Midlands Gives breaks donation records once again.

• Author: Knauss, Christina Lee
• Position: Central Carolina Community Foundation of Columbia, South Carolina

By Christina Lee Knauss

Donors opened their wallets in a big way for Midlands Gives, the annual online giving event hosted by Central Carolina Community Foundation. Theninth annual event shattered previous records by raising $3.73 million on May 3 for hundreds of nonprofits around the Midlands.

The 18-hour campaign, which ran from 6 a.m. to midnight, raised $3,734,986 through 19,534 individual gifts that benefited 540 local nonprofits, the most involved in the campaign's history.

"Once again folks across the Midlands demonstrated their incredible support for these nonprofits that make a positive difference in our lives," said JoAnn Turnquist, president and CEO of Central Carolina Community Foundation. "We're grateful to the thousands who came together to invest in our community, and to the members of our In Good Company Network who provided incentives to spur giving. This was truly a time that the whole community came together."

At the top of the leaderboard for donations this year was A Moment of Hope, followed by Oliver Gospel Mission, the Ministry of Outreach to Slavic Tribes (a Midlands group providing aid to Ukraine), Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services (PAALS). Camp Cole, a retreat facility for children facing physical, mental and emotional challenges, rounded out the top five.

Central Carolina Foundation opened giving for this year's campaign on April 1, and more than $840,000 was raised in advance of the main event.

Since its beginning, Midlands Gives has consistently broken the previous year's donation records, with this year's results beating the previous record of $3,343,033 set in 2021. Since 2014, Midlands Gives has raised more than $19.7 million for hundreds of nonprofits in the 11 counties served by the foundation: Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda and Sumter.

Turnquist said a big part of the appeal of the Midlands Gives campaign is the ability of ordinary people to contribute what they can to causes that mean something to them. The minimum donation amount of $10 is geared to enable more people to be able to take on the role of what she likes to call the "everyday philanthropist."

The list of nonprofits involved in this year's campaign ran the gamut from human services and educational foundations to animal protection, the environment, business and entrepreneurship, the arts and faith-based organizations. While many donors may have had a specific nonprofit in...