Area nonprofits rely on donations, which can be easily made during the Give4Marion online fundraising campaign.
Give4Marion is an entirely online 24-plus hours of giving started by the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County to support local nonprofits. This year’s Give4Marion will run from 10am Tuesday, September 20th, through 7pm Wednesday, September 21st.
In the fall of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofits were forced to shut down in-person giving events due to health and safety protocols. Restrictions and economic uncertainty meant these organizations lost the ability to hold events during what is traditionally a time for year-end fundraising campaigns.
Initially launched as a response to the impact of the pandemic on nonprofits, Give4Marion is now a staple of the Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Resource Center as an annual fundraiser for the county’s nonprofit organizations.
Give4Marion makes giving more accessible by bringing the process online. Donors are able to give as little as $10—as well as much larger gifts—in a single convenient location, Give4Marion.org, where each participating nonprofit is listed and can receive donations. This event also brings awareness to these organizations, which helps connect them to new donors and strengthens their relationships within the community.
Beginning at 10am on September 20th, Give4Marion will run through the evening and into the following day. At various points, there will be special opportunities such as a “Power Hour” where some nonprofits may receive a bonus gift and a “Matching Moment” in which donations may be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000.
In year one, Give4Marion raised more than $310,000, with 1,154 individual donors and 1,592 total donations. In 2021, donations increased by 83% to a total of $532,000 raised for 75 participating nonprofits, with 2,267 individual donors and 3,251 donations.
Large and small nonprofits alike have been able to raise large sums of money through this campaign. Interfaith Emergency Services, for example, was the top earner in 2020 and second in 2021, with more than $40,000 raised each year. Other nonprofits, such as Transitions Life Center, Project Hope, Marion Cultural Alliance, Marion County Literacy Council and the Pearl Project have each raised more than $20,000 thanks to online donations.
Now in year three, the Community Foundation has extended Give4Marion to run for 33 consecutive hours with a variety of new in-person events. The foundation will host a kick-off event at its office on September 20th. On September 21st, during the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership’s ExCEPtional Breakfast, there also may be opportunities for some nonprofits to receive a bonus gift. The foundation will throw a celebration party at the Marion Theatre to announce the final results. OS
To learn more about the foundation, go to ocalafoundation.org
To make a donation, visit give4marion.org
