The Spring2ACTion fundraiser for the city’s nonprofits is off to a strong start, with more than $500,000 raised from early giving, according to ACT for Alexandria CEO Heather Peeler.
“This year we are asking every donor as part of the checkout process to make an additional gift to the ACT Now COVID-19 Response Fund,” Peeler said. “So far, that has raised more than $15,000.”
Here are a few things to pay attention to this week in Alexandria:
Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks will formally unveil his $753.3 million fiscal year 2021 operating budget in a virtual meeting on Tuesday, which is 5.8% lower than the $800 million operating budget he proposed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget will close an anticipated $92 million shortfall, and includes a hiring freeze, a drastic reduction in capital projects, and reverses a decision to increase taxes by 2 cents.
The ACT Now COVID-19 Response Fund has raised more than $530,000 from 587 donors, and has given away $525,000 to dozens of nonprofits in Alexandria.
As of this week, more than $525,000 in grants was awarded to nearly 60 nonprofits in the city, with most of the funds going toward emergency food, supplies and financial assistance in the city.
ALIVE! gave out 30,716 pounds of food to more than 1,000 Alexandria households on Saturday, and now its shelves are nearly empty.
The 50-year-old nonprofit’s next distribution of food will not be until the end of May, although ALIVE! will continue providing food to local pantries between now and then, said Executive Director Jennifer Ayers.
Alfred Street Baptist Church Virtual Worship Service Gets 19K Views –“Thank you for this amazing word today!! God Bless!” [Facebook]
Hospital Nurses Play Games With COVID-19 Patients — “Inova Nurses are helping our patients any way they can during these challenging times, from medical attention to a friendly game of tic tac toe. #InovaHeroes” [Facebook]
The ACT Now COVID-19 Response Fund has raised more than $500,000, and more than $350,000 has been given to 39 local nonprofits.
The city donated $100,000 at the onset of the outbreak of COVID-19, and Amazon donated $200,ooo toward the effort, according to ACT for Alexandria.
The following Letter to the Editor was written by Heather Peeler, the President and CEO of ACT For Alexandria.
If you’re like me, the last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster.
Alexandria COVID-19 Count Now At 20 — “AHD is identifying and contacting individuals who came in close contact with the confirmed cases. The close contacts will be asked to self-quarantine and actively monitor for fever and respiratory symptoms. If they start experiencing symptoms, they will immediately undergo testing. As a result of the AHD’s case investigations and expanded testing through private providers, the number of positive cases is expected to continue to increase.” [City of Alexandria]
City’s COVID-19 Fund Reaches $470K — “Thanks to your generous support, ACT for Alexandria and the City of Alexandria have begun to provide grants to the nonprofit organizations on the front lines of this crisis. As of this week, we have made $245,010 in grants.” [Zebra]
ACT for Alexandria is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by moving the Spring2ACTion fundraiser from April 29 to April 15.
Spring2ACTion is the largest annual fundraiser in Alexandria.
Amazon has given $200,000 to ACT for Alexandria’s COVID-19 response fund as part of a $1 million donation that the company is making to the region.
“The funds received by ACT will be used to support the nonprofits providing services to Alexandrian’s who are hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak,” ACT CEO Heather Peeler told ALXnow.
The largest single-day fundraiser in the region is around the corner, and this year ACT for Alexandria wants to attract 10,000 donors.
Last year’s Spring2ACTion fundraiser raised $2.1 million for 166 local charities and nonprofits, beating the $1.8 million raised in 2018. There were more than 9,600 donors last year, and this year’s fundraising goal is $2 million — just shy of last year’s record-breaking total.
