Centre Gives Kicks Off on Wednesday; Celebration Set for Thursday

The 36 hours of Centre Gives gets underway on Wednesday, and a festival celebration will be held during the philanthropic event’s final hours on Thursday at Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte.

Now in its 12th year, Centre Foundation’s online giving event gives community members an opportunity to provide support for 200 local nonprofit organizations.

Centre Gives begins at 8 a.m. on Wednesday at CentreGives.org and concludes at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

“Each year we are astounded by the thousands of generous donors who choose to make a difference by making a gift during Centre Gives,” Molly Kunkel, president and CEO of Centre Foundation, said in a statement. “Centre Foundation and each of the 200 participating nonprofits thanks these generous community members who are creating a meaningful impact.” 

Centre Gives Fest will take place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Thursday at Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte. The festival will feature music performances, local food vendors and activities from some of Centre County’s nonprofits.

Music performances will include indie-rock band OK Otter and DJ Elbow Knee Knee of Gorinto Productions. Food will be available for purchase from Pizza Mia, Savory Station and Pelican’s SnoBalls.  

Since its inception in 2012, Centre Gives has raised $14.6 million for nonprofits working in areas such as arts, animals, education, environment, health and social services.

The Centre County community has come through in a big way each year, and last year’s event raised $2,180,591 raised through 15,577 gifts to local organizations.

Participants can choose from a long list nonprofits to support with a gift of $10 or more at CentreGives.org.

During Centre Gives, those gifts go further.

The Centre Gives stretch pool will once again be $300,000. The more money a nonprofit raises, the greater its share of the pool.

Stretch pool funding is provided by Centre Foundation and the Hamer Foundation, which for the seventh consecutive year has contributed $100,000.

Donors also can help organizations compete for $40,000 in additional prize money throughout the event. Fourteen power hour prizes will be awarded throughout Centre Gives based on unique donors during a specific hour, and dozens of other prizes will be given out during and at the conclusion of the event.