Great Give breaks record this year

The 2020 Kitsap Great Give set a new record in donations, with $2.2 million coming from more than 12,000 donations, organizers of the annual charitable drive announced this week.

The event, now in its seventh year, is conducted by Kitsap Community Foundation and the United Way of Kitsap and was held Tuesday, April 21.

Early giving for the fundraiser opened on April 1, about 10 days earlier than in previous years. Organizers said the early opening was done to support the 334 participating nonprofits in raising as much money as possible.

And it looks like that head start paid off, with more than $500,000 in early donations, over three times as much as in past years.

“I’m always awed by our community during the Great Give, but I’m especially gobsmacked this year,” said Kol Medina, president and CEO of Kitsap Community Foundation.

“During this time of crisis in our community, people responded,” Medina added. “All of us are feeling uncertainty and probably some fear for the future. But this Great Give is a beacon of hope and joy.”

The organizations that raised the most funds from this year’s Kitsap Great Give were Kitsap Humane Society (more than $119,000), Fishline Food Bank (more than $77,000), and Helpline House (more than $71,000).

Kitsap Community Foundation also raised more than $18,000 in funds for their Unity in the Community COVID-19 Response Fund during this year’s Kitsap Great Give.

With support from a pool of sponsorship funds, the foundation also offered hourly prizes throughout the day and a pool of bonus dollars to participating nonprofits.

Lead sponsors included Sparky’s Fund, the A.Y. Petter Family Donor Advised Fund, IOS Ranch, and The Suquamish Tribe/Port Madison Enterprises. Sponsors included Kitsap Credit Union, Susan Wiggs Foundation, Orchard Foods, and in Memory of Ann Guthrie. Supporters included Tim Ryan Construction, Averill Park Fund, BNY Mellon, Puget Sound Energy, The Point Hotel and Casino, and Debbie Macomber, Inc. Media sponsors included Kitsap Sun, Bremerton-Kitsap Access Television, Mattress Ranch, Sound Publishing, Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter, and Wet Apple Media.

Since 1993, Kitsap Community Foundation connects people who care with causes that matter. The foundation is the only organization working to build an endowment that does and will support all Kitsap nonprofits forever.

For more information, call 360-698-3622 or visit kitsapfoundation.org.