GiveSmart Celebrates Awards Season

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  GiveSmart proudly announces the 2021 class of Community Award winners. Each of these individuals or nonprofit organizations stood out among thousands of finalists. The winners got creative, sought out new ways to raise money, and added campaigns to accelerate their fundraising. And because of their tenacity, each deserving mission is one step closer to being realized.

"We were truly excited and impressed by each winner's fundraising accomplishments. Each award is recognition of these individuals and their organization's hard work and dedication. GiveSmart is thrilled to work alongside organizations for their life-changing missions. We look forward to seeing what all of our partners accomplish in 2022," shares Steve Greanias, General Manager, Nonprofit Solutions at Community Brands.

Each of these organizations is a part of the GiveSmart Community which brings together nonprofit leaders who aim to accelerate their fundraising through peer examples, industry insights, and relationship building.

The five winners of this awards class are:

Networker of the Year – Devorah Weinstein from the Hospice Foundation of Central New York and of the Finger Lakes (Liverpool, NY)

The Hospice Foundation of Central New York and of the Finger Lakes is their community's expert resource at the end of life, providing comprehensive comfort care to patients and families through unique interdisciplinary services, bereavement counseling, education, and collaboration. Their patients are surrounded by a Circle of Care which encompasses a team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and bereavement counselors.

GiveSmart is proud to award Devorah the Networker of the Year award, given to the individual who made the most peer connections via the GiveSmart Community.

"GiveSmart's Community has provided support that I didn't expect to receive when first joining. The GiveSmart Community is different, people come wanting to share their ideas and help others succeed within their organizations."

Researcher of the Year – Kaya Neilson from the Humane Society of Utah (Murray, UT)

The Humane Society of Utah is dedicated to the elimination of pain, fear, and suffering in all animals, especially those in Utah. GiveSmart is proud to award Kaya the Researcher of the Year award, given to the individual who dove into more GiveSmart resources than anyone else.

"Givesmart is an all-in-one fundraising platform.  It has the tools to run a variety of different campaigns and many different ways to involve your community and donors! We took the opportunity in 2020-2021 to run additional campaigns that we might not have, prior to the pandemic. This year we are hoping to do a hybrid event for our annual Wags to Wishes Gala.  The auction portion of GiveSmart makes it so easy for both at-home and in-person guests to participate in real-time!"   

Early Adopter of the Year– Jersey Battered Women's Services (Morristown, NJ)

Jersey Battered Women's Services (JBWS) provides safety, support, and solutions for abuse for anyone who lives or works in Morris County, New Jersey and faces the issues of intimate partner abuse by preventing domestic violence through the protection and empowerment of the victim, rehabbing of family members, advocating for social reform to prevent partner violence, and the educating of the public about domestic violence and its consequences. GiveSmart is proud to award JBWS the Early Adopter Award, given to the organization for running more hybrid events than any other organization in 2021.

"GiveSmart was key to our being able to seamlessly pivot our fundraising events from in-person to virtual and hybrid formats.  It provided the platform for us to reach our supporters so they could participate remotely to view video content, make donations, and participate in our silent auctions, ticket raffles, and instant buys."

Rookie of the Year – St. Dorothy Catholic School   (Glendora, CA)

Out of the thousands of nonprofits who joined GiveSmart in 2021, St. Dorothy Catholic School had the most success! Due to the unwavering support of their donors and volunteers, they achieved success and can continue educating students in spiritual, academic, and social skills while emphasizing spiritual, moral, and ethical values within the world community.

"[My advice is to] really think out of the box and be creative with fundraising. We didn't believe we could raise the amount of money we did! It forced us to step out of our comfort zones, but [doing so] did engage our families."

Super User of the Year – L.A. Clippers Foundation (Los Angeles, CA)

The L.A. Clippers Foundation inspires each Angeleno child to make a positive difference in their L.A.! 

GiveSmart is proud to award the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation Super User of the Year, given to the organization that hosted the most fundraising campaigns.

"We had been able to move our L.A. Clippers Foundation auction online and have it during our season of no fans. Since moving back into the arena, we have been able to continue to grow our user base and keep everything online. We even moved our Giving Tuesday campaign over to GiveSmart this year." 

About GiveSmart
GiveSmart is a mobile bidding, fundraising, and event management software. Our mission is to help nonprofits, schools, and foundations reach their fundraising goals while creating an engaging, exciting, and easy giving experience for their donors. All. Year. Round. GiveSmart has helped our partners raise over $4.1 billion.  Learn more at www.givesmart.com.

Media contact:
Karen Wright
[email protected]

SOURCE Community Brands