The ‘Love Utah Give Utah’ fundraising campaign was a resounding success, said Megan DeMatteo, the Moab Valley Multicultural Center’s volunteer coordinator.
“We did so good!” she said.
For 24-hours 11 local non-profits camped out in the offices of Moab Air Adventures and set up information booths in Walker Drug Co’s parking lot beginning March 22.
Moab’s event was part of a statewide campaign that brought together over 400 Utah non-profits for 24-hours of online giving.
Fraser Nelson, the executive director of the Community Foundation of Utah, the non-profit that organized the online portion of the drive, claims that $914,443 was donated to Utah’s non-profits. That total will rise once corporate matching grants are finalized.
Three local organizations ranked in the top 35 for number of unique donors out of 122 small non-profits across Utah that participated in the event. Community Rebuilds led the way with 23 donors giving $1,100 online, putting them in 28th place. The Moab Valley Multicultural Center came in 31st with 20 donors giving $1,455, and the Club Red: Moab’s Teen Center brought in $865 from 20 donors.
Because many cash and check donations were given at the event, each organization’s total will likely be significantly higher.
“The support was just overwhelming. We were humbled,” said Daniel McNeil, the program director at Grand Area Mentoring, which received donations from as far afield as New Hampshire and London, England.
Many of the participating organizations said that the experience of having so many local non-profits come together to work toward a shared goal was one of the most valuable aspects of the event.
“Being there for 24-hours created a lot of support within the non-profits in town,” said DeMatteo. “It created a nice sense of collaboration and support for each other.”
