Orange County opened their hearts to help Veterans Legal Institute, raising a record-breaking $91,068 in only 24 hours

Veterans Legal Institute and 10 fellow nonprofits partnered with the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) to host Stand and Salute, a Giving Day to honor OC veterans and military families, on June 14. The 24-hour online effort raised $91,068 with the participation of more than 280 donors for local organizations providing resources and support to local veterans and military families.

The 11 participating organizations included 211 Orange County, Bob Hope USO, Easter Seals, Honoring Our Fallen, Lestonnac Free Clinic, Patriots and Paws, Strength in Support, Strong Families Strong Children, Support the Enlisted Project (STEP), Veterans Legal Institute and Zero8hundred.

“Thank you to all the incredibly generous donors across California that lifted our military community on this special giving day,” said Antoinette Balta, President and Co-Founder of Veterans Legal Institute. “Your kind gifts will continue to remove barriers in housing, education, employment, and healthcare for more veterans and their loved ones in the months ahead. We are grateful to all for being a source of strength for our military families, our fellow nonprofits, and our team at Veterans Legal Institute.”

The Orange County Community Foundation powered the Stand and Salute campaign by providing seed funding to support the marketing assets, campaign resources and collaborative partnerships. Stand and Salute is part of a series of collaborative Giving Days that will take place in Orange County as part of a bold initiative from OCCF to boost the capacity of local nonprofits to meet our community’s needs.

“The success of the Stand and Salute campaign is a testament to our community’s generosity and the vision of our local nonprofit leaders, who came together based on a shared mission to serve our OC veterans and military families,” said Shelley Hoss, president, OCCF. “We are proud to support exemplary local nonprofits tackling the most important issues facing our county.”

OCCF first challenged Orange County residents to “give where their heart lives” during the inaugural i©oc Giving Day in 2015, raising more than $1.8 million through 6,000 gifts to 347 participating nonprofits in just 30 hours. OCCF nearly doubled those results in 2016 during the second annual i©oc Giving Day, receiving 7,000 contributions totaling $3.2 million for 418 participating nonprofits. In 2017, OCCF re-envisioned i©oc as an expanded opportunity for nonprofits to connect with one another in support of their shared missions. This year, OCCF is inviting local nonprofits to come together for collaborative online giving events on the day of their choosing.

Additional collaborative Giving Days will be announced over the coming year. For more information, please visit oc-cf.org/change-your-community-overview/iheartoc-giving-day.

About Veterans Legal Institute:

About Orange County Community Foundation  

Founded in 1989, the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) works with donors, strengthens the local nonprofit sector and works to find solutions to community needs. Since its inception, OCCF has awarded $510 million in grants and scholarships and ranks among the top 10 percent in asset size among more than 780 U.S. community foundations. For more information, visit oc-cf.org or call 949-553-4202. Be a part of our conversation on Facebook  Twitter and Instagram.  View OCCF’s 2017 annual report here.  

This article was released by the Veterans Legal Institute.