Nearly three dozen local organizations will participate in the Richmond Community Foundation’s region-wide "Amazing Raise," a 36-hour online giving opportunity to be held from 6 a.m. Sept. 18 through 6 p.m. Sept. 19.

Amanda Taylor of the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center said the program, which began three years ago, was designed to give people who can’t afford to donate large amounts a chance to make a real difference for a favorite local organization. The effort seeks to promote charitable giving across a wider swath of society than just those who can afford to give thousands of dollars at a time.

Therefore, not only do organizations receive the funds that are donated in their names, but they also compete for prizes that are given throughout the day to organizations that have the most people supporting them. It’s not necessarily about the organizations that raise the most money, said Taylor, but about the organizations that have the most people don...