Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign Nets Record-Breaking Online Gifts

Area charities will again benefit from the giving spirit of University of Virginia employees. The 2014 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign closed with a total of almost $1 million donated and realized a record-breaking number of online gifts.

The CVC is an employee-giving charity fundraising drive, held each fall in state agencies across Virginia. During the 2014 drive, University employees contributed more than $967,000.

For many years, U.Va. has been the No. 1 contributor to the CVC, and since 2000, U.Va. employees have donated more than $12 million. That trend continued in 2014, as more than 25 percent of the entire commonwealth’s contributions came from U.Va. In acknowledgement of the University’s fundraising efforts, U.Va. will be recognized March 26 at the CVC Annual Awards Recognition Event, to be held in Richmond.

Top charities in our community that benefitted include:

• Charlottesville Free Clinic
• Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
• Hospice of the Piedmont
• Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
• Thomas Jefferson Area United Way

A critical component for the ongoing success of the CVC at U.Va. is that 100 percent of designations go directly to the charity an employee chooses. Support from volunteers in offices across Grounds is essential to the campaign’s success.

“I volunteer for my department because I’ve seen, firsthand, what can be done for charities right here in Charlottesville,” said CVC volunteer Vickie Vess, a practice supervisor in the U.Va. Health System's ambulatory operations. “I want those who give through the CVC to choose to give to a specific local charity for which they are passionate, rather than do the easy thing of noting their donation as an undesignated gift.” 

The University provides top-level support of the effort; for the third consecutive year, U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan declared a “CVC Day,” this year on Nov. 19. Additionally, Sullivan and her office provided tickets for three events at the John Paul Jones Arena as prizes for three randomly selected CVC participants.

The U.Va. Office of Community Relations works with the state CVC office to provide tax receipts for gifts or pledges made through the campaign. This month, donors who contributed at least $250 and who requested to be acknowledged on their pledge card or online, received their respective receipts.