Butler County’s notable history of giving, volunteerism and compassion means every day here is a day of caring and a day of giving. But the special Day of Giving observed in early May over the past several years is a good way to raise both money and awareness.

Begun as a spin-off of Pittsburgh’s Day of Giving where online donations made on one special day are partially matched by the Pittsburgh Foundation, Butler County’s Day of Giving is independent, but similar.

This year’s Day of Giving on Tuesday raised more than $96,000 for local charities, without matching funds included. That total is $20,000 higher than last year’s Day of Giving. Next year should be expected to cruise well past $100,000.

In Butler County, the matching funds come from the Endowment for Butler County, which operates under the umbrella of the Pittsburgh Foundation. The Endowment for Butler County was created in 1988. It benefits Butler County, and its association with the Pittsburgh Foundation is for investment, bookkeeping and regulatory services, not direction of donations.

A special, added match pool from XTO Energy, NexTier Bank, Snyder Group of Companies and IQC was added to the endowment’s funds for this year’s event.

On Tuesday, 470 online donations were made to the 38 charitable organizations in the county that participated in the event.

The matching feature of Day of Giving will leverage the $96,000 raised directly with about $25,000 of additional funds, based on this year’s special funders and additional funds from the endowment. The exact match number is expected to be released by the end of the week.

Like any endowment, the Endowment for Butler County is a pool of investments set up to grow over time, producing annual grants through stock price appreciation and interest income. The principal investment remains and grows, producing annual donations forever.

The donations tied to the Day of Giving will help the local nonprofit organizations with their regular operations or some special projects. The Endowment for Butler County will also continue providing grants for capital projects of charitable groups in the county.

The special gifts from XTO, Snyder and others that increased the money available for this year’s Day of Giving should be a reminder to others to support the endowment in its long-term focus.

Much of the original seed money used to start the Endowment for Butler County came from Ben Phillips of the Butler-based T.W. Phillips Gas and Oil Co., as well as from some other community leaders.

The recent development of Marcellus Shale natural gas deposits has brought substantial financial returns to some landowners in the county.

Given the ties to the gas and oil industry, it would fitting for those who have benefited from the current natural gas boom to join others in following Ben Phillips’ lead by making donations to the Endowment for Butler County as a way to leave a lasting gift — a legacy of generosity — that will outlive the giver.