The Seattle Foundation has announced that it raised $16.3 million during its one-day GiveBIG campaign on May 5, a more than 12 percent increase over last year's total.

Based on preliminary results, the 24-hour giving event generated $14.3 million in online contributions, $850,000 in challenge grants, and $1.1 million in "stretch dollars," which are provided by the Seattle Foundation, corporate sponsors, and local philanthropists to augment online gifts. More than seventeen hundred Seattle-area nonprofits and charities participated in the event, which attracted donations from all fifty states and forty-six foreign countries.

This year's event celebrated community champions working to improve education, health care, the arts, as well as those who work to bring hope to neighbors in need. The organizations receiving the highest gift totals were Northwest Harvest, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest & Hawaii, the Seattle Public Library Foundation, Hopelink, and KCTS Television.

"GiveBIG certainly lived up to its name yesterday," said Seattle Foundation president and CEO Tony Mestres. "The breadth of the community's generosity and enthusiasm is truly inspiring, from the $1 in change donated by a formerly homeless client of Mary's Place to the multiple $25,000 donations from area philanthropists; people gave from their hearts. The collective impact of the day is huge for so many great nonprofits working to make this a stronger, more vibrant community for all."