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Final Results Are In: Give Ozarks Raises Over $1 Million

Mike Smith
/
KSMU

Officials have confirmed that the inaugural Give Ozarks day, which ran from midnight to midnight on Tuesday, surpassed $1 million.

The region’s first 24-hour online giving event brought in $1,018,962, according to a news release from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

The updated amount reflects the addition of cumulative prize awards and donations that participating nonprofits collected in cash or checks on Tuesday, and delivered to CFO by Thursday. $92,975 in prizes were provided by generous sponsors, representing 59 separate cash prizes. Additionally, $120,000 in CFO endowment matching funds was awarded to the 24 agencies selected for those challenge grants. The prize winners are all listed here.

“First, we would like to say ‘thanks a million’ to the donors who made more than 7,500 gifts to make the Ozarks a better place for everyone,” CFO President Brian Fogle said in a statement. “In a time when daily headlines seem to trumpet bad news across the globe, it’s so refreshing to be reminded just how generous and helpful our friends and neighbors are. When you throw a first-time party like this, one never knows who may show up. Thank you for the thousands that did, with their hearts and pocketbooks open to assist others.”

A total of 7,649 donations were collected. The nearly 150 nonprofit agencies that benefited represent at least 46 communities within CFO’s 58-county service area.

Nearly 30 percent of donors indicated it was a first-time gift, and the Give Ozarks website registered roughly 675,000 hits on Tuesday.

The Give Ozarks was presented by the CFO and BKD Wealth Advisors. Its goal was to increase awareness of the importance of philanthropy for the Ozarks region, as well as promote the work of nonprofit agencies.

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