Matching Gift Challenge: The Results Are In and They're Worth Celebrating

In June, a generous supporter pledged $15,000 to Neighborhood House. There was only one catch: To unlock their gift we would need to ask our community to match it. 

So we shared the news, along with why the timing mattered. Like our neighbors, we were absorbing across-the-board cost increases in everything from cleaning supplies to insurance premiums, and there's only so much give in a program-intensive budget like ours.

Behind the line items are kids like Jarrin, who's been in our Youth Development Program for four years. His mom, Kellie, says that she's watched him grow more confident and more at ease around other kids. She gives much of the credit to our staff, saying they've never stopped encouraging him to be great.

Multiply Kellie and Jarrin’s story by the hundreds of families who walk through our doors every year, and you start to see what the $15,000 match could do. Inside the opportunity to turn one dollar into two is a far greater one — to help us continue the neighbor-centered work we've been doing since 1927.

That's the case we made when we launched the Matching Gift Challenge, and people got behind it. Gifts came in from longtime supporters and first-time donors. By the time we reached June 30, there was real momentum, but we were short of the $15,000 goal, so our matching partner agreed to a 10-day extension.

Those ten days made the difference. When the campaign ended on July 10, the goal was met. Every dollar of the match was unlocked, and we were able to put $30,000 to work across our programs.

To everyone who gave, shared one of our emails, blogs, or social media posts, or told a friend about the work we do here in Southbridge, thank you for standing with us. You're the reason we can help the next family, and the one after that.