Valley Community Foundation: Gifts grew 51 percent over '14

DERBY – The Valley Community Foundation announced Friday the number of gifts made by Valley residents and employees during The Great Give® 2015 increased by 51 percent over 2014.

The information was shared during a celebratory Ice Cream Social Thursday at which VCF also announced winners of the VCF Great Give Grand Prizes for attracting the greatest number of donors who live or work in the Valley (Valley Independent Sentinel, $2,000) and attracting the greatest number of new donors who live or work in the Valley (Shelton High School Education Fund, $2,000).

“We couldn’t be more thrilled at the response of Valley residents and workers who came out in strong support of local nonprofits during The Great Give 2015. A 51 percent increase over last year in the number of gifts underscores that the Valley is a philanthropic region and its people know the importance of giving locally in a global world where so many charitable options abound,” said Sharon Closius, President & CEO of the Valley Community Foundation.

Outreach was creative
“Organizations were particularly creative this year in their outreach, which included a 36-hour live webcast hosted by the Valley Independent Sentinel and a collaborative Valley Great Give video that is available on the VCF website.”

Overall, a 43 percent increase in giving from Valley residents and employees, combined with matching grants and prizes, resulted in nearly $230,000 in Valley-related giving.

The Valley nonprofits raising the most dollars were: 
Center Stage Theatre, who also won a second place Grand Prize from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for attracting the most donors, Boys & Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valley, BHcare, TEAM, and Griffin Hospital. 
In addition to Center Stage Theatre and TEAM, organizations receiving the most gifts were Valley Independent Sentinel, Seymour Pink and the Shelton High School Robotics Team.

Also announced at the Ice Cream Social were the winners of special prizes awarded by VCF throughout The Great Give® including the Rifkin Family Fund Home Stretch Prize to Boy Scouts of America Housatonic Council, Valley Independent Sentinel and Center Stage Theatre. 
VCF Early Bird Prizes were awarded to Center Stage Theatre and Seymour Pink. A Cinco de Mayo Prize was awarded to the Valley Independent Sentinel and a VCF Golden Ticket to TEAM.

The Great Give® 2015 generated $1,291,096 including matching funds and prizes, for nonprofits working in the 20-town area served by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, which includes the VCF’s five-town region.

There were more than 7,000 donors who gave 9,611 gifts. 
To see all participating nonprofits and prize information, visit www.thegreatgive.org.

About the Valley Community Foundation
Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation distributes hundreds of thousands of grant dollars each year to support the local nonprofit sector and the people it serves. In addition to grant-making, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, to promote philanthropy in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton.

To learn how your gifts of cash, life insurance, appreciated stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets can help to support the quality of life in the Valley, visit www.valleyfoundation.org or contact VCF President & CEO, Sharon Closius, at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org or 203-751-9162. 
Find VCF on Facebook or follow VCF on Twitter.


This a press release from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.