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Local Nonprofits Get Big Donations during "ROC the Day" 24-Hour Campaign

Rochester nonprofits took in a substantial amount of charitable donations Tuesday, on the globally celebrated day of giving back. 

"ROC the Day" is the community's 24-hour online fundraising campaign took place on Giving Tuesday.

The United Way of Greater Rochester coordinates the yearly event; this year, 520 nonprofit organizations are participating.

“They’re Tweeting and Facebooking, sending emails and really getting some excitement going in Rochester,” said Michelle Kraft of United Way.

Kraft said the work begins in October, when organizations log on to ROCtheday.org, register, and set up their individual profiles. She said organizers made some fun tweaks and added a competitive twist to “ROC the Day” 2016.

“This year our ‘ROCstar’ donors can print off a sheet of paper that says ‘This is Why I ROC’ and they can tag the organization they’re donating to, and be entered to win them an extra $500 bonus,” Kraft said.

Last year, the event raised more than $875,000. This year, it raised nearly $748,000 coming from almost 8,000 donations.

“It means thousands of local people getting meals, it means pets having food and the shelter that they need, and churches and fire departments are able to raise year-end donations that are critical to their operations.”

Giving Tuesday refers to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States and was especially created to help organizations during the holiday season.

Sasha-Ann Simons joined the team at WXXI News in 2015 as a Multimedia Reporter/Producer. She tells stories about the innovation economy and technology in upstate New York and also does general assignment reporting. Sasha-Ann is the host of Arts InFocus, WXXI-TV's weekly arts and culture program. She is also a fill-in host and regular contributor to Need To Know.