Hampton Roads Mayor Challenge
Region’s Annual Giving Day Kicks Off Today with the Hampton Roads Mayor Challenge!
HAMPTON, VA I May 6, 2019 – The mayors of seven Hampton Roads cities joined forces to create the #HRMayor Challenge for the 6th annual regional Giving Day, Give Local 757, on Tuesday, May 14. Each Mayor has challenged their citizens to participate by visiting www.givinglocal757.org to schedule their donations now for the annual giving day. It’s as simple as clicking on the donate button, choosing a cause(s), and their donation will process at midnight on May 14. By doing so, citizens will help their favorite causes qualify for over $175,000 in additional matching and prize dollars. Each donation of $10 or more has the potential of being amplified up to $5000.
The Give Local 757 Initiative was created in 2014 to spark and grow philanthropy in the Hampton Roads region and has raised nearly $2.8 million to date for hundreds of local causes. Last year, the annual giving day raised more than $800,000 in just twenty-four hours with 43% of the donations coming from donors giving to causes for the very first time. With enhanced technology and increased participation, over $475,000 in scheduled donations and fundraiser campaigns have been submitted through the #givelocal757 website, making organizers optimistic the event will break the $1M mark for the first time in its history.
The #givelocal757 program is made possible through an unprecedented partnership of local foundations and corporations including Bank of America, Ferguson Enterprises, 13 News Now, and the Peninsula, Hampton Roads, and Southeast Virginia Community Foundations. The program has provided much-needed funding in addition to training in marketing, online fundraising and social media for the Hampton Roads nonprofit community. Over 600 training sessions were attended by staff since January 1, 2019 in preparation for May 14 giving day.
“At Bank of America, one of the tenets of our approach to what we call Responsible Growth is sharing success, with the communities we serve,” said Charlie Henderson, Hampton Roads market president, Bank of America. “The Give Local 757 initiative and the goal of raising $1 million this year to support our local nonprofits is in line with our Responsible Growth objectives.”
“We have been thrilled with the results of Give Local,” said Michael Monteith, CEO of the Peninsula Community Foundation. “We asked our community on both sides of the harbor to embrace this campaign, and they responded beyond our wildest dreams. Most importantly, we proved that when our area comes together as one, we can make great things happen.”
The event was established by the Peninsula Community Foundation in 2014 after recognizing online fundraising as a growing trend with unlimited potential. By hosting a regional giving day, there was an opportunity to not only increase philanthropy in the region, but also to build some much needed capacity for local nonprofits in fundraising, social media and traditional marketing.
Michael Khandelwal, Executive Director of The Muse Writers Center (2017 Grand Prize Winner), states, “Without the vision of the Peninsula Community Foundation and all their partners, hundreds of nonprofits in Hampton Roads would be without this vital resource and wonderful opportunity.”