Lorain County Foundation Raises Major Cash For Local Nonprofits

AVON, OH —The Community Foundation of Lorain County has announced its second annual 'Connect to a Cause' results. The community raised $277,000 for 65 local nonprofits through the coordinated, 12-hour crowdfunding campaign.

"The Community Foundation is thrilled with the incredible fundraising results of Connect to a Cause," said Cynthia H. Andrews, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. "However, we are not surprised. Lorain County is a giving community, from neighbors helping neighbors to our business champions, to the non-profits serving our community daily, we were confident that the community would once again rise to the occasion to support causes that matter."

Throughout the 12-hours, more than 1,000 people contributed to the 65 participating nonprofits. Gifts ranged in size from $5 to $15,000, and every donation goes directly towards supporting the non-profit.

In addition to individual contributions, the Connect to a Cause Business Champions, which include 22 local businesses, partnered with the Community Foundation's Board of Directors to provide a $42,000 prorated donation match for all participating non-profits bringing the entire day's total to $277,000.

"Our overhead every year is about $10K to $12K just to keep the lights on," says Kate Rivet, Treasure at Brownhelm Historical Association. "To be able to raise nearly half of our overhead in one day is fantastic, but it's the idea of creating this lasting legacy for the organization. Brownhelm Historical Association has been around for 30 years, and like a lot of historical groups, it's hard to get younger people to join. We know that we must prepare for the future, and that's why we started the endowment at Community Foundation. Growing our endowment fund is vital to the future of the Brownhelm Historical Association, Connect to a Cause is a great opportunity for us to fundraise at a scale that we normally would never have, and we appreciate."

The Community Foundation and the 2021 Connect to a Cause participants celebrated and announced the results on Friday, Oct.1, at the Sunset Café at Lakeview Beach in the Lorain County Metroparks.

To see the results for each organization, please visit peoplewhocare.org.