A billboard shows the results of Giving Day 2019. Organizers of the prominent 24-hour online fundraiser held by Fairfield County's Community Foundation every year since 2014 have announced the 2023 event will be the last.
Fairfield County Community FoundationOrganizers of a prominent 24-hour online fundraiser held annually for a decade say the 2023 event will be the last.
In a statement, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has decided the annual Giving Day “is no longer the most effective opportunity to support the marketing and fundraising capacity of local nonprofits."
Since it was first held in 2014, Giving Day has raised more than $13.75 million for nonprofit organizations in the area, including nearly $2.2 million in 2022 alone. Roughly 400 nonprofits have participated in every event. Previous participants have included Sandy Hook Promise, the Connecticut Humane Society, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation in Wilton and the Circle of Care for Families With Cancer.
The organization said it gathered feedback on Giving Day from nonprofit workers while developing its new strategic plan, Fairfield County Forward.
According to the organization, the feedback “surfaced a clear finding: Fairfield County’s Giving Day is a barrier to building authentic relationships with community organizations.”
Of the 99 executive directors who responded to the survey, only 9 percent said their organization would be significantly affected by ending Giving Day and 26 percent said their organization raised more than $5,000 during Giving Day 2022, according to organizers. In addition, organizers said, members of focus groups for nonprofit workers of color said Giving Day represents “a significant strain.” Some even said they would be relieved if the tradition were discontinued, organizers said.
Organizers have decided to prioritize alternative methods of supporting area nonprofits after Giving Day 2023. Kicking off at midnight on Feb. 23, the event ends at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 24.
“We look forward to celebrating this last Fairfield County’s Giving Day as a true testament of the positive impact we can have when our community comes together for the greater good,” Mendi Blue Paca, president and CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, said in the statement.
Registration for participants this year closes Friday.
caroline.tien@hearst.com