Scioto Gives, twelve hours of giving today only

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One of the biggest days of the year is here for the Scioto Foundation and an unprecedented number of nonprofit organizations in the local area. October 20 is the date for the Scioto Foundation’s one-day giving campaign, Scioto Gives, when 46 participating nonprofits eagerly anticipate donations from generous residents, businesses, corporations and other entities in the community and beyond which will help their efforts to improve the quality of life in Scioto County.

And the most appealing aspect of the Scioto Gives campaign is the Scioto Foundation’s match for each donation the nonprofits receive during the day, this year totaling a record amount of $55,000.

From 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on October 20 contributions will be received on the Scioto Foundation website, www.sciotogives.org, by a simple procedure. Using the pull-down menu on the website, donors can select their charity and the amount they wish to give, list credit card information and press “donate.” Each participating nonprofit is profiled with its mission and community activities on the Scioto Foundation’s Scioto Gives website for viewing by interested potential donors.

Donors also may send checks to the Foundation at P.O. Box 911, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662 or they may transfer stocks during the designated twelve-hour period on October 20. Donors may also drop checks off at the Scioto Foundation’s office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the giving period but the Foundation staff requests that those who want to make gifts by credit card do so by online transactions during the designated timeframe.

What the general public probably doesn’t realize is that for the Scioto Foundation and many of the hard-working nonprofits, Scioto Gives isn’t just a one-day operation; planning and preparing for the campaign begins long before October of each year. For example, last April the Scioto Foundation involved representatives of all the participating nonprofits in a day-long conference at Shawnee Lodge, designed to insure that the organizations would be as effective as possible in their fundraising endeavors this fall.

The Scioto Foundation aims to help each nonprofit in another important part of the drive: promoting their programs, services and needs for awareness in the community and particularly among their potential supporters. Long before the campaign day, Toni Dengel, Scioto Foundation Program Officer – Marketing and graphic designer, creates and prepares numerous kinds of eye-catching materials for the nonprofits’ use, from postcards, rack cards and table top cards to posters, banners and yard signs; best of all, the materials are free for the participating organizations. Over the years, records prove that the nonprofits that have made the most effective use of these materials reaped the most donations.

An important aspect of the Scioto Gives appeal is based on the fact that no contribution is too small or too big. The Foundation staff still fondly remembers the first year of Scioto Gives when Maureen Cadogan, director of the Scioto County Homeless Shelter, came into the office bearing a big bag of change. A young boy had been saving his money for a year to donate it for the homeless shelter.

During another Scioto Gives morning when the SF office was teeming with nonprofit representatives waiting to be on WNXT’s radio remote and people running in with donations, one of the neighbors in the area saw all the activity and stopped in with a $5 bill to make her impromptu donation to the cause. Often impressive gifts come in online from former residents living in other areas who kindly remember Portsmouth’s needs and hardships. The area’s major businesses and corporations are generous in their annual support of the many nonprofits.

The 46 nonprofits participating in this year’s Scioto Gives can be grouped by their missions and purposes into seven different categories: Health & Wellness; Children & Youth; Community Beautification & Improvement; Education; Arts, Culture & History, Animal Welfare and Social Services. Donors who can’t decide which one to select are welcome to choose more than one cause to support. A wealth of information about each nonprofit can be found on the Scioto Foundation’s Scioto Gives website. October 20 is the day when giving is easy and fulfilling for everyone.

Additional information about the 2022 Scioto Gives program may be obtained by contacting Patty Tennant, Program Officer – Donor Services, or Kim Cutlip, Scioto Foundation Executive Director, at (740) 354-4612.

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