The 3 Million Dollar Question

Usually it’s the million dollar question people reference. In this case, it is most definitely the $3M question.

Actually, that’s the answer.

The question is: How much good can people do in a 24 hour period when someone gives them the opportunity?  The preliminary total as of this morning is $3.3 MILLION worth of good.

$3.3 million. Think about that.  It just reinforces my belief that if you give people a chance to do something good for others, they will.  Sometimes all we need is someone to take the initiative and present us with the way to do it.

Someone says, “Hey, Pittsburgh. You want to all get together online  one day during the year and donate to your choice of a worthy cause?  Pittsburghers, in all their steel-town glory (and probably some from further away, I’ll bet- was that Cleveland in my twitter feed?) say, “Heck, ya. We’ll show up.  Right from our office, couch or coffee shop.”

The great folks over at The Pittsburgh Foundation through their site at PittsburghGives.org did just that and the people of Pittsburgh rose to meet the need.  Then went above and beyond.  According to the press release stats, I estimate that they quadrupled the amount of donors from last year (can anyone say thanks for social media?) and  more than doubled last years total.  That’s a whole lot of nice, in my opinion.

In reaching out to meet the matched donation that The Pittsburgh Foundation and it’s funding partners offered,  contributors helped over 400 nonprofit organizations with donations that will impact countless lives in our communities.  How’s that for awesome?

I am hearing a bit of “We Will Rock You” in my head as I think about it.

The Day of Giving event also shows me that small donations work when many individuals come together to give.  We may not all be rich in our wallets, but our desire to help and be part of something bigger than ourselves is fierce.  When the final numbers come out next week, I’d hedge a bet that minimum donations played a significant role in the Day of Giving.

From today’s Pittsburgh Foundation press release:

“Our main objectives were to encourage engagement and support for our region’s nonprofit organizations and to promote individual charitable giving in our community,” said Grant Oliphant. “The results speak for themselves, and once again Pittsburghers have demonstrated what they are best at: caring for others and supporting the many causes that make our city great.”

Well said Mr. Oliphant.

And like I hinted  earlier, the impact of social media on this campaign can not be underestimated.  The adoptions, tweets, retweets and Facebook promotion by individuals leading up to this event astounded me. Personally, I felt more connected- more engaged- to any cause than I ever have before because I had “adopted” them and wanted to make sure their needs were supported by others.  I know that  many others in my social media circles did the same. It was wonderful to see people in my Twitter feed coming back and sharing that they made their donation. Or seeing that they “liked” a post or comment about Day of Giving on Facebook. It felt  nice to be part of something with them.  The result of yesterday’s event is part of my philosophy; part of why I started this blog.  To show that human nature is about connections and communication.  And to share the stories that show we are really decent and kind and giving.

If it takes a village, then lead on Pittsburgh.  The people here are the model village and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.

Simply put-  the human nature of Pittsburgh is to be giving and when you give us a reason to be, we do.  To the tune of $3 million.

If you would like to read the full press release about the Day of Giving, you can find it here:   Pittsburgh’s Day of Giving pumps $3.3 million into local nonprofits

Good Day to Start a Blog!

My foray into bloggerville begins on a shining note.  After a Day of Giving, Pittsburgh-at-large donated almost $3M to nonprofit organizations that are instrumental to our communities.  I am humbled and awed by the goodness of people and their willingness to take up the cause for a cause.  It must truly be human nature to care for one another.  Pittsburghers showed that in a huge way today.  A big shout out to The Pittsburgh Foundation for the annual drive.  More thoughts to come  after official numbers are posted.

Simply put- It’s amazing how many wonderful and good people there are around us.