In its second record-breaking year in a row, the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region mobilized to donate $1,196,259 to 570 local nonprofits in just 24-hours during ROC the Day, beating 2020’s $1,054,043 million total.
Between midnight and 11:59 p.m. on November 30, more than 9,000 donations were made to local nonprofits, which aligns with #GivingTuesday, a global effort to give back during the holiday season.
The event is hosted and managed by United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. Although 2021’s ROC the Day marked the first since United Way merged, ROC the Day has historically included all six counties over its 11-year history, and has raised more than $9 million overall for local nonprofits.
“Our region continues to face complex challenges, but every year on ROC the Day, we are reminded of how generous and caring our community truly is,” said Jaime Saunders, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. “Nonprofits are hurting, even more so than last year, so to see our community rally to give our human service providers an end-of-year boost is heartwarming and inspiring.”
This year’s ROC the Day sparked even more donations through two incentives sponsored by Glover-Crask Charitable Trust:
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Every odd hour (1 a.m., 3 a.m., etc.), a lucky ROCstar donor was randomly chosen to give an extra $500 to the charity of their choice.
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Additionally, every even hour (2 a.m., 4 a.m., etc.) the registered nonprofit with the highest number of unique donors received an extra $500 bonus.
Visit www.ROCtheDay.org for more details about the event and the full list of nonprofit participants.