Chattanooga Times Free Press readers donated more than $50,000 over the 2024 holiday season to the Ochs Community Fund in the annual giving campaign. The fund exists to provide community members with one-time assistance to help them bounce back from hard times.
The total in 2023 was significantly lower than past years, dropping nearly 60% from the peak in donations in 2020. Contributions in 2024, totaling $50,192.67, increased about 25% over the 2023 total, which came in at $37,496.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga Times Free Press readers’ giving strengthens community)
“The increase in donations means that we’re going to be able to help more people,” United Way of Greater Chattanooga Vice President of Community and Corporate Engagement Terran Anderson said in a phone call. “It means that there will be more opportunities for us to either help with rent assistance or when someone has an immediate need or calls us, and we need to be able to access those emergency funds.”
The fund, administered by United Way of Greater Chattanooga, was brought to Chattanooga by Adolph Ochs, then publisher of The Daily Times in Chattanooga, in 1914. It was originally dubbed the Neediest Cases Fund but was renamed last year. The Times Free Press publishes the stories of grant recipients throughout the holiday campaign, demonstrating the tangible impact donations have on the lives of people in the community.