Columbus City Council Awards Besa $100,000 To Activate Community Volunteers

Columbus City Council awards Besa $100,000 to activate community volunteers

Columbus,Ohio—Columbus City Council has voted to award Besa $100,000 to help facilitate 1,700 service projects supporting 185 nonprofits in 2025, ultimately benefiting thousands of people across the community.

Besa addresses critical community needs by connecting people and businesses to service opportunities. It will use its funding from Council to be a mobilizer and multiplier—an organization that mobilizes thousands of people to give back and multiplies investments with an impactful ripple effect that inspires people to serve and turns them into champions for change.

“This partnership is about more than funding—it’s about a shared belief in the power of people coming together to serve,” said Besa CEO Matthew Goldstein. “The City’s continued investment reflects an understanding that when we strengthen the bonds between neighbors, we strengthen the fabric of our entire community.”

Besa is now mobilizing volunteers to give back to the community at an average of five events and almost 100 hours every day, 365 days a year.

“In a moment when critical support systems are under threat nationwide, Besa stands as a beacon of what’s possible when neighbors come together,” said Columbus City Council Member Melissa Green. “Columbus City Council is proud to support Besa’s work, which transforms every day acts of service into lasting impact to help build a more resilient, compassionate city where no one is left behind.”

Besa mobilizes volunteers to give in many ways, from planting trees in urban areas to performing wellness checks on seniors in need during extreme weather.

Since launching in 2012, Besa has made significant community impact:

• 98,000+: Volunteers mobilized
• 15,000+: Service projects completed
• 235,000+: Volunteer hours given
• 200+: Partner nonprofits supported
• $110M+: Community impact facilitated and made

ABOUT BESA
Besa is a Columbus-based nonprofit dedicated to powering a wave of civic engagement by connecting people and businesses to community service. Besa makes giving back easy by curating more than 60 volunteer experiences every month that Columbus residents can easily find and register for at www.besa.org. It also helps business partners manage and strengthen their philanthropic efforts through strategic planning, curated volunteer experiences, volunteer management and philanthropy software.

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Contact: Kristy Eckert | Kristy Eckert Communications | 614.746.2787 | kristy@kristyeckert.com