Chicago Nonprofit Tops Art Van Charity Challenge

May 1, 2017  by Larry Thomas in Industry, Special Events   

The group raised $213,547 during the three-week contest, and received an additional $100,000 prize from Art Van Furniture for raising the most money. 

Second place went to the Boys & Girls Clubs or Porter County, a Valparaiso, Ind., group that raised $208,225 and received an additional $50,000 from Art Van.

Receiving $10,000 prizes for third, fourth and fifth places were: BSA Restoring the Village of Chicago, who raised $195,730; The Rainbow Connection of Rochester, Mich., who raised $194,960: and Wings Program Inc. of Chicago, who raised $48,156.

"It is inspiring to see communities come together in support of their local charities, helping them to continue their great work in aiding those who need it most," said Kim Yost, CEO of Art Van Furniture. "All of these deserving nonprofits should be proud of their accomplishments for their hard work in driving awareness for their organizations, and, as always, we extend a huge thank you to those who generously donated throughout our friendly competition."

A total of 131 charities in the Midwest raised more than $1.1 million during the three-week event.

Since the Art Van Charity Challenge launched in 2009, Art Van Furniture has donated more than $8 million and raised more than $25 million for more than 465 charities.