Photo Finish
By Sandy Morris
It was a photo finish, but the Albany Community Chest campaign surged ahead and met the campaign goal a little after 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31.
Right before Christmas, donations jumped, which allowed the organization to go over the 50 percent mark, but Chest directors were still concerned about how many contributions were still needed to meet the 2020 fundraising goal of $41,000.
Right before the end of the year, two large donations came in along with several smaller donations, bringing the grand total donated for 2020 to $47,350, surpassing the original goal by $6,350.
Albany Community Chest Board president Amy Kelly said congratulations and thanks are in order for all of Albany.
“Reaching the goal set by members of the Albany Chest board means that our town continues to move forward with positivity and expectation,” said Kelly. “With the promise of vaccines in the future, we can all look forward to resuming many of the activities that bring us closer together.”
Kelly stated that in the fall, the board tallies the full amounts requested from all the organizations and then tries to set a realistic fundraising goal based on the overall picture of each group’s needs and impact, balanced with the economy of the community.
“For the past four years, the average goal has been around $41,000,” said Kelly. “Knowing the challenges we all faced in 2020, the goal set was actually a little lower than the previous year.”
When asked if the overflow of donations would be used this year or reserved for an emergency, Kelly said board members typically try to keep a reserve of $3,000 to $5,000 for any organization needing assistance for unexpected needs or expenses during the year.
Kelly praised all of the donors who helped surpass the original goal.
“We have seen the extraordinary generosity of the people of Albany and also those beyond the city limits,” said Kelly.
Donation Details
The Albany Chest board is meeting this week to finalize the distribution of funds to the 25 organizations that applied for assistance.
Board members hope to distribute checks to the organizations in the next few days.
