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Chairman’s Challenge has record-breaking 2016

NCCF is delighted to report a record-breaking year of the Chairman’s Challenge, our grassroots campaign to boost community grantmaking across the state.

The November campaign brought in nearly $425,000, bringing the cumulative four-year campaign total to more than $1 million, according to Beth Jenkins, NCCF vice president for development. “This year’s Chairman’s Challenge campaign was the largest ever,” she said.

Nearly $325,000 was received in donations to affiliates, with a generous match provided by several anonymous donors. The sum has been proportionately divided among participating affiliates’ local grantmaking endowments.

The four-year total is remarkable, according to Jennifer Tolle Whiteside, NCCF CEO and president. “That our state’s citizens have given more than a million dollars in four years through a series of local, personalized campaigns is amazing,” she said. “It speaks so well of our affiliates’ work in their communities and the generosity of our citizens.”

This year’s campaign is made even more remarkable by the fact that many gave just weeks earlier to the NCCF Disaster Relief Fund for Hurricane Matthew recovery.

The campaign is largely conducted through local letters personalized by affiliate advisory board members to their friends and neighbors. Many boards literally sit around a table and write personal notes to the recipients they know, Jenkins said. “People respond to local giving when the ‘ask’ is from the heart and for a great cause,” she added.

The Foundation also augments the localized letters with web stories, social media and emails that provides an online giving option. The number of online giving gifts increases every year, according to tracked metrics.

While most affiliates participated and can report solid results for 2016, a few can share bragging rights:

“Community grantmaking is the heart and soul of our affiliate work,” Tolle Whiteside said. “It is so gratifying to see this steady growth in the endowments that support that work.”