Happy Second Anniversary to You!
We're celebrating our second anniversary this month and it's ALL ABOUT YOU! In just two short years, you've helped us build an online community of thousands focused on making Alexandria an even better place to call home. Thanks to your collective actions and the support of our partners, the ACTion Alexandria community has helped broker $539,924 in community investment since our launch in February, 2011. There are now 3,212 of you and we couldn't have done it without every last one of you.
Thank you for being the most important part of ACTion Alexandria!
Highlights
- During the second year of our annual online fundraising event Spring2ACTion, we helped 72 nonprofits raise more than$320,000 in 24 hours. This year’s event on April 17 will be even bigger and better.
- ACTion Alexandria crowdsourced $15,000 in playground “spruce up grants.” Residents nominated their local playgrounds and voted to help select the winners of the Project Play Spruce Up Grants in partnership with the Childhood Obesity Action Network and Smart Beginnings.
- ACTion Alexandria helped secure a $75,000 KaBOOM! playground grant for ARHA’s Hopkins-Tancil Court neighborhood. Two hundred volunteers and The Washington Capitals built a brand new playground on September 13, 2012.
- ACTion Alexandria teamed up with the City of Alexandria on the “What’s Next Alexandria” civic engagement initiative in which residents are drafting new principles of engagement for planning projects in Alexandria.
- ACTion Alexandria gave away $2,500 in grants and prizes to three youth focused projects in the “Green Ideas Challenge” sponsored by the Dominion Foundation.
ACTion by the Numbers
- 3,212 community members = 2.29% participation rate by total population
- 3,920 items donated by residents for Alexandria nonprofits (medicine, books, food, diapers, etc.)
- 495 actions taken on the site by Alexandria citizens to support local nonprofits
- 229 ideas submitted by residents in idea challenges
- 6393 votes cast during community idea challenges
ACTion Alexandria was launched by ACT for Alexandria, Alexandria’s community foundation, and its partner, the City of Alexandria, provides visitors with opportunities for local action on behalf of nonprofit organizations working to improve the community. ACTion Alexandria also received funding from the Knight Foundation, the Bruhn-Morris Family Foundation and the RunningBrooke Fund of ACT for Alexandria.
