<h2 style="text-align: center;">$4 million raised for Coastal South Carolina, $130,000 for Beaufort</h2>
This year’s Lowcountry Giving Day, a 24-hour online fundraising event hosted by the Coastal Community Foundation, concluded at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5th. In its second year, the event raised more than $4 million across the coast and $131,189 in Beaufort and the surrounding communities based on preliminary results.

[caption id="attachment_22647" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Giving-Day-4-of-6.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-22647" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Giving-Day-4-of-6-300x225.jpg" alt="Floretta Glover and Theresa Jenkins, both volunteers, and Dr. Rodell Lawrence, new executive director of Penn Center encouraging museum visitors to give!" width="300" height="225" /></a> Floretta Glover and Theresa Jenkins, both volunteers, and Dr. Rodell Lawrence, new executive director of Penn Center encouraging museum visitors to give![/caption]

Lowcountry Giving Day is part of a national effort called “Give Local America” that saw dozens of communities hosting similar events across the country. Designed to encourage online giving to local nonprofits, there were 19 organizations from Beaufort and the surrounding area participating in the event last Tuesday.

To ramp up excitement for the event, and facilitate online donations, many local organizations hosted events to celebrate the day. The Literacy Center, formerly Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry, hosted donors at their Bluffton and Hilton Head locations. Former client and current staff member, Gloria Reyes, donated to the event on her smartphone, demonstrating with one-click, that anyone can become a philanthropist for a day.

Downtown, The Historic Beaufort Foundation hosted a “Giving in the Garden” party at their Scott Street headquarters so staff and supporters could mingle over a cool glass of iced tea. Bluffton Self Help also welcomed donors to their offices – Executive Director Lili Coleman was on-hand all day to assist folks with online donation at the event website,  www.lowcountrygivingday.org.

[caption id="attachment_22646" align="alignright" width="150"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Giving-Day-1-of-6.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-22646" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Giving-Day-1-of-6-150x150.jpg" alt="Volunteers at Bluffton Self Help working at the the on-site giving station." width="150" height="150" /></a> Volunteers at Bluffton Self Help working at the the on-site giving station.[/caption]

On Saint Helena Island, Penn Center welcomed donors to give as they enjoyed the museum, while on Dataw Island, The Good Neighbor Free Medical Clinic gathered together to celebrate a successful day of giving for the Lowcountry. Salvation Army Beaufort even welcomed donations at its new store on Robert Smalls Parkway. Donors are encouraged to follow Coastal Community Foundation on Facebook and Twitter to stay tuned to updates about Tuesday’s event and future Lowcountry Giving Day news.

Now the event might be over, and the dust settling, but that does not mean that each of these fine organizations are in the clear financially for the year. Please consider donating to other charities whether on the list or not. It is a constant struggle to deliver the services these non-profits are tasked to do, to the people who really need the help. Simply stated, the more you give, the more they can help.

<em>Each week, Coastal Community Foundation highlights organizations, donors and other charitable news in The Philanthropy Corner. If you’re interested in learning more about philanthropy in the Lowcountry, reach out to our regional Stewardship Officer, Gloria Duryea, at Gloria@CoastalCommunityFoundation.org or (843) 379-3400. </em>