There’s no better motivation than a crisis.
Just ask organizers of this year’s 401Gives online fundraising event, which has already shattered its previous record and hit its $4 million goal six hours ahead of deadline, United Way of Rhode Island announced Wednesday morning.
Now in its sixth year, the 36-hour event aims to leverage collective and coordinated fundraising to help Rhode Island’s nonprofits. As of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, with six-and-a-half hours until the 6 p.m. end of the event, nearly 17,000 donors had contributed to one or more of the 640 participating nonprofits, according to the online fundraising dashboard. That’s a $300,000 increase over the $3.7 million collected during the 2024 401Gives event, and $1.14 million more than had been received at this time a year ago, according to United Way.
“We’ve surpassed our goal and are still raising the bar,” Cortney Nicolato, United Way’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Rhode Islanders have come out in full force to support their local nonprofits and to get behind the causes that are important to them. We go into every 401Gives with extreme optimism, and right now we’re seeing a level of giving that’s simply incredible. I can’t wait to see where we finish later today.”
The record-breaking amount of fundraising and participation — from donors and nonprofit beneficiaries — comes as nonprofits nationwide continue to scramble to keep services running and employees paid amid federal funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration.
Michael Cerio, a United Way spokesperson, attributed the record-level generosity of Rhode Islanders directly to the uncertainty that federal policies have created for nonprofits.
Over 90 participating nonprofits have raised at least $10,000 apiece since the fundraiser began Monday morning. The 640 beneficiaries include 129 first-time participants, according to United Way. Rhode Island Current is among the returning nonprofits raising money through the 2025 event.
Foster Forward, which has led fundraising among nonprofit recipients for several years, continues to lead the charts in donations received, with nearly $335,000 from 350 donors as of midday. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Newport and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island rounded out the top three, with $150,800 and $103,00 raised, respectively. The Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education led in the number of donations, with 474 donors just before noon Wednesday.
The 36-hour event continues through 6 p.m. Wednesday. To donate, and for more information, visit www.401gives.org.
This brief was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
