Handing out $466,878 in donations is not something that happens very often, but that is exactly what occurred at the DeKalb County Community Foundation on May 31. Earlier in May, 83 nonprofit organizations and endowment funds joined with the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership and DeKalb County Community Foundation to participate in Give DeKalb County. Through a combination of support from donors and Community Partners, $466,878 was raised to support nonprofits located in and/or serving DeKalb County.

In its fourth year, 2017 saw the most participating nonprofits, the most donations, the highest number of donors, and the largest amount raised during the 24-hour giving day.

Michelle Donahoe, executive director of Sycamore History Museum and Give DeKalb County committee chair, was pleased with the results. “The generosity of donors on May 4 was very inspiring. It was a pleasure to see our community support the incredible work being done by nonprofit organizations in this area,” said Donahoe.

This generosity resulted in $410,892 given through in-person and online donations. Donations were received online from 33 different states and three countries from around the world. These donations leveraged funds from a bonus pool of $55,986 that came from Community Partner support.

“The nonprofit sector works tirelessly to provide much needed services and to enhance our overall quality of life,” said Ben Bingle, manager of the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership. “Thank you to the donors, Community Partners, Media Sponsors, supporting organizations, participating nonprofits, volunteers and Community Foundation staff for making this event an extraordinary success.”

A standing room only crowd of representatives from participating nonprofit organizations received their Give DeKalb County checks at an event on May 31 at the Community Foundation.

Give DeKalb County 2017 Recap:

Pictured: Representatives from the participating nonprofits gathered together during the check presentation on May 31. Drone photo courtesy of Bob Myers, Hawk Aerial Imagery.