Pottawattamie Gives! raises record-breaking $811,021 for nonprofits serving pottawattamie county

May 21, 2020 | Council Bluffs, Iowa

The metro area rallied together on May 20 during Pottawattamie Gives! with a record-breaking $811,021* in donations for 109 nonprofits serving Pottawattamie County. In its sixth year, Pottawattamie Gives! surpassed the 2019 total dollars raised ($591,862) by more than $200,000.

“This day of giving is a metro area-wide celebration of the good work our essential nonprofit organizations do and the impact they create,” said Donna Dostal, President and CEO of Pottawattamie County Community Foundation. “The generosity of our community is truly shining through, and we at the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation want to thank everyone for coming out in full-force to support our nonprofits!”

During the 24-hour charitable event, 12 eligible Pottawattamie Gives! nonprofit organizations were recipients of $1,000 hourly prizes donated by generous community individuals and businesses. Prize winners and their respective sponsors, were:

- - - 2AM – Trailblazers of the Heartland | Sponsor: PCCF
    - 4AM – Midlands Humane Society | Sponsor: PCCF
    - 6AM – Habitat for Humanity | Sponsor: Friends of PCCF
    - 8AM – Immigrant Legal Center | Sponsor: Cathy and Tony Tauke
    - 10AM – The 712 Initiative | Sponsor: PCCF
    - 12PM – New Visions Homeless Services | Sponsor: Heartland Properties
    - 2PM – Southwest Iowa Impact Fund | Sponsor: PCCF
    - 4PM – Iowa Legal Aid | Sponsor: Keast Auto Center
    - 6PM – Pottawattamie County Trails Association | Sponsor: TS Prosperity Group
    - 8PM – Iowa School for the Deaf Foundation | Sponsor: Frontier Savings Bank
    - 10PM – Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund | Sponsor: PCCF
    - 12AM – Catnip and Tails Rescue, Inc | Sponsor: PCCF

Pottawattamie Gives! celebrated significant fund increases for organizations such as: Centro Latino of Council Bluffs; Children’s Square, U.S.A.; Iowa School for the Deaf Foundation; and Midlands Humane Society. Iowa Western Community College Foundation particularly saw a significant increase because their donor’s saw this day of giving as an opportunity to leverage their support for the strong programming and long-time educational leadership the state’s community college provides.

“At Iowa Western Community College, we are focused on providing an innovative and engaging learning experience for our students,” said Molly Noon, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Iowa Western Community College. “Making the most of this exciting day of giving helps the community support our work in a meaningful way. We are truly grateful to our alumni, staff, and community supporters for their tremendous generosity this year, and to the Omaha and Pottawattamie County community foundations for helping to make this day possible."

The Iowa West Foundation again added to the pool of incentives available to nonprofits participating in Pottawattamie Gives! by offering $20,000 in Iowa Incentive Funds for organizations providing services in Pottawattamie County that meet the Foundation’s focus area criteria. The Iowa West Foundation dollars were distributed based on the number of new donors each organization gained.

Pottawattamie Gives!, held in conjunction with Omaha Gives!, is organized by the Omaha Community Foundation and held in partnership with Pottawattamie County Community Foundation. This year’s overall event resulted in a record-breaking year, raising more than $8.5 million from a total of 65,160 donations and 23,375 donors. A full listing of nonprofit prize winners and leaderboard results can be found here. “We are so grateful for our partnership with the Omaha Community Foundation (OCF) to help make this day of giving a metro-wide celebration,” added Dostal. “Thank you to the team at OCF for all their tireless hard work, and congratulations to all the nonprofit partners!"

Leading the way for Omaha Gives!, the Omaha Community Foundation is proud to help good grow in Omaha by helping more than 2,000 donors facilitate their charitable giving. Since its inception in 1982, donors have granted almost $1.8 billion to area nonprofits, supporting more than 3,000 local charities.

*This total reflects all funds raised by participating nonprofits that indicated that they serve Pottawattamie County, including numerous organizations with multiple sites across the three-county region. Total funds raised may not be for exclusive benefit of Pottawattamie County services.