Old Bills Fun Run capped off a successful giving season, raking in $26.1 million for 239 local non-profits this year. That’s up from last year’s $23.4 million.
Of this year’s grand total, $6.6 million was raised through the matchpool, supported by anonymous donors and 112 co-challengers.
“If you’re doing fast math, that is a record breaking 75% match this year,” Community Foundation President Laurie Andrews said to a packed auditorium Wednesday evening at the Center for the Arts.
For the last 29 years, the Community Foundation has delivered checks to participating non-profits, typically in October.
The monthlong drive first got its start with the support of an anonymous set of donors, referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Old Bill, who this year gave $1 million to spur other giving.
The matchpool supports the non-profits that raised the required $30,000 in direct donations to unlock extra funds. The previous record was set in 2020 at 69%.
In an interview after the announcement, Andrews said she was pleased by this year’s generosity, despite an uncertain economic backdrop.
A gridlocked federal budget, tariff ping-pong and trade tensions have prompted questions about financial stability yet haven’t stopped the stock market from hitting record highs.
“For Old Bills to show up in such a meaningful way and to give that real, secure funding and stable funding is why I thought it was one of the most important years ever,” Andrews told KHOL.
During Wednesday’s reception, Andrews revealed another milestone recently reached: the nearly 30-year-old event has now raised over $300 million since it began.
On a state level, charitable donations were also up this year, according to the Wyoming Nonprofit Network which raised $5.7 million during this year’s WyoGives drive, up about a million from last year. As a community non-profit, KHOL is a recipient of Old Bill’s and WyoGives.
