By Dave Warner
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties will host the second-annual 24-hour day of community giving, “Mohawk Valley Gives,” on September 20th to benefit local nonprofits serving the two counties. Several non-profit organizations in Little Falls will participate in the campaign.
What makes it really interesting for Little Falls non-profits is the participation of the UpMobility Foundation and Match Challenge for several local organizations.
Photo by Dave Warner – Work continues on the former YMCA building at 15 Jackson Street.
The biggest opportunity is for the Little Falls Youth and Family Center’s ongoing Capital Campaign. UpMobility has created two levels of giving for the all-day September 20th event:
#1 Match – Any dollars raised online OR through a grant from a donor-advised fund between September 13 and September 30, 2023, will be eligible for a 3:1 match, up to $200,000 per organization.
#2 New Donor Bonus – To incentivize and reward organizations for effective new donor acquisition, organizations will additionally receive $300 per online gift from a self-identified new donor, up to $9,000 per organization (equivalent to 30 new donors).
Deborah Kaufman, Chairman of the Youth and Family Center Capital Campaign, stated, “This is an incredible opportunity for the organization, and we hope everyone will participate. Whatever amount you give will triple in value. If you donate $10,000, that becomes $30,000.”
Little Falls Public Library
Two other organizations will be at the 2:1 match level, up to $50,000 per organization. The Little Falls Public Library and the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts will be eligible for that level. They will also receive an additional match of up to $9,000 – matching $300 per new donor.
The two organizations are planning a collaborative event at the Little Falls Public Library on September 19th from 4-8 p.m. to promote the event and take early donations. Refreshments will be served, and computers will be available for people to make early donations.
Photo by Andy McEvoy – Evan Martyniuk, one of the interns for The Creative Outpost, works a camera during a summer Diamond Dawgs baseball game.
The Creative Outpost, the parent non-profit of My Little Falls, is at the 1:1 match level.
#1 Match – Any dollars raised online OR through a grant from a donor-advised fund between September 13 and September 30, 2023, will be eligible for a 1:1 match, up to $10,000 per organization.
#2 New Donor Bonus – To incentivize and reward organizations for effective new donor acquisition, organizations will additionally receive $200 per online gift from a self-identified new donor, up to $15,000 per organization (equivalent to 75 new donors).
In the 2022 Mohawk Valley Gives debut, the community raised over $630,000 in 24 hours from 1,700+ unique donors and over 2,750+ individual donations. More than 90 prizes were awarded to participating nonprofits with the generous support of Mohawk Valley Gives sponsors and members of the Community Foundation Board of Trustees.
“The day is about so much more than just raising money,” said Nick Grimmer, director of giving strategies at the Community Foundation. “It’s about giving nonprofit organizations the opportunity to promote themselves in new and creative ways and gain new supporters while they’re at it. It’s also an educational opportunity for community donors to learn about many amazing organizations that they may not be familiar with.”
The Community Foundation took lessons learned from the first Mohawk Valley Gives event and used those to shape this year’s campaign, which will feature more robust training and support opportunities for participating organizations, as well as an enhanced prize pool that will award cash prizes to these organizations on the giving day.
Other participating Little Falls organizations are Pause 4 All Paws Inc., Helping Animals Live Organization, and the Little Falls Hospital.
To find out more or to participate, visit https://www.givemv.org/
