The Brackets For Good 2017 Champions post-game press conference: get the scoop on all the game-winning plays.
USA (National)
- Champion: Allied Arts
- Raised: $440,004.83
- Mission: Enriching Our Communities Through Advancement of the Arts.
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “We had brand new donors, and that’s always great. We also had loyal donors, and we had corporate partners that gave more because there was this opportunity to double their dollars. Having that $100,000 prize out there as an opportunity really helped our corporate donors say, ‘let’s get in on this!’.”
Ann Arbor
- Champion: Community Action Network
- Raised: $42,706.44
- Mission: Community Action Network partners with children, youth and families from under-resourced Washtenaw County neighborhoods to create better futures for themselves and to improve the communities in which they live.
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good gave us a way to reconnect with old donors and a way to connect with new donors to raise a lot of money for our organization when we desperately needed it.”
Baltimore
- Champion: I AM O’KAH!
Mission: The mission of I AM O’KAH! is to empower all youth to unlock their greatest potential: through mentorship, scholarships and programs that help them navigate through socio-economic barriers to success. - Raised: $30,477.03
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good increased our outreach to first-time donors and allowed us to spread awareness about the organization to people who didn’t previously know about us.”
Cincinnati
- Champion: NS Cares
Mission: The vision of NS Cares is to ignite progress and growth throughout the insurance industry through acts of kinds in our communities. - Raised: $37,402.93
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good not only brings in new donors and connects you to your current donor base but also connects you with other organizations you might not be aware of, and you might have future opportunities for partnership.”
Denver
- Champion: Promise Ranch Therapeutic Riding
Mission: Promise Ranch encourages individuals of all abilities, including Veterans, to reach their full potential by providing safe, supportive, and quality Green Care opportunities in our community. - Raised: $52,718.00
- Game Winning Play: “The tournament created an intense amount of excitement within our community, with our clients, our volunteers, and also new donors. That was really amazing and thrilling for us.”
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “This competition really gave us a chance to come together as a staff, with our board, and with our volunteers and clients, and build something from the inside out.”
Hartford
- Champion: CMHA (Community Mental Health Affiliates)
- Mission: CMHA is a leading provider of an integrated health and behavioral health care system for children, families and adults. By fostering improvement in the quality of life for their clients, CMHA contributes to the well-being of the communities it serves.
- Raised: $53,883.78
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good was a huge team-building concept for our organization. It brought our organization together; it engaged our employees; it made us feel like a team working together for a common goal.”
Indianapolis
- Champion: Brooke’s Place for Grieving Young People
Mission: To serve people living with childhood grief through bereavement programs, advocacy, community education and outreach. Our vision is to ensure that no person living with childhood grief feels alone. - Raised: $91,460.74
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good created tremendous awareness about our organization and actually helped families find us who need our services.”
Louisville
- Champion: Neighborhood House
Mission: Our mission is to provide individuals with opportunities to enhance the quality of their lives. Our vision is to break the cycle of poverty for our children and families. - Raised: $71,148.83
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets for Good is a tremendous way to raise awareness for your nonprofit and to really capture the energy going on around March Madness already. If you can harness that power for good and turn it into dollars, that’s wonderful.”
Miami
- Champion: Holocaust Documentation & Education Center
- Mission: To document and present an enduring, historically accurate record of the Holocaust through eyewitness accounts by Survivors, Liberators, Rescuers, and others who survived terrifying experiences, overcame fear and grief, and triumphed to live meaningful and productive. To teach people from all walks of life the universal lessons of the Holocaust, through thought-provoking exhibitions and insightful programming, illuminating the catastrophic ramifications of prejudice, racism, stereotyping, and bullying which tragically still occur today. This is accomplished through the cultivation of alliance and cooperation with individuals, organizations and institutions, locally, nationally, and internationally.
- Raised: $32,414.25
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good really spreads awareness. It also boosts morale, donors become excited, friends want to get engaged, and everyone has lots of fun!”
Nashville
- Champion: Cottage Cove Urban Ministries
- Mission: To provide educational opportunities and training in the arts through the power and in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Raised: $40,049.70
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “The biggest thing for us was that it was a way to get more people involved early in the year when normally fundraising just doesn’t happen.”
St. Louis
- Champion: Camp Jump Start
- Mission: Camp Jump Start is a whole health summer camp dedicated to jump start kid success.
- Raised: $106,088.43
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good gave us a great opportunity to engage all of our staff, donors, and volunteers in order to be a team. Everyone wanted us to win, round after round after round and it got everyone very engaged!”
Twin Cities
- Champion: Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest
Mission: We, in partnership with our community, provide a comfortable and caring home-away-from-home that supports keeping families together and reduces stress during a child’s serious illness. - Raised: $64,190.07
- Game Winning Play: “The social media presence has been priceless.”
- How they lit up the scoreboard: “Brackets For Good is one of the best ways we’ve had to engage new donors or lapsed donors. The competitive spirit energizes not only our staff, but our donors as well as the philanthropic community.”