After 24 hours of donations, the Erie Community Foundation broke records for Erie Gives Day.


Over 11 million dollars was raised for over 500 area non-profits.

Scott Mitchell, the Development Director for the Erie Zoo said, "It really does highlight the importance of what we do here at the Zoo, that the dollars and the number of donors really underscores the community's desire to have a great Zoo here."


The Erie Zoo received over 150 thousand dollars from over 900 people, this came after the future of the zoo was in jeopardy if no one stepped up to help the community staple.


A lot of money the Erie Zoo received will go to day-to-day operations like maintaining different exhibits and making sure the animals are properly fed. While the zoo has plans for bigger projects, it's the day to day operations that need attention first.


As Mitchell explained, "It will be for animal care and enrichment care and veterinarian care for the animals. We have to do a lot of enrichment for animals, so you will have to see the little toys and things in the animal areas, also costs are going up dramatically, just like they are in the grocery store. The cost for the penguins, the fish, was tripling and that was unexpected."


WQLN was another non-profit that many people chose to donate their money to, this came on the heels of cuts to public media across the country. As Alyson Amendola, the Vice President of Advancement explained, "Since it was announced in July that public media would lose federal funding there has been an outpouring of love for WQLN.  But really yesterday on Erie Gives, our community really shined and really showed their generous support and kindness for public media and WQLN and we are so grateful."


Donors will be able to see their money in the community as WQLN works to provide resources to children all over the area. "One of our most visible programs is the educational outreach that we do in the community. We have a Stream Machine that visits neighborhoods all during the year providing resources to children. Teaching them math skills and literacy skills and we are so proud of our educational outreach", explained Amendola.