Giving Is Gorges Raises $118,000 for Tompkins County and Surrounding Area

Ithaca, NY, September 8, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Tompkins County donors demonstrated exceptional generosity by giving $118,000 to 120 nonprofits in just 24 hours on Giving is Gorges day on Friday, August 28th. This outpouring of generosity surpassed all expectations, especially for the first-of-its-kind event held in the area.

“We were confident that Tompkins County would give, but were blown away by the sheer volume of gifts, especially considering Tompkins County only has a population of about 103,000 folks. A total of 1,655 individual donations were made ranging from $5 to $3,000 to 120 nonprofits by 1,050 donors, proving that residents of Tompkins County were not only willing to give, but to give more than once and to multiple organizations.  Wow!”, said George Ferrari, CEO of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County.

"More than 1,000 people from Tompkins County and beyond donated to 120 nonprofits in one day. This effort - led by the county's Community Foundation, United Way, AFP, Chamber and the City of Ithaca - may just be the broadest, most inclusive single fundraiser in our county's history. We're proud to have played a small role in empowering our community to show our amazing spirit of giving!"

Charlie Mulligan, CEO, GiveGab

Giving is Gorges is a movement designed to inspire and unite the community in supporting local nonprofits by leveraging the power and efficiency of online giving. Presented as a collaboration of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, Association of Fundraising Professionals NY - Finger Lakes Chapter, and United Way of Tompkins County, Giving is Gorges was powered by GiveGab, a nonprofit giving platform.

The event’s first donation was made by Sarah Christen to Ellis Hollow Community Center at 12:00 AM, part of an impressive first hour which generated $18,000 in donations alone, demonstrating the pent-up anticipation generated leading up to the event.  All though there were some hourly peaks and valleys, giving was relatively consistent throughout the entire 24 hour period.

“More than 1,000 people from Tompkins County and beyond donated to 120 nonprofits in one day.  This effort - led by the county's Community Foundation, United Way, AFP, Chamber and the City of Ithaca - may just be the broadest, most inclusive single fundraiser in our county's history.  We're proud to have played a small role in empowering our community to show our amazing spirit of giving!", said Charlie Mulligan, CEO of GiveGab.

GiveGab provided not only the platform and service to this year’s program, but also more than $5,750 in cash prizes that were awarded in increments throughout the day.  These prizes offered powerful incentives and added competition to an already exciting event.   Planning for Giving is Gorges 2016 has already begun, with expectations of an even larger event with many more participating nonprofits.