Written by Kay Bouyack – 8/30/24
A record-setting number of local area nonprofit organizations are gearing up for the Scioto Foundation’s annual Scioto Gives Day of Giving scheduled for Thursday, October 17 in 2024. This year’s participants will total 51, with four new nonprofits joining previous groups hoping to raise significant funds for their endowments established at the Foundation.
New monies donated by individuals, groups, businesses and corporations during the one-day, twelve-hour drive will help sustain the community’s large quantity of nonprofits devoted to aiding area residents in numerous vital causes. First-time participants in the 12th year of the program will be Wings of Hope, the Miracle City Academy, Mt. Hope Bible Camp and the Fourteenth Street Community Center.
From 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on October 17, 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 Gives website for viewing by interested potential donors.
Donors 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 17. 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.
The matching amount each nonprofit will receive will be determined after all contributions are received. All donors and nonprofit representatives are encouraged to join the announcement of Scioto Gives results and the recipients of grants awarded for the seventh year of the Scioto Foundation’s Scioto 365 community development initiative reception on Tuesday, November 7 at 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Oscar’s Restaurant.
The 48 nonprofits who participated in the Scioto Gives program in 2023 raised an incredible amount of $172,215.16 which was met by a Scioto Foundation match of $55,000 for a record total of $227,215.16, just about $3 shy of the 2022 totals. Last year also matched the previous records broken for the number of contributions from local and out-of-town supporters, 634 ; and produced the highest amount of money raised by any nonprofit, $63,261, by Portsmouth Murals, Inc. The average match ratio for that period was .32/$1.00. The number of participants grew from 16 in 2013 to 48 through 2023 with two new nonprofit endowment funds established at the Scioto Foundation last year.
The other 47 nonprofits expected to repeat their participation in the Foundation’s 2024 Scioto Gives program include Candyland Children’s Museum, Friends of Portsmouth Skate Park, Market Square Park, Friends of Spartan Stadium, Southern Ohio Folklife, West Portsmouth Youth Sports Complex, Ohio Valley Type I Diabetes; ASCEND Counseling and Recovery Services, Inc.; Scenic Scioto Heritage Trail, Inc.; Portsmouth Murals, Inc.; Time Out for Me, Inc.; Compass Point Housing; Sierra’s Haven for New and Used Pets; Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery; the Deaf Services Center-Portsmouth; Portsmouth Area Arts Council; Compass Community Health; Boy Scouts of America, Simon Kenton Council; Friends of the Scioto County Homeless Shelter; the 1810 House; The Counseling Center; Southern Ohio Medical Center Development Foundation; South Central Ohio Educational Service Center; Friends of Scioto County DD; Scioto County Heritage Museum; Paul E. Johnson fbo Main Street Portsmouth; the Portsmouth Beautification Society; Connex, Inc.; Steven A. Hunter Hope Fund; Habitat for Humanity of the Tri-State; the UCAN General Endowment; The American Red Cross: Tri-State Chapter; Portsmouth Little Theatre; Portsmouth Wind Symphony; Potter’s House Ministries; Animal Welfare League of Scioto County; Goodwill Industries of Southern Ohio, Inc.; United Scioto Senior Activities, Inc.; Hill View Retirement Center – Education Fund; CAY Memorial Endowment; Friends of Portsmouth; St. Francis Catholic Outreach & Charitable Giving, Trillium Project, Time Out for Me, Inc., West Portsmouth Youth Sports Complex, and Catholic Social Services.
Created in 2013, SCIOTO GIVES is designed to establish new partnerships between local NPOs and the Scioto Foundation as it assists the nonprofits with their annual membership drives and helps smaller grassroots NPOs accept online gifts. The program also demonstrates that online giving is easy and encourages donor gifting because of matching dollars.
To participate in the SCIOTO GIVES program, all organizations must be 501(c) 3 nonprofits and have an organizational endowment with the Scioto Foundation. All participating organizations must actively promote and encourage their donor base to take part in SCIOTO GIVES and must attend the reception following the one-day campaign to celebrate the success of SCIOTO GIVES.
For more information about the Scioto Gives program, please contact Patty Tennant at (740) 354-4612.
