It’s raised $8.5 million for local charities since 2011. GoodGiving Challenge is back.

More than 100 nonprofits need your help and will be seeking donations in the GoodGiving Challenge, which kicked off Tuesday morning.

Since its inception in 2011, the GoodGiving Challenge has raised more than $8.5 million for nonprofits in Lexington and surrounding counties. In 2017, approximately 4,500 donations resulted in $1.34 million toward nonprofits, with the previous year bringing $1.6 million.

The GoodGiving Challenge is a collaboration between the Blue Grass Community Foundation and Smiley Pete Publishing. Its purpose is to connect Kentuckians to causes they care about and give them an easy, fun way to donate prior to the winter holidays.

“The communities we love rely on a nonprofit infrastructure and by giving right here during The GoodGiving Challenge, you know you are doing something to make our communities the best place to live, work and play,” according to the Challenge’s website.

A twist to this year’s event will condense the usual month-long challenge to just seven days. The condensed duration of the challenge hasn’t affected the early donations, as more than $50,000 was raised in the first 20 minutes and more than $150,000 in the first two hours.

To find out more about the GoodGiving Challenge and to see a list of the groups visiting, visit www.bggives.org.

This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 1:00 PM.