Give Local Piedmont 2018 a big success for county nonprofits

Give Local Piedmont 2018, the Rappahannock region’s one day annual online giving event hosted for the fifth year this past Tuesday by the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation, raised an impressive $864,710 for 160 local nonprofits— 5,478 donations in all.

The unofficial amount collected during the midnight-to-midnight fundraising event was almost $100,000 above last year’s total of $770,000. Give Local Piedmont 2016 similarly raised an impressive $883,320.

“We are thrilled, thrilled,” Northern Piedmont Community Foundation Executive Director Jane Bowling-Wilson told the Rappahannock News late Wednesday morning. “Last year we raised $770,000 and this year we are thrilled to have topped last year’s total. Truthfully, it’s all about the nonprofits, donors, businesses, sponsors, students, the newspapers.

It’s pretty phenomenal that in these four counties we raised that much money for such worthy causes.”

Give Local Piedmont benefits qualifying nonprofits in Rappahannock, Madison, Culpeper and Fauquier counties.

Raising the most money this year was Fresta Valley Christian School in Fauquier County, which received $44,738 in donations; the Fauquier Free Clinic brought in $37,064; here in Rappahannock County, ranking as the third and fourth top recipients in the region, were Wakefield Country Day School with $34,121 and Kid Pan Alley with $33,524; while rounding out the top five was Fauquier SPCA, garnering $28,605.

Additional Rappahannock County beneficiaries and amounts included Belle Meade Montessori School, collecting $23,000; RappCats, $10,567; RAWL, $10,066; Sperryville Volunteer Rescue Squad, $9,405; Rappahannock Food Pantry, $8,382; Rapp at Home, $5,536; RLEP, $4,532; RAAC, $4,477; Headwaters, $4,104; Rapp Nature Camp, $3,986; CCLC, $3,286; Friends of the Rappahannock County Library, $3,571; Foothills Forum, $3,490.

In addition, Rappahannock Benevolent Fund picked up $2,918; RappU, $2,891; Washington Volunteer Fire & Rescue, $2,861; Hearthstone School, $2,628; Rappahannock Historical Society, $2,261; Rappahannock County High School Band Boosters, $2,087; Scrabble School Preservation Foundation, $1,982; Washington Area Animal Adoption Group, $1,853; RappFLOW, $1,268; Castleton Festival, $982; Rappahannock Lions Club, $899; Castleton Fire Company, $714; and the Rappahannock County Garden Club, $544.

All dollar amounts are subject to change, and some will be increased with additional bonus dollars generously provided by the PATH Foundation, as well as prize dollars from sponsors. There will also be grand prize winners selected, based on the highest number of unique gifts of $10 or more. Eligible unique gifts are defined as one gift of $10 or more to one organization from one donor.

For this prize only, the top three small organizations with operating budgets under $250,000, and the top three large organizations with budgets above $250,000 or more will receive prizes of $2,500 (1st place), $1,500 (2nd place), and $1,000 (3rd place).