United Way of Northeast Mississippi $50K Giveaway in last three weeks of fundraising
Jan. 12—TUPELO — With three weeks left in their annual fundraising $50K Giveaway, United Way of Northeast Mississippi is still short of the halfway point in their goal to sell 4,000 tickets and raise $400,000.
As of Tuesday, the nonprofit, which funds more than 56 agencies and 59 programs across eight Northeast Mississippi counties, has sold approximately 1,600 tickets, each for $100. The annual campaign, and the fundraiser, will wrap up on Jan. 31.
In the waning days of their annual campaign, United Way has raised more than 85% of its $2.6 million annual fundraising goal.
Robin McKinney, Director of Marketing and Communications for United Way of Northeast Mississippi, said fundraising has slowed over the past few weeks. She attributes this stall in ticket sales to the surge in the omicron variant of COVID-19. With quarantines and companies taking extra precautions, United Way's ability to do in-person campaigning has been affected, McKinney said.
"That has kind of slowed us down a little bit," McKinney said. "We're still very optimistic. We're doing everything we can to reach as many people as possible. But if there's folks out there who haven't made their donation yet and still want to be part of the campaign, they do have until Jan. 31 to make those donations."
Traditionally, most $50K Giveaway tickets are sold within the fundraiser's final week, with around 1,000 typically purchased in the last three days, McKinney said.
In addition to the $50,000, participants also have a chance to win additional prizes for buying tickets ahead of the deadline. Two prize drawings remain, including a chance to win a Cub Cadet XT1 Enduro Series lawn tractor from 4 Seasons Equipment Company this Friday.
The deadline to buy tickets to enter that drawing is by midnight on Jan. 13.
On Friday, Jan. 21, three people will win a college giveaway to either Oxford, Starkville or Hattiesburg. The winners will be selected at random, and the deadline to enter is midnight on Jan. 20.
All winners remain eligible for the $50K giveaway prize.
Tickets for the United Way $50K Giveaway can be purchased through unitedway50K.com, by calling 662-841-9133, or purchasing tickets through one of United Way's eight retail partners. Businesses include Room to Room or Jody's Flowers in Tupelo, Amory Flower Shop, the Square Gift Company in Fulton, Red Door in Pontotoc, Market 105 in Booneville, Welcome Home Candle Company in Iuka, or Magnolia Soap and Bath Company in New Albany.
More information about the giveaway can be found at https://www.unitedway50k.com/buy-tickets.html. General donations can be made at https://www.unitedwaynems.org.
