News from the Noteworthy from Community Foundation of Otsego County

Prep for Mohawk Valley Gives Is Underway

Last year, 63 Otsego County nonprofits participated in Mohawk Valley Gives, raising an amazing $220,000.00 from hundreds of community donors. Mohawk Valley Gives is a community-wide giving day started in 2022, to harness the collective energy of the community to support the work nonprofits provide. This year, through continued collaboration between the Community Foundation of Otsego County and the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, nonprofits serving Otsego County again have access to this successful fundraising event.

Enthusiasm was high at a kickoff event hosted by CFOC on Wednesday, May 8 at Hartwick College. Representatives from more than 40 local nonprofits joined the Mohawk Valley Gives team to learn about the September 20 giving day. With nonprofit registration open the entire month of May, the kickoff at the Yager Museum of Art and Culture on May 8 was the first of many efforts by CFOC to help area nonprofits make the most of this year’s Mohawk Valley Gives.

“Mohawk Valley Gives University,” an invitation-only event for registered nonprofit participants, will be held in August and offer learning opportunities for both new and returning organizations to the program. To complement the training event, there will also be a follow-up “coffee break session” held on August 20 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Larsen Lounge in Bresee Hall at Hartwick College, for which parking will be available in the Golisano Lot. This session is an open house, with refreshments sponsored by Hartwick College, where participating nonprofits can meet with the Mohawk Valley Gives support team to get assistance with building out their campaigns and get answers to questions they may have.

Donors that support one or more Otsego nonprofits are encouraged to maximize their contributions by creating a match to be used on September 20 that will incentivize more donations to charities doing important work in Otsego County and beyond.

For more information about providing a match for Mohawk Valley Gives, email hello@givemv.org. There will also be cash prizes awarded to nonprofits based on most donations, most donors, best results for a first-time participant, and more.

Let’s work together to help our Otsego nonprofits and make Mohawk Valley Gives a huge success.

Jeff Katz is the executive director of the Community Foundation of Otsego County.