Pittsburgh Day of Giving 2011- Time to Recognize

It’s 12:03 AM. I’m waiting for the final numbers for Pittsburgh Gives Day of Giving.  I’ll probably not post this until later, but some things deserve the energy from the moment. This does.  It’s huge.

Pittsburgh once again has shown it’s true team-spirit colors. This is a community that cares about each other. The people that live here care enough to be part of the greater good.  Right before midnight when the giving portal closed, donations were expected to exceed $5 million with The Pittsburgh Foundation’s(TPF) match.  Westmoreland Gives was set to go right under $500,000 with their matched funds.

The story of the GIANT monetary success is a big one. But what I see even more from this, is the many people who must have donated, even when a few snags tried to get in the way, (TPF tweeted that they went to backup servers early in the game due to some technical issues)

UPDATE

It’s 12:12 AM and I just caught the tweet from the Pittsburgh Foundation giving the total for  donations at $5.15 million with the $750,000 matched funds included,  Westmoreland Gives(CFWC) hit a few dollars short of $475,000.

I do a lot of blogging, videos, and interviews for Pittsburgh On Video where I mostly highlight non-profit’s, just because I love people who help other people. I’ve spoken with many of the people involved in organizations that were part of the Day of Giving. I am so amazed at the response of the Pittsburgh Community during the Day of Giving event. I started this blog almost a year ago (and with 2010′s Day of Giving as my first post) on the premise that there are so many good people around us. Sometimes we just don’t recognize it. Today is a day to RECOGNIZE!

Recognize that we are a community entrenched in helping our brother. Recognize that people responded to the call, by supporting orgs in getting the word out in the days leading up to DOG and by giving of ourselves with a massive donation as a  result.  They showed that the steel of this city may not burn hot anymore, but it lies in the backbones and glows in the hearts of everyone who lives in the Pittsburgh area.

Recognize that hundreds of Non-Profit Organizations are actively working to make our communities stronger. Their programs make a difference here.  I am so proud of the social media effort of so many of these orgs this year. There was so much more activity this year with tweets and posts.  Much more sharing and using those platforms to engage us.  It made a big difference, in my opinion.  I urge them to keep up that kind of presence all year and let us know what they are doing and how they make a difference. Keep sharing those stories!

Recognize once again, that when one person has an idea to put together a single donation day, Pittsburgh will cheer it on like it was the biggest game of the year.

It’s 12:26 AM More to come tomorrow when the stats start coming out. Tonight…I sleep. (at some point)

Addendum(10/5; 10 a.m.):

I’m adding this link to a message from Grant Oliphant President and CEO of The Pittsburgh Foundation from yesterday afternoon (on Day of Giving) which Simply Put, was worth reading, especially for the two donor stories.

Let’s just continue with this merry little update style post.  I’m digging it.

At 1:20 PM on  10/5, after waiting to see what the surprise hinted about at 10AM is, TPF drops this tweet:

“Breaking News: The total raised yesterday in Pittsburgh now stands at $5.15 million + match – means $5.9 million! #pgdog”

followed by

“Together that is nearly $6.5 million! Here is this release: http://t.co/BlAs8JDi #pgdog #wgdog”

I don’t know about any of you, but my jaw hit the floor when I read that. That’s darn near close to double from last year’s Day of Giving. Congratulations Pittsburgh Foundation for hosting another excellent Day of Giving and thanks for giving up hours of sleep to do it.  Congratulations donors for your big heart and deep pockets. Congratulations orgs for your constant hard work and success.

Rock on, Pittsburgh.  Rock on.

Day of Giving 2011 is here. Read now!

It’s here. It’s here!

Pittsburgh Gives Day of Giving officially begins at 12:00 a.m. (10/04/11).

Go! GO NOW! GO DONATE!

We have 24 hours to show exactly how great a place Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas are to live. Pittsburgh Gives Day of Giving highlights one of the reasons Pittsburgh is the one of the best places to live.  It believe it truly is the people that make is so great. My first post as a blogger happened on Day Of Giving 2010 and I am still in awe of how people respond to the call and how utilizing social media tools promotes doing good. Use this 24 hour period to help the non-profits in our region and make this Day of Giving even bigger than the last! Click the yellow button to go there.

Westmoreland County is also participating with it’s non-profits in Westmoreland Gives. You can find both lists of participating non-profits on the PittsburghGives.org website.

If you have a little extra or haven’t chosen an org to donate, please check the sidebar and read through the last several posts for orgs that could really use your help. I donated a post a day to area non-profits who wanted help spreading the word for PGDOG.

For a minimum donation of just $25.00 you can make a difference. Might not sound like a lot, right? But… for every thousand of us that donate at least $25, we contribute at least $25,000- PLUS the matched donations that the Pittsburgh Foundation is funding. The match funds increased to $750,000 today.

So GO!

What are you waiting for?  Donations are taken the Pittsburgh Gives website and this year by using your smartphone as well. The set-up on the website allows you to donate to multiple orgs at once before going to checkout.

What could be easier?  Be part of something huge. Do your part and make a difference . Be part of helping area non-profit organizations provide amazing services.

Why donate?  Because even if you haven’t directly been affected by any of these orgs- trust me that you are being affected in some way. Non-profit organizations provide services that strengthen the individuals that live in our communities. When our neighbors benefit, we benefit with stronger, positive communities.  We can’t afford NOT to donate.

Quit reading and GO DONATE!

If you make a donation to any of the NPO’s  who were posted about in this blog ( or if you’d like to add your favorite), please come back and let me know in the comments!