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Colorado Gives Day raises $450,000 for local nonprofits

EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado – Donors contributed about $15 million statewide on Community First Foundation’s Colorado Gives Day 2012 – an increase of 20 percent compared to Colorado Gives Day 2011, which raised $12.4 million. In Eagle County, over $450,000 was raised for 21 locally based nonprofit organizations.

Individual contributions were received over a 24-hour period at GivingFirst.org, the online giving resource for Colorado Gives Day. Donations ranged from $10 to $200,000.

Colorado Gives Day 2012 received approximately 68,000 donations statewide – an increase of 30 percent over last year’s 52,226 donations.



Significant contributions, to the tune of $450,000, were made in Eagle County to the 21 participants in the Gives Day, including Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival, Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum, Eagle River Watershed Council, Eagle River Youth Coalition, Eagle Valley Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity, Mountain Valley Horse Rescue, Red Ribbon Project, Roundup River Ranch, SOS Outreach, The Literacy Project, The Family Learning Center, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, United Way, Vail Symposium, Vail Valley Charitable Fund, Vail Valley Foundation, Vail Veterans Program and Walking Mountains Science Center.

Thanks to Colorado Gives Day corporate partner FirstBank, a portion of the $300,000 FirstBank Incentive Fund will be applied to each individual contribution and distributed to nonprofits at the end of the month. FirstBank is the founding sponsor of Colorado Gives Day, and the event would not be possible without their support.

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“The response we’ve received from Eagle County residents this year has been astonishing,” said Ellen Moritz, president of FirstBank’s local Avon Market. “We’re proud of our community for coming together and selflessly giving back to some of the best charitable organizations in the state. As Colorado’s largest locally owned bank, community involvement and philanthropy have always been a hallmark of our business and I’m ecstatic others were able to make it their own priority for Colorado Gives Day.”

Third-party processing fees were covered again by FirstBank, Community First Foundation, and local foundations and businesses to help ensure that 100 percent of Colorado Gives Day donations go directly to the participating nonprofits.

For the third consecutive year, the first gift of the day was made to the “I Love You Guys” Foundation at 12 a.m. Dec. 4. The last gift came in at 11:59 p.m. to SOS Outreach, one of the local charities in Eagle County. Social media played a central role in maintaining momentum throughout the 24-hour period.

Eagle County-based nonprofits combined their resources to make an even more local impact during these challenging economic times. Over $450,000 was raised on behalf of the local non-profits in Eagle County during the 2012 Colorado Gives Day, which is $300,000 more than the local total last year.

GivingFirst.org, an online resource created in 2007, shares comprehensive and standardized information to help donors learn about and support local charities. More than $30 million has been collected through GivingFirst.org since its inception, not including the approximate $15 million raised during Colorado Gives Day 2012. There are currently 1,258 nonprofits participating in GivingFirst.org. Nonprofits across the state who did not participate this year can create a profile on GivingFirst.org starting in March to receive the year-round fundraising benefits.

A new $150,000 grant to Community First Foundation from the Boettcher Foundation and the El Pomar Foundation is helping to expand Colorado Gives Day throughout the state and make it easier for nonprofits outside Denver to use GivingFirst.org to accept donations online. The grant is in honor of the foundations’ 75th anniversaries and includes $25,000 for Colorado Gives Day 2012 prizes, available exclusively to non-metro Denver nonprofits participating in Colorado Gives Day.

Final numbers are expected to be available by the end of the month. Results from Colorado Gives Day will continue to be finalized and updated on http://www.GivingFirst.org/COGivesDay.


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