Great Give Day gets even greater!

For the first time in its 12-year history, Great Give Day raised over $600,000 for nonprofits across the Dubuque region, providing important funding at a time when organizations need it most.

In total, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque’s annual online giving day on May 21 raised $630,755 for participating nonprofits spanning Dubuque, Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Jackson and Jones Counties. This year’s total far surpassed last year’s of $450,000, the previous record of $468,000 in 2023, and the Foundation’s own goal of $500,000.

“We are beyond grateful to the people in our region for the incredible outpouring of generosity we saw in just 24 hours,” says Nancy Van Milligen, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “We also know that this level of generosity doesn’t just happen on Great Give Day – it happens every day here in Eastern Iowa.”

The Community Foundation hosts Great Give Day each year as part of its work to strengthen local nonprofits and ignite generosity. Since 2014, it has raised more than $4.2 million for organizations across the seven-county Dubuque region. A record 222 nonprofits participated this year, competing for $32,000 in bonus prizes from local business sponsors. (See below for lists of prize winners and sponsors)

Not even rain could dampen the Great Give Day spirit. Although the soggy conditions led the Foundation to cancel its third annual Great Give Day Live event in Washington Park, online giving remained strong throughout the day.

“Nonprofits are facing many challenges right now,” says Peter Supple, director of nonprofit relations for the Community Foundation. “There is a lot of uncertainty around funding. At the same time, the need for services continues to grow. That’s why seeing such generosity from our community members makes us so happy. People stepped up in a big way to strengthen the nonprofits that strengthen our region.”

This year’s bonus prize winners were:

Facebook Video Challenge ($2,500 each) — Awarded to a randomly drawn nonprofit that posted a 30 to- 60-second video on Facebook about why they’re participating in Great Give Day.

• Hills & Dales
• The Fountain of Youth Program

Facebook Share Challenge ($2,500) — Awarded to a randomly drawn nonprofit that shared one of the Community Foundation’s Great Give Day social media posts.

• Wilder Memorial Museum

Rainy Day Drawing ($1,000) – Awarded to a randomly drawn nonprofit that was scheduled to participate in the live event in Washington Park, which was canceled due to the weather.

• Crescent Community Health Center

Supporter’s Choice Drawing ($1,000) – Awarded to a randomly drawn nonprofit that was scheduled to participate in the live event in Washington Park, which was canceled due to the weather. (Nonprofit drawn by Nancy Van Milligen on behalf of sponsor U.S. Bank)

• Dubuque County Conservation Society

In addition to the challenges and drawings, Great Give Day featured three Money Match hours, during which dollars raised by each organization were matched proportionally by a per-hour prize pool of $7,250.

The Community Foundation thanks the many generous sponsors, donors and participating nonprofits that made Great Give Day 2024 a success.

Presenting Sponsors

• Avantax Wealth Management
• Ohnward Bancshares
• Radio Dubuque
• TH Media

Platinum Sponsors

• Dubuque Bank and Trust
• First Community Trust
• Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc.
• MidWestOne Bank
• U.S. Bank (Great Give Day Live sponsor)

Gold Sponsors

• Bill Klauer/Klauer Manufacturing
• Friday Financial
• Theisen’s Home•Farm•Auto
• The Vogt Group

Silver Sponsor

• Lamar Advertising

To view the final results and a full list of sponsors, visit greatgiveday.org.