SALISBURY — With the finish line in sight, the Rowan County United Way is making a final push to reach its campaign fundraising goal of $1.5 million.

The campaign recently received two major contributions, including a $50,000 donation from one benefactor and an additional $5,000 contribution from F&M Bank, which had already met its internal fundraising goal since the campaign began in September.

“For as long as I can remember, the United Way Campaign has been the barometer of our community’s economic health,” Steve Fisher, the bank’s president and CEO, said. “The success of this campaign is vital to the quality of life and wellbeing of the citizens of Rowan.”

Thanks to a recent pledge made by an anonymous donor to match every additional or new donation by 50 cents on every dollar, F&M Bank’s extra $5,000 gift will actually turn into $7,500.

With the recent donations, the United Way has currently raised $1.22 million, putting it 84.2% of the way to its target.

The match from the anonymous donor has encouraged extra giving, said Rowan United Way Executive Director Jenny Lee.

“You know that your investment becomes more than what you’ve given so it really generates that additional giving,” Lee said. “I think we’ll see more of it come in on any new or increased dollars.

The United Way has also extended its formal campaigning period by an additional week. The campaign, which was slated to end on Friday, will now conclude on Friday, Nov. 20. Over the next week, Lee said, the campaign team will use creative methods to draw in more donations.

“We have a couple things that we’re doing,” Lee said. “We’re pushing the match from the anonymous donor, we’re going back to companies to see if there is any available money and we’re going to unveil a GoFundMe that we’ll put on social media to see if we can get any smaller donations, whether it’s $5, $10 or $20 that we can get to all add up to where we need to me.”

Lee said that United Way is “determined” to meet their $1.5 million goal. If the goal is not met by the 20th, Lee said that the organization will “keep pushing” but that she doesn’t want the campaign to extend very far into the Christmas season.

In lieu of a traditional banquet-style celebration to commemorate the conclusion of the campaign, the United Way will host a ceremony similar to the kickoff event that it held at the Rowan County Fairgrounds in September. Once again, attendees will park their cars and will be able to watch and listen through the radio as the tally is unveiled. The ceremony will start at noon.

More information about Rowan United Way and its fundraising campaign can be found at rowanunitedway.org.