Area charities are again benefiting from the generosity of University of Virginia employees as the 2013 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign closes with a total of nearly $1 million donated.

The CVC is the state’s employee-giving charity fundraising drive, held each fall in state agencies across Virginia. In the 2013 drive, U.Va. employees contributed more than $986,000.

For many years, U.Va. has been the No. 1 contributor to the CVC in the state, and since 2000, U.Va. employees have donated more than $10 million through the CVC. In 2013, more than 26 percent of the entire commonwealth’s contributions originated at U.Va. 

“While we didn’t hit the $1 million mark as we did last year,” said campaign chair Jim Fitzgerald, associate director in U.Va.’s Office of Community Relations, “employees once again put their wallets where their hearts are by offering substantial support to what matters most for them. The CVC has never been solely about a number. Rather, it’s about encouraging employees to support those causes that matter most to them.”

He suggested that one possible reason for the drop in CVC giving in 2013 was the significant financial support U.Va. employees provided to those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines.

“We worked very hard to get the message out about how to provide immediate help to individuals in that region,” he said.

A key driver in the ongoing success of the CVC at U.Va. is that 100 percent of designations go directly to the charity an employee chooses, Fitzgerald said. “The model from just a few years ago of allowing charities to determine how donations should be invested in the community has fallen away,” he said. “U.Va. employees are very much aware of the needs in our community and how they’d like to help.”

A second driver in the campaign’s success is top-level administration’s support of the effort; for the second consecutive year, U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan declared Nov. 1 as CVC Day. Additionally, Sullivan and her office provided tickets for three events at the John Paul Jones Arena as prizes for three randomly selected CVC participants.

Support from volunteers in offices across Grounds is also “vital” to the campaign’s success, Fitzgerald said.

One of the more than 25 volunteers for the 2013 CVC was longtime participant Kristin Jones in the Office of Property and Liability Risk Management. “Participation in the CVC has been a highlight of each of my years at U.Va. and this year was no exception,” she said. “We have a very giving community at the University and it is a real joy to be able to share with other employees information about this easy way to help.”

New this year, U.Va. Community Relations is working with the state’s CVC office to provide tax receipts for gifts or pledges made through the campaign. These receipts will be provided in February to donors who contributed at least $250 and who requested to be acknowledged on their pledge card or online.  

Other employees wishing to receive receipts or employees with questions may contact U.Va. Community Relations at uvacvc@virginia.edu or 434-924-1321.