Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, the Kitsap Great Give brought in more than $2 million dollars in community donations for local nonprofits and charities — a record-breaking amount for the annual event at a time when more Kitsap residents are in need of help.

This year’s fundraiser, hosted on Tuesday, amassed at least $2.15 million for more than 330 Kitsap nonprofits, many of which have continued to provide essential services even as they are strained by financial headwinds and a shortage of workers.

That's substantially higher than the previous record, when $1.6 million was raised in 2017.

With many people reeling from economic and social disruption, the COVID-19 crisis was “definitely” at the forefront of people’s minds this year, said Kol Medina, president of the Kitsap Community Foundation, which hosts the fundraiser with the United Way of Kitsap County.

Medina pointed out that far more donations were given to local food banks, like the Helpline House on Bainbridge Island, Fishline in Poulsbo, the Central Kitsap Food Bank and the Bremerton Food Line. “I was particularly pleased to see how well food banks did,” he said. “The county’s four largest food banks are in the top ten in terms of donations. We haven't ever seen that before.”

The Kitsap Humane Society, which has temporarily cut half its staff because of the pandemic's impact, also did remarkably well. The nonprofit brought in more than $114,000, the top amount out of all participants.

The Kitsap Great Give, an online day of giving now in its seventh year, raises around $1.4 to $1.5 million in a typical year. Medina says this year’s jump resulted from the high-level of community need, along with many nonprofits unable to host their own fundraising events because of social distancing measures.

“This is a $600,000 or $700,000 increase over what's been the baseline,” he said.

North Kitsap’s Fishline received more than $65,000, which was three times what the nonprofit was expecting, said Robbin Rae, its development and public relations manager. “That is miracle for us. An absolute miracle,” she said. “The community has been tremendously supportive of us through this crisis and wanting to help their neighbors.”

Fishline’s food bank has seen an increasing number of people in recent weeks. Three weeks ago, staff and volunteers were preparing about 40 food boxes per day; now they averaged more than 70.

“We know it’s going to continue to go up,” Rae said.

While most of the donations will be used to keep buying food and meet people’s most immediate needs, Rae says a portion will also go toward eviction prevention and rental assistance, which will likely be in high demand for months to come.

Even when the governor’s stay-at-home order is lifted and non-essential employees go back to work, Rae says the nonprofit is expecting a “ripple effect” for more than a year as workers who were living paycheck-to-paycheck struggle to recover.

“We’re going to see a need for a long time at Fishline beyond this crisis,” Rae said. “We’re not the place that shuts their doors and turns people away. We want to make sure that we've got enough to help this community,”

And the boosted donations will go a long way to ensure Fishline can continue its work in North Kitsap, Rae said.

“We are just so tremendously grateful for everything the community is doing for us,” she said. “The timing was perfect for Kitsap to be able to support the community.”

To see a list of all nonprofits and the amount raised for each organization, visit https://kitsapgreatgive.org.

Austen Macalus is the Kitsap Sun's social services reporter — covering health care, homelessness and how programs are serving those in need. He can be reached at austen.macalus@kitsapsun.com or 360-536-6423.

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