CFOSR Offers Nonprofits Training to Maximize Hudson Valley Gives Fundraising

Last year's Hudson Valley Gives crossed $1 million raised in a single 24-hour window, the most the regional giving day has ever generated. The Community Foundation of Orange, Sullivan and Rockland wants local nonprofits to beat that number on May 20 and is offering free training sessions to make sure they're ready.

CFOSR, based in Montgomery, announced the in-person workshops on April 3, framing them as practical capacity-building for smaller organizations that want to run stronger Hudson Valley Gives campaigns but may lack dedicated development staff. The foundation is hosting sessions across the tri-county region; nonprofits can claim a seat by emailing admin@cfosrny.org.

"We are honored to bring this initiative to life for the 11th year in a row," said CFOSR President and CEO Elizabeth Rowley. "Hudson Valley Gives is for nonprofit organizations of all sizes to raise awareness and funds for their important causes. All charitable causes can be part of the fun."

The workshops target the tactics that separate high-performing giving-day campaigns from forgettable ones: building an effective campaign page, timing donation asks and email appeals for maximum response, activating matching gifts to stretch every dollar a donor gives, and generating social media momentum throughout the 24-hour drive. For a small nonprofit without a full-time fundraiser, drilling down on even one of those levers can produce a measurable difference in total dollars raised and donors retained after giving day ends.

Nonprofit registration for Hudson Valley Gives runs through early May at hvgives.org. The 24-hour giving window opens midnight on May 20.

The stakes are real. Since its inception, Hudson Valley Gives has raised more than $5.5 million for charities across Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Sullivan, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, with last year's event setting the all-time single-day record. CFOSR itself has distributed nearly $46 million in grants and scholarships since 1999, managing hundreds of charitable funds that sustain food security programs, youth services, housing assistance and environmental work across the region.

With six weeks until giving day, nonprofits that skip the training and register late will be competing against organizations that have already mapped their donor lists, lined up matching gifts, and scheduled their appeals.