Erie Gives 2020 Breaks All Records!

September 10, 2020


The Erie Community Foundation announced today that Erie Gives, which celebrated its 10 year anniversary this past August, broke all records of previous years. A total of 11,482 donors gave over $6.3 million to support the work of 422 different nonprofit organizations. Compared to Erie Gives 2019, the total amount raised increased by 13% or over $780K. The overall number of donors increased 27% by 2,442.

The total amount raised for participating nonprofits was $6,358,146, which includes a $401,416 prorated match provided by The Erie Community Foundation, Erie Insurance, Wabtec, EE Austin Companies, ERIEBANK, Knox Law and Northwest as well as proceeds from a #ErieStrong t-shirt sale. The Erie Gives website support provided by Tungsten Creative Group and Velocity Net included a set of six servers for speed and security.

In addition, the community foundations in North East, Corry and Union City added additional prorated match dollars to the nonprofits in their specific communities totaling an extra $25,000, $10,000 and $7,500 respectively.

“Considering how COVID-19 has impacted our community and the world is suffering from an international pandemic, we are once again amazed by the generosity of Erie Gives donors,” said Foundation President Mike Batchelor. “From countless $25 gifts to major gifts from 29 IRA contributions and various stock gifts, every penny added up.”

The Erie City Mission, the organization receiving the largest number of donors, was overjoyed by the response. “Every year we are blown away by the broad community support for the Erie City Mission through Erie Gives, and we couldn’t serve the homeless, hungry and those struggling with addictions without it!” said Steve Westbrook, CEO of the Erie City Mission. “It’s incredible to achieve a record number of donors supporting our Mission and we are both humbled and grateful for their kind generosity. Even during COVID-19, we have remained focused on our core programs and services and the funds from Erie Gives will go toward making sure the Mission remains a place of hope and transformation for those who need us. Thank you Erie Community Foundation for providing such an amazing day for our community!”

Record-Breaking Results:

  • 422 nonprofits received $6,358,146.
  • 11,482 donors surpassed last year’s number of donors by 2,442 or 27%
  • 250 nonprofits received at least one gift of $1,000 or more.
  • 83 nonprofits received $5,000 or more.
  • 39 nonprofits received $10,000 or more.
  • The largest gift was $92,000 made to Erie Arts & Culture.
  • The largest number of donors was 1,036 for the Erie City Mission.
  • The average gross gift was $201.
  • The gross prorated match amount was 6.6%; credit card fees were 2.6%. If a nonprofit’s donations were all given by credit card, the net match would be 4.0%. If gifts were made by check, there is no credit card fee. Therefore, each nonprofit’s average net prorated match will differ depending on the method by which gifts were received.
  • The top five nonprofits receiving gifts included:
    • Foundation for Free Enterprise $205,601
    • Wayside Presbyterian Church $204,713
    • Erie City Mission $190,976
    • Second Harvest Food Bank $187,325
    • LECOM $165,652
  • The top five nonprofits with the most donors included:
    • Erie City Mission 1,036
    • Second Harvest Food Bank 972
    • ANNA Shelter 860
    • Erie Zoological Society 656
    • Because You Care 573
  • When reviewing the Erie Gives website traffic, visitors to the site came from all 50 states and 30 countries.
    • The top ten states of website traffic included by number of views:
      • Pennsylvania 26,133
      • New York 1,658
      • Ohio 1,025
      • Florida 294
      • Virginia 261
      • Illinois 229
      • Michigan 151
      • North Carolina 141
      • Texas 123
      • California 121
      • Washington 68
    • The top five countries of website traffic included by number of views:
      • United States 31,922
      • Canada 27
      • Netherlands 26
      • Finland 18
      • United Kingdom 10

For even greater details on Erie Gives results, visit www.ErieGives.org. Next year's Erie Gives will take place on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.