponsors contributing cash prizes and match donations. The Community Foundation provided a $100,000 pool for a pro-rated match to every nonprofit receiving a donation. The Valley Community Foundation provided a $20,000 matching pool to gifts made by Valley donors.
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation offered $10,000 to match donations to arts organizations during a “Power Hour.” During this hour, a variety of arts groups held virtual and in-person performances and gallery tours.
The Black Futures Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven provided six $2,500 random-draw prizes for Black-led and Black-serving nonprofits.
Branford Rotary Club awarded $1,000 to the Branford-based organization returning to The Great Give with the greatest percentage increase in the number of unique donors.
The Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven awarded two $1,800 prizes to inspire giving to organizations working in housing and homelessness and food insecurity.
The Konopacke Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven provided a matching pool of $10,000 to inspire giving to independent, nonprofit animal shelters.
Liberty Bank provided a matching pool of $5,000 to inspire giving to select organizations that support and educate children.
The Madison Foundation offered prizes for organizations in its town.
The NewAlliance Foundation provided a $10,000 matching pool for boosting donations for organizations promoting literacy.
The Progreso Latino Fund at The Community Foundation provided a $10,000 match pool for organizations that have Latine representation at the executive leadership level, serve the Latine community and have annual budgets of under $500,000.
Tzedakah House, the insurance agency with heart, provided a $5,000 match pool to inspire giving to its client organizations.
Donors interested in supporting nonprofits that serve Greater New Haven beyond The Great Give’s 36-hour event are invited to visit www.givegreater.org, an online year-round resource for local giving provided by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. It is a database of local nonprofit organizations providing services in The Community Foundation’s region. Many nonprofits listed on the site are participants in The Great Give; on the site, donors can search by interest area or name to learn more about nonprofit programs, management, and governance.
About The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven in Connecticut was established in 1928 and is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the U.S. The Foundation stewards a permanent charitable endowment for 20 towns in Greater New Haven that has been built by donors supporting a broad variety of issues and organizations. The Foundation’s mission is to inspire, support, inform, listen to and collaborate with the people and organizations of Greater New Haven to build an ever more connected, inclusive, equitable and philanthropic community. For more information about The Foundation, visit www.cfgnh.org or follow @cfgnh on facebook and twitter.
