UPDATE (Sunday, February 23, 2020): We have received word that Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company has been added to Fairfield County's Giving Day 2020, so this article has been updated to reflect that.

* * * * *

Fairfield County’s Giving Day, an annual event coordinated by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (FCCF), is scheduled to return for the seventh time on Thursday, February 27.

The mission of the event is to raise as much money as possible for nonprofit organizations in 24 hours, all done through online donations.

On Thursday, February 27, from midnight until 11:59 pm, all are invited to help support a favorite program, cause, or nonprofit with an online donation of at least $10. There is no maximum donation.

The donations portal is at FCGives.org. Donations are tax-deductible. They cannot be refunded.

All participating organizations are 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that serve residents of Fairfield County; the vast majority are based within the county. Organizations have gone through an application process in order to participate in Giving Day. Registration for Giving Day 2020 has closed.

As of Wednesday, February 19, the following Newtown nonprofits had registered for Giving Day 2020: Ben’s Lighthouse, The Children’s Adventure Center, Cyrenius H. Booth Library, Families United in Newtown, Everwonder Children’s Museum, Friends of Newtown Seniors, Kitten Associates, Merryhill Child Care Center, The Newtown Foundation, Newtown Parent Connection, Newtown Scholarship Association, Newtown Youth & Family Services, NYA Sports & Fitness Center, Reach Newtown, Sandy Hook Promise, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company, and Town Players of Newtown.

Hundreds of organizations have registered for the event. Causes and missions range from animals, arts and culture, disaster relief, and education, to politics and justice, senior citizens, veterans, women’s issues, youth, etc.

Visit FCGives.org/info/FAQ for details on tax receipts, how much of each donation goes to the nonprofits versus collection and credit card processing fees, how donations will be disbursed following the event on February 27, and more.

Power Hours And Special Awards

Donors who wish to make their funds go further for the nonprofit(s) of their choice are encouraged to watch the social feeds of the participating organizations. There are 20 special prizes up for grabs next week, and the online-savvy participants will be highlighting the approach of each award.

Organizations can earn a $1,000 Ready To Go: Match/Challenge by securing matching or challenge funds ahead of this year’s Giving Day. One winner will be drawn at random.

The “Why I Give” video contest, for qualifying videos posted between January 28 and February 18, will award one group with $2,500.

The first award of Giving Day 2020, called Get Up & Give, will award $1,000 to the first ten nonprofits that receive 25 unique donations of $25 or more.

Also kicking off the day will be the Top of the Morning: Most Dollars Raised award, which will award $1,000 to the nonprofit in each of the two budget categories that raises the most dollars by 9 am. Budget categories divide nonprofits between those with annual budgets of more than $500,000 and those that have annual budgets of $500,00 or less.

Power Hour 1-2 pm: All About The Environment will award $2,500 to the environment-focused nonprofit in each budget category that raises the most dollars during that 60-minute block.

Similarly, Power Hour 3-4 pm: Arts & Culture For Everyone will award $2,500 to the arts and culture-focused nonprofit in each budget category that receives the most unique donors during that hour.

Big Finish: Most Unique Donors will award $2,500 to the nonprofit that has the most unique donors between 9 pm and midnight. Big Finish: Most Dollars Raised will award $2,500 to the nonprofit that raises the most funds during the same period. Participants are only eligible to win one Big Finish prize.

A pair of peer-to-peer awards are each worth $500. The top five peer-to-peer fundraisers to receive the most unique gifts will snag the Peer-To-Peer: Most Unique Donors prize. The top five peer-to-peer fundraisers to raise the most dollars will win Peer-To-Peer: Most Dollars Raised on behalf of their selected nonprofit.

Participants will also be eligible to win one of two available grand prizes.

First and second place awards of $20,000 and $10,000, respectively, will be awarded for Nonprofit Grand Prize: Most Unique Donors. Top prizes of $15,000 and $10,000 will be given to the nonprofits with the Most Dollars Raised.

Participants will also be competing for one of two Business Grand Prize awards. A $2,000 Employee Engagement award will be selected based on employee engagement rate. A $1,000 award has been announced for the businesses with the Most Dollars Raised.

A pair of Rookie awards, each $1,000, have been created. One is for Most Unique Donors to the first-time participant with the most unique donors, while the other will be for the first-time participant that pulls in Most Dollars Raised.

Participating organizations who send representatives to the Fairfield County’s Giving Day Launch Party the morning of February 27 will be entered into a drawing for the Power Of Music Award. A random drawing during the party will provide a live Band Central performance for the winning nonprofit during one of their 2020-21 events.

A few special awards have already been announced. Young Artists Philharmonic was randomly selected from those groups that had registered by December 1, 2019. The group picked up the $500 Early Bird Registration award.

Ready To Go: Training Prizes have also been awarded to nonprofits and businesses that sent representatives to Giving Day preparation training sessions. Four groups — Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders, Connecticut Legal Services, Girls Inc of Fairfield County, and YWCA Darien/Norwalk — have each earned $500, one each for sessions that were held in November, December (two sessions) and February.

2019 Giving Day Notes

According to FCCF, last year’s Fairfield County Giving Day raised more than $1.7 million, another record-setting finish for the annual effort. The 2019 event had 415 nonprofits benefit from donations of all sizes.

For the sixth straight year, Curtain Call was again the top performing Giving Day participant. The Stamford-based theater company raised $115,515 in 2019 through the activity of 1,045 donors.

Newtown-based Ben’s Lighthouse was in the Top 100 last year, finishing the event with $6,296 in donations.

Sandy Hook Promise and Kitten Associates also finished in the Top 100, with $5,185 and $5,025, respectively.