Julie Boyce, left, with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, discusses the Give Local MOV 2016 event, scheduled for May 3, with representatives of local nonprofits during a kickoff Tuesday at Superior Toyota.
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — The first Give Local MOV day of online giving amassed $118,000 for 35 local nonprofits, while the second topped $218,000 for 49 participants.
So it makes sense to Julie Boyce, development and communications officer for the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, to set the 2016 goal at $300,000-plus.
“Do you think we can do it?” Boyce asked representatives of more than a dozen local nonprofits during a kickoff event Tuesday morning.
They responded with applause.
The event was held at Superior Toyota, the lead sponsor for the event. The Seventh Street dealership previously pledged $20,000 in matching funds for the day of giving, slated for May 3, but gave Boyce a new figure Tuesday.
“They’re going to increase their donation to Give Local to $30,000,” she said.
The matching funds allow donors to get more for the money they give to local charities with funds at the community foundation and its affiliates. Some matching funds, like Superior’s, will be evenly distributed among all participants. Other sponsors may choose to provide matching funds for specific organizations or support prizes for benchmarks like raising the most money, having the most donors and more.
Superior co-owner Scott Hathaway said supporting Give Local MOV is a way for the business to give back to the community that has helped it grow from a nine-employee operation 30 years ago to a workforce of more than 70.
“Hopefully each year will just get bigger and bigger and bigger,” he said. “This program is great for our area … for people that need help.”
It was beneficial to the Wood County Society this year, said Jane Stephens, executive director for the organization, which serves people with mental and physical disabilities.
The group wanted to get a ramp to help participants at its annual Camp ECHO get onto horses with less difficulty, but didn’t have the money in its budget.
They were able to raise half the money they needed through Give Local MOV 2015 and eventually get the ramp, Stephens said.
“We’re able to pack it up and take it again every year,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without this program.”
Participating nonprofits are asked to do more than simply enter their information and wait for the donations to appear.
FaithLink, a volunteer organization that works to help senior citizens live independently, didn’t do much promotion for Give Local MOV in 2014 and only wound up with about $200, said Melissa Ogden, program coordinator.
This year, they placed more emphasis on it, including encouraging donors to wait until the day of the event to give instead of at the annual dinner in April. That resulted in more than $11,000 for FaithLink through Give Local MOV, Ogden said. FaithLink also set up a giving station at its office to allow supporters who don’t usually make online donations to participate, she said.
An orientation for Give Local MOV participants is slated for Jan. 27 at the PACF offices. More information about the program, including becoming a sponsor, is available by contacting Boyce at 304-428-4438 or [email protected].
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