SALT LAKE CITY - Raising $2 million in one day, today, to benefit hundreds of nonprofits and schools is the goal of "Love Utah Give Utah."
Blair Hodson is director of initiatives with the Community Foundation of Utah, which organizes the annual day of online giving at loveUTgiveUT.org. He says the event, now in its third year, is growing fast.
"The 2013 total was right around $650,000," he says. "Last year, it was $1,580,839."
Hodson says giving involves selecting a charity or school through the website, and making a minimum $10 donation.
He adds many people donate because several hundred thousand dollars of matching funds are available. That means a $25 donation to a favorite cause or organization becomes $50.
Hodson says prizes are offered to the organizations that get the most donors and raise the most money. The Girl Scouts have won the past two years.
"We like to joke around here that every Girl Scout in the state is shaking down their grandmothers and their aunts and uncles for a donation, so they can win this contest," laughs Hodson.
Hodson says about one-third of all donors were new to the causes they supported last year, a point he says is critical for nonprofit organizations to sustain and grow.
