BEATRICE – Donors have set a record in a 24-hour online fund drive, smashing through the $400,000 mark with some six hours to spare.


The Sixth Annual Big Give Gage Campaign raised a total of $450, 436….to help support 88 nonprofits organizations in Gage County. That total easily broke last year’s mark of $384,000. Gage County Foundation Executive Director Dee Enevoldsen says the campaign is very important to the year-round operations of the nonprofits.


"This is a big deal for them and a big day for them, because there's some who don't have a big board or a lot of manpower to be able to get out and fundraise actively, in the community. So, this is a great opportunity for them to be able to participate and get some good exposure for their mission."


There were 2,095 individual donations made to the various organizations…..and that works out to an average single donation of $215. The campaign got off to a fast start, reaching more than halfway to the goal in the first 12 hours. Don Vetrovsky of the Gage County Foundation said business sponsorship provided a shot of support.


"We got off to a good start, thanks to all the sponsors that have helped with this. The sponsorship money fed into...goes back to the nonprofits to help out, on a percentage basis."


Donations were made online over the 24 hours of Thursday, or in person at the Vintage Venue, where several of the nonprofits had displays.
The highest dollar amount to an organization was just over $49,000, to the Adult and Teen Challenge/Sheepgate Women’s Center. The Wymore-Blue Springs Area Fund generated donations of $27,589….and the Odell Public Library had donations of $24,310.


The Wymore-Blue Springs Area Fund generated the most donors…128…followed by The Adult and Teen Challenge organization with 112. Sixty six of the 88 organizations had donations of at least $1,000….and 13 organizations generated at least $10,000 in donations.


A full listing of the organizational donation totals and number of donors can be found at...

biggivegage.org