The Pittsburgh Foundation

Day of Giving raises over $5.7 million for local nonprofits

Initiative exceeds $35 million since inception

PITTSBURGH, Pa., May 7, 2014 – More than $5.7 million was raised for the region’s nonprofit organizations yesterday with The Pittsburgh Foundation’s sixth annual Day of Giving.

The event was moved from its traditional date in the fall to be part of the first ever Give Local America national event organized by the Council on Foundations. Across the U.S., 80 community foundations helped to raise over $50 million yesterday for more than 7,700 charitable organizations.

“Measured against the performances of our colleagues throughout the U.S., Pittsburgh’s Day of Giving was an outstanding success,” said Grant Oliphant, The Pittsburgh Foundation’s President and CEO. “Pittsburgh accounted for more than 11 percent of the total raised nationally and this will provide significant support to the critical work of our nonprofit organizations.”

For Pittsburgh’s event yesterday, public donations of $4.9 million were received in an 18-hour period through The Pittsburgh Foundation’s online PittsburghGives program, taking the total raised since Day of Giving events began in 2009 to more than $35 million. Together with matching funds for Allegheny, Westmoreland and Butler counties, the total raised exceeded $5.7 million.

For nonprofits in Allegheny County, individual contributions totaled $4,500,000, and they will each receive an equal pro-rated share of the $750,000 matching funds. For Westmoreland, the event received public donations of $318,000 which share a match pool of $50,000. Participating in the Day of Giving for the first time, Butler County received public donations of 73,000 for 27 participating nonprofits and they will each receive an equal pro-rated share of the $10,000 in matching funds provided by the Endowment for Butler County, a fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation.

All data is preliminary and is subject to financial and administrative reconciliation by Foundation staff, which is expected to be completed by early next week when the Foundation will also confirm the matching amount for each donation.

A total of 816 local charities in Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties with profiles on the PittsburghGives site, were eligible to receive contributions from donors that qualified for an equal, pro-rated share of the matching funds. This was up from the 729 participating nonprofits in 2013.

Due to its unexpectedly high rate of growth since 2009, The Pittsburgh Foundation introduced minor modifications to the program for 2013. To ensure a robust match percentage for participating nonprofits, the Foundation determined that only the first $1,000 per individual per organization would be eligible to receive matching dollars from the match pools. In previous years, the cap was $10,000.

The total raised for Pittsburgh’s Day of Giving yesterday was below the $7.7 million raised by the event last year. “We believe this is due primarily to moving the event from its customary date in October when it has served as a kind of local launch for the charitable giving season,” said Grant Oliphant.

“But yesterday remained a clear demonstration of the value of our local Day of Giving and the important role it has played in helping to grow individual giving and support for our region’s nonprofits. We congratulate and applaud everyone who gave and the nonprofits that organized themselves so well, again showcasing Pittsburgh's generous spirit.”

The PittsburghGives platform serves as a unique platform 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.

The PittsburghGives online platform will be used to host a Day of Giving to support local arts programs on Oct. 2, organized by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

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