SML Gives Day 2026, the annual 24-hour online giving day event aimed at supporting the local nonprofit sector, wrapped up its annual online giving day and in-person nonprofit fair on March 18, surpassing previous year’s giving total and raising $387,643 from 641 donors to support 50 local nonprofit organizations serving Bedford and Franklin Counties. The goal for the event was $300,000.
In addition to the 24-hour online giving day, several nonprofits gathered at Resurrection Church in Moneta on March 18 for the SML Gives Nonprofit Fair, which gave folks an opportunity to meet in-person the many people who make up nonprofits in the area that support a wide-range of causes, from programs that feed children and families to organizations that provide healthcare, arts and culture, environmental education, animal care and services for vulnerable populations.
The idea for SML Gives developed in 2020 by SML Good Neighbors, which continues to facilitate the event. “In 2020, we got together with a group of participants at the lake and talked about doing our own thing,” said SML Good Neighbors Executive Director Lisa Lietz. “We saw so many awesome nonprofits, so many important causes that put in a hard’s day work but were still struggling.”…