Bill Bishop, campaign chairman of the United Way of Colquitt County, center, presents the Top Giver Award to Keisly Pope, left, and Donna Suber, right, who led the campaign at Sanderson Farms. Sanderson Farms employees pledged $83,890, and the company matched it for a total of $167,781.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — When the United Way of Colquitt County kicked off its annual fund-raising campaign in August, it set a goal of $555,000. That’s the same as last year’s goal, which was the largest in the organization’s history.

Last year, the United Way fell a little bit short as of the end of the campaign in December, but a donation from Publix later put it over the top with total donations and pledges of about $575,000.

“We beat that by a lot this year,” campaign chairman Bill Bishop told volunteers at the United Way’s luncheon Friday — then he made them wait until the end of the program to learn by how much.

As of Friday, pledges and donations added up to $692,906 — almost $140,000 more than the goal. Pledges are still expected from Destiny Industries and Publix, Bishop said, which are expected to bring the total to more than $730,000.

The United Way’s purpose is to raise money for charitable groups. The Colquitt County branch serves about 20 agencies, from the Boy Scouts and Boys and Girls Club to the Colquitt County Arts Center and Crossroads Mission. Its annual goal is made up of the funding requests from all of those agencies, plus some that’s set aside for emergency relief.

The abundance of donations this year will let the United Way of Colquitt County resume Community Impact Grants that couldn’t be funded in the current year, Bishop said.

Awards presented at the luncheon included:

• Top Giver Award went to Sanderson Farms, where employees pledged $83,890 and the company matched that dollar-for-dollar for a total pledge of $167,781. Not only was Sanderson the largest donor, it increased its participation by 147%.

• Chairman’s Awards went to the second and third largest campaigns, which were Colquitt Regional Medical Center and the Colquitt County School System, respectively. Colquitt Regional employees pledged $53,000 and the hospital added a gift of $75,000 for a total of $128,000. The schools competed with one another to raise a total of $109,000, which is up 21% from last year.

• Fair Share Award went to Southwest Georgia Bank, where employees pledged $19,788 and the bank matched for a total of $39,576.

• Gold Awards went to groups with pledges averaging $75 or more per employee, including any corporate matches or gifts: Colquitt County Board of Education, Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority, Ameris Bank, McLean Engineering, Green Oaks Center, Bud K Worldwide, Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Colquitt Food Bank, Commercial Banking Co., Colquitt County Arts Center and Boys and Girls Club of Moultrie/Colquitt County.

• Silver Awards went to groups with pledges averaging $50-$74.99 per employee: Sanderson Farms, Moultrie Housing Authority, National Beef, Colquitt County government and Southwest Georgia Community Action Council.

• Bronze Awards went to groups with pledges averaging $25-$49.99 per employee: Colquitt EMC, South Georgia Banking Co., City of Moultrie, Moultrie YMCA, Turning Point, Windstream and Serenity House.

• Leadership Donors recognized individuals who gave $15,000 or more to the campaign: Jerry Vereen, Dan Jeter and Jimmy Jeter.

• Over-The-Top Awards recognized United Way board members whose fund-raising areas raised 10% or more above last year: Tori Fuller of the Real Estate Division, Judd Lasseter of the Agribusiness Division, Mary Braggs and Barbara Jelks of the Northwest Division and Anne Swartzentruber of the Medical Division.

• Most Improved Campaign Award: National Beef increased its United Way campaign by 65% from about $12,000 to $20,029.