In its fifth outing, Colorado Gives Day brought in $26.2 million, up from $20.5 million in 2013.
The 24-hour day of giving Dec. 9 benefitted seven La Plata County charities to the tune of $28,278 from 157 donations. That’s a big upswing from 2013, when there only were two participating charities in La Plata County, and they received more than $1,600 in gifts.
The nonprofits based in La Plata County that participated were the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County, Durango Adaptive Sports Association, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County, La Plata County Humane Society, Music in the Mountains and United Way of Southwest Colorado.
Donations ranged in size from $10 to $300,000, said Kayla Arnesen, spokeswoman for Community First Foundation, and 107,862 people in the state donated, a jump from 88,571 in 2013. Colorado Gives is one of the foundation’s programs.
Planned Parenthood of Southwest Colorado also participated, but its donations were included in the total for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Arnesen said. Mountain Studies Institute, another nonprofit that does work in the San Juan Mountains, including La Plata County, is based in Silverton.
Tim Kroes of Adaptive Sports said the foundation rigorously vets the nonprofits allowed to participate, so being one of 1,677 in the state this year can give donors confidence.
abutler@ durangoherald.com
