Record outpouring

 

PITTSBURGH, Pa., October 11, 2012 – The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Day of Giving last week generated funding for local nonprofits at the rate of more than $98 per second over the 24-hour giving period. The total raised for charitable organizations in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties was $8,540,345, an increase of over 31 percent on the $6.4 million raised by the event last year.

All of the 665 local nonprofits that participated in the event – having completed or updated profiles on the Foundation’s PittsburghGives on-line site – received credit card contributions from a total of 17,719 individual donations, up from the 13,643 contributions in 2011.

 

Following the completion yesterday of financial reconciliations by Foundation staff, the amount of matching funds for nonprofits in Allegheny County was confirmed at 10.5 cents for every dollar they received. In Westmoreland, which had a separate match pool, the match is
14 cents on the dollar.

 

Nonprofits received a record outpouring of support from the community, the majority reporting significant increases in the number of contributions and the amounts of money raised during the event. For most of them, social media tools were central to their successful community outreach, engaging new and existing donors and increasing public awareness. The Pittsburgh Foundation had again hosted a series of free social media classes for local nonprofits, teaching the cost-effective uses of technology platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

 

“This was an outstanding result which went far beyond our hopes and expectations,” said Grant Oliphant, the Foundation’s President and CEO. “To all those who made contributions, a heartfelt thank you from all of us at the Foundation. To all nonprofits that took part and excelled especially at engaging donors and supporters with an array of on-line marketing and awareness-building tools, our congratulations for as magnificent job, well done.

 

“We will soon begin a detailed evaluation process, including consultations with donors and charitable organizations, to determine how we might further improve the event for 2013.”

 

In terms of funds raised during the event, the leading organization in Allegheny County was Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra which received donations amounting to $229,955, which qualifies for matching funds totaling $24,145. Next was Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh which received $201,600 (plus match of $21,168); followed by Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, $179,170 ($18,812); Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, $165,618 ($17,389); Pittsburgh Opera, Inc., $142,129 ($14,923); Community Day School, $140,634 ($14,766); Rodef Shalom Congregation, $134,991 ($14,174); Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, $129,730 ($13,621); Pittsburgh Public Theater, $125,152 ($13,140); and Central Catholic High School, $124,633 ($13,086).  

 

For Westmoreland, the top ten nonprofits for funds received were: Ligonier Camp and Conference Center, $44,180 (plus match of $6,185); Seton Hill University, $34,130 ($4,778); Saint Vincent College, $33,705 ($4,718); Murrysville Community Library, $29,426 ($4,119); Westmoreland Cultural Trust, $28,525 ($3,993); Valley Points Family YMCA, $25,533 ($3,574); Westmoreland County Food Bank, $24,101 ($3,374); Ligonier Valley YMCA, $20,345 ($2,848); Tri-City Life Center, Inc., $17,910 ($2,507); and Valley School of Ligonier, $16,435 ($2,300).

 

Public donations for Allegheny County during the Day of Giving amounted to $7,108,133 which combined with the match pool of $750,000 created a total of $7,858,133. In Westmoreland, public contributions totaled $597,212 which receive matching funds of $85,000, together totaling $682,212. All donations receive an equal pro-rated share of the match pools.

 

The following are the top ten nonprofits in Allegheny and Westmoreland in terms of the number of donations received:

 

Allegheny Number of Donations
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank - 1050
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - 1029
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - 645
Animal Friends Inc. - 638
WQED Multimedia - 597
Animal Rescue League of Western PA - 557
WESA – Essential Public Radio - 554
Bike Pittsburgh - 467
WYEP Pittsburgh Community Broadcast Center - 416
Western Pennsylvania Humane Society - 392

Westmoreland Number of Donations
Westmoreland County Food Bank - 235
Seton Hill University - 167
Murrysville Community Library - 126
Greensburg Hempfield Library - 121
Ligonier Camp and Conference Center - 94
Westmoreland Cultural Trust - 90
Blackburn Center Against Domestic & Sexual Violence - 77
Faith in Action Laurel Area - 73
Action for Animals - 71
Tri-City Life Center, Inc - 66

 

Since the launch of PittsburghGives in 2009, the on-line site’s giving events have so far raised more than $21 million for the region’s nonprofit organizations.

 

The PittsburghGives platform serves year-round as a unique on-line giving and research program for nonprofits to showcase their work in the community, detailing information about their charitable programs, missions, management and finances.  PittsburghGives can be accessed at www.pittsburghgives.org.

###