Erik Chalhoub here, thinking about the incredible generosity in Monterey County.
In the final weeks of 2023, more than 8,000 people came together to donate $11,921,495 to over 200 local nonprofits for the annual Monterey County Gives! campaign.
The numbers were revealed during a celebratory Zoom meeting on Monday, Feb. 12 that drew more than 100 nonprofit leaders and supporters from throughout the county.
Monterey County Gives! is a partnership of the Monterey County Weekly, Community Foundation for Monterey County, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and many major sponsors. The campaign ran from Nov. 9-Dec. 31, 2023.
Weekly Founder and CEO Bradley Zeve said Monterey County Gives! continues to grow and attract new donors and sponsors annually. The total donations raised this year represented a 7 percent growth from 2022.
“It’s just been a remarkable growing partnership,” Zeve said. “It continues to grow every year. When the core organizers get together, we look at the numbers, and we just can’t imagine we will exceed last year’s numbers. But as you can see, we continue to grow at an exponential rate.”
The total number of donations includes $1,384,219 from the Overall Matching Fund, a 67 percent increase over the previous year. That pool of money provides an additional amount for nonprofits on top of what they raised.
A number of nonprofits also received additional awards. They are:
- $2,500 Ingenuity Grant: Everyone’s Harvest
- $1,000 Largest Number of Donors Award: Peace of Mind Dog Rescue
- $1,000 Most Donors 18-35 Years Old: Monterey Peninsula Pride
- $1,000 Florence Haspel Zeve Award for Women, Families and/or the Arts: Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County
Christine Dawson, senior vice president of philanthropic services for the Community Foundation, said in addition to the fundraising, the goal of Monterey County Gives! is to bring awareness to the many nonprofits in the area, with the hope of attracting new donors and volunteers for years to come.
A request for proposals for the 2024 Monterey County Gives! campaign will be released in the Weekly and Monterey County NOW in the summer.
Checks will be sent out to the nonprofits this week, providing them with a boost to continue their programs and serve countless people (and animals).
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