The 4th Annual “Mohawk Valley Gives” (MVG) campaign broke a fundraising record with their 2025 chapter of Mohawk Valley Giving Day, raising $6.59 million for 369 local charities from Herkimer, Oneida, and Otsego counties.
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, together with UpMobility Foundation, co-hosted the celebration of the diverse Mohawk Valley non-profit organizations, their causes, and people who champion them.
The event spans much of the last weeks of summer in September, with lead-up marketing and events to build awareness, excitement, and engagement from donors, launching with the early donation days, Sept. 15 through 18, and culminating with the MVG “Giving Day” on Friday, Sept. 19.
What motivates members of the community, if they give money to charity just once a year, to give it on Giving Day are the generous matching donations that promise many gifts to the charities of choice will be matched, often two-, and even three-fold.
This year’s campaign counted UpMobility Foundation, Staffworks, and Save a Life Campaign among 41 challenge and match donations, many anonymous, tipping up the tally for their charities of choice.
“It was a privilege to once again collaborate with the Community Foundation for the 2025 Mohawk Valley Gives campaign,” said Amy Lindner, interim executive director of UpMobility Foundation, said in a statement. “This day of giving truly showcases the ripple effect that matched donations can have. Every match helped amplify the impact of each gift, turning individual generosity into a powerful, united effort.”
Biggest benefactors
Local charities inspiring the highest dollar amount in donations this year were Anita’s Stevens Swan Humane Society, thanks to benefactor, Staffworks, contributing $1 million to the animal care cause. The Abraham House in Rome, a small living community providing intimate end-of-life care and support for patients and their families, received the 2nd highest tally, with over $146,000 in support, and Notre Dame Schools in Utica come in a close third, getting ‘gives’ totaling over $142,000.
At the end of the “giving day,” MVG inspired over 8,100 donors made over 14,100 donations ranging from $5 to $1 million, coming from five countries, 42 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
“We continue to be amazed by the community’s passion and growing support for Mohawk Valley Gives—it truly gets stronger every year, and we can feel it,” said Alicia Dicks, president/CEO of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties said in a statement. “Our nonprofit partners are doing impactful work that touches lives across the area, and this event gives people a meaningful way to give back to the causes they care about.”
Causes donors care about
Almost 390 non-profits across the three-county footprint registered to be a recipient for MVG 2025, ranging from private schools, public libraries, food pantries, cultural organizations, community arts organizations, churches, youth sports, high school booster clubs, animal rights and care, health care organizations, hospice, historical societies, preservation, summer and fall festivals, and the list goes on much farther.
“Mohawk Valley Gives has been a tremendous help in empowering students in our community” said Kevin Marken, Utica director for On Point for College, a participating 2025 MVG non-profit, in a statement. “Whether it’s assisting lower income students, first-generation students, or students in between, the Community Foundation, UpMobility Foundation and MV Gives have been spectacular partners in getting our name out there so we can further assist families in need.”
This year, MVG amped up the enthusiasm during the week leading up to September 19 by randomly selecting five registered non-profits and surprising them with visits from MVG team members bearing “special items” to benefit their organization and gifts of gratitude for the “incredible work they do in the community.”
The 2025 organizations made to feel those “heartfelt moments” were the Art Thing Collaborative (based in Little Falls but serving neighboring communities, as well), Copper City Community Connection (providing community outreach to senior citizens in Rome), Apple Tree Preschool (located in New Hartford, serving Oneida County parents), It Takes A Village Diaper Bank (based in Waterville, also serving neighboring communities), and The Country Pantry (based in Clark Mills, works with local churches and food banks to provide food to local families in need).
The MVG “Prize Patrol” was back by popular demand, delighting winning organizations with a “Publishers Clearinghouse-esque” surprise visitor with a check in hand, leading up to the five “jackpot” winners of $1000.
The 2025 “jackpot” participating non-profits included Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL – based in Utica), Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency (MVCAA – locations in Utica and Rome), Mohawk Valley Institute for Learning in Retirement (MVILR – Based at MVCC Rome campus), Valley Residential Services (Herkimer), and The Creative Outpost (Little Falls).
Mohawk Valley Gives hosts, Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties and UpMobility Foundation, with this year’s campaign presented by Staffworks and M&T Bank, acknowledge the following sponsors who partnered with them to make this year’s record-breaking donations to hundreds of local non-profits possible: Utica National Insurance Group, Bank of Utica, Bank of America, Mele Family Fund of the Community Foundation, First Source Federal Credit Union, Berkshire Bank, Caruso McLean Investment Advisors, Griffin Charitable Foundation, Clinton Tractor, Assured Information Security, AmeriCU Credit Union, NBT Bank, Express Employment Professionals, Pacemaker Steel, Pulver Roofing, S. Lennon & Company Jewelers, Mohawk Valley Materials, and Newport Telephone.
The event also received in-kind support from Woodland Farm Brewery, PJ Green, Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce, FMN Creative, Lafa Mediterranean by Zeina’s, F.X. Matt Brewing, Hale Transportation, Latte Love, and media partners, Galaxy Media, Sentinel Media Company, Townsquare Media, and WKTV NewsChannel 2.
Visit givemv.org. to learn more about the Mohawk Valley Gives September 2026 campaign and “Giving Day.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Annual Mohawk Valley Gives, events raise record-breaking $6.5M for local charities
Reporting by Cara Dolan Berry, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
