The Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s 24-hour push to collect as many funds as possible during its fourth annual Match Day resulted in a pot of donations worth nearly $3.5 million.
Match Day, an online fundraiser, ran all hours of the night and day on Thursday in order to raise both dollars and awareness for 20 area basic needs organizations. The fundraiser, which allows donors to select which organization they would like to support, maximizes gifts by matching them proportionately through the generosity of foundation partners.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation, which serves as the lead organizer of Match Day, did not set a specific fundraising goal for the event but aimed to exceed last year’s donation total of about $3 million.
The foundation succeeded thanks to more than $2 million in donations from nearly 5,500 individuals, more than $401,000 from foundation donors, and $845,000 in matching funds.
Additionally, eight nonprofits took home a $1,000 bonus from the Brewers Community Foundation.
“On behalf of the entire foundation, I want to thank everyone who helped make Match Day a great success for the fourth year,” Ellen Gilligan, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, said in an announcement. “It’s heartwarming to see our community come together like this, and the donations made for this event will have a lasting impact on the organizations and the citizens they serve.”
Match Day 2015’s top beneficiary was Hunger Task Force, which collected close to $423,000.
For more information on this year’s Match Day, visit www.matchdaymke.org.
