A man in a suit with glasses stands to the left of a podium. A woman wearing a dark sweater is on the right of a podium.
Brady Groves (left) and Maura Teynor (right) speak to attendees of the Richland Gives watch party at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center on Nov. 28. The 9th annual Richland Gives raised more than $500,000 for local nonprofits.

MANSFIELD — The Richland County Foundation again broke its record for Richland Gives this week.

Approximately 2,000 individual donors helped raise $514,386 during the two-week-long donation drive. The Richland County Foundation started Richland Gives in 2015 as a way for people to contribute to local nonprofits through one website.

Maura Teynor, chief advancement officer for the Richland County Foundation said 65 nonprofits participated in the first Richland Gives nine years ago.

“One of our focuses, which is still a focus today, was to help nonprofits raise money for their operating revenue at a time when many did not have a way to raise money online,” she said. “It’s also become a great way for nonprofits to advertise themselves and their missions.”

The 2023 grand total includes more than $80,000 of matching grant prizes for leaderboard and prize winners. 106 nonprofits participated in this year’s drive.

Jodie Perry, chief operating officer of the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development and mayor-elect for the City of Mansfield, said this is the second year the chamber has partnered with the Foundation for a Richland Gives watch party.

“It’s been really exciting to see Richland Gives grow over all these years,” she said.

“I want to congratulate all the nonprofits. I know it’s a lot of work for you to put in with phone calls, emails and a lot of communication, but the work that you’re doing is really making a difference in the community.”

Teynor said there were 95 peer-to-peer fundraisers this year, which are associated with a nonprofit but set up by friends or family.

“A lot of nonprofits took advantage of that this year,” she said. “If a Discovery School parent sets up a fundraiser for their student, then that money goes toward the school, for example.”

Richland Gives has raised nearly $3 million since 2015

Brady Groves, president of the Richland County Foundation, said Teynor starts organizing Richland Gives in July. 

“As you can tell by the success of this event, Maura puts her heart and soul into making sure this is a profitable day for all the nonprofits,” he said. “We appreciate everyone who donated and helped set up this great event.”

Since 2015, Teynor said Richland Gives has raised nearly $3 million for local nonprofits.

“When you think about our community’s generosity, half a million dollars this year for nonprofits is remarkable,” she said. “It’s mostly local people donating to local initiatives, which is great.”

The foundation offered $7,500 worth of matching grants to twelve nonprofits with the most dollars and donors raised during “golden ticket hours.”

Those winners were Time for a Change Diaper Bank, Lucas Community Center, The Salvation Army – Mansfield, Clear Fork Valley Foundation, Rise FM, Buckeye Imagination Museum, Renaissance Performing Arts, Taking Root Farms, Visual Bucket List Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of Richland and Crawford Counties, St. Peter’s School and Richland Pregnancy Services.

Small, medium and large nonprofits with the most total donors and dollars raised in their categories also received grant prizes. Each winner was awarded $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.   

Some nonprofits placed on both leaderboards, but rules state they can only win matches for one. Teynor said the foundation reviews the results to determine how each nonprofit can earn the most grant matches they can. 

The leaderboard prize winners were:

Small Nonprofit Category – Most Donors:

  1. Visual Bucket List
  2. Altrusa
  3. Mid-Ohio Guardianship

Small Nonprofit Category – Most Dollars:

  1. Taking Root Farms
  2. North Central Ohio Land Conservancy
  3. Clear Fork Valley Foundation

Medium Nonprofit Category – Most Donors:

  1. Ohio Bird Sanctuary
  2. Humane Society of Richland County
  3. Habitat for Humanity

Medium Nonprofit Category – Most Dollars:

  1. Lucas Community Center
  2. North Central State College Foundation
  3. Rise FM

Large Nonprofit Category – Most Donors:

  1. Discovery School
  2. Richland Pregnancy Services
  3. North End Community Improvement Collaborative

Large Nonprofit Category – Most Dollars:

  1. St. Peter’s School
  2. Renaissance Performing Arts
  3. Friendly House

Total money raised and other results can be viewed on richlandgives.org. People can also continue to donate to the various nonprofits after the Richland Gives campaign ends.

Ball State journalism alumna. Passionate about sharing stories, making good coffee and finding new music. You can reach me at grace@richlandsource.com.