GIVE A HOOT completed its 2022 drive, and while there are still a few checks in the mail, waiting to be counted, the preliminary results are in: donation goals have been met and surpassed.
Donations broke last year’s record of donations, and the total will be close to $1.7 million. GIVE A HOOT is an opportunity for the public to support nonprofits, and it is organized by the Park County Community Foundation. GIVE A HOOT 2022 ended on midnight July 31. The event runs from July 1 to July 31 each year, and this was its fourth year operating.
“It has been a very intense month,” Park County Community Foundation Program Director, Barb Oldershaw said.
The generosity of donors was not overlooked by Oldershaw, as it’s been a tough year between inflation, stocks, gas and the flood.
Oldershaw noted that a county with around 17,000 people doesn’t raise this kind of money on its own. There’s a lot of money coming from outside the county, even from outside the country. It speaks to how much “people love Park County,” Oldershaw said.
Having been the gateway to Yellowstone plays no small part in how the county is able to garner this kind of support.
The Park County Community Foundation gives people the opportunity to donate money to 77 non-profits of their choosing through GIVE A HOOT. Participating nonprofits are required to provide services primarily to Park County, and these organizations also have to be located in the County.
GIVE A HOOT continues to grow; this is evidenced by the increase in organizations over the years. In 2019 there were 52 Park County nonprofits that participated. In 2022 the Livingston Ice Skating foundation, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the Park County Drop-in Center added to the list. This year with 77 organizations to choose from, one person even decided to donate to 32 organizations, according to Oldershaw.
“The people with the resources to be generous have been very generous,” Oldershaw said.
