After raising over $62 million during the 14th annual North Texas Giving Day, Communities Foundation of Texas has now surpassed half a billion dollars in charitable funding.
Giving Day, presented by Amazon this year, consistently ranks as the biggest one-day online fundraiser in the United States. Last month, over 94,000 donors helped support more than 3,200 nonprofits.
Despite economic challenges, donors “continue to be incredibly generous,” said Monica Christopher, senior vice president at Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT), the event’s coordinator.
According to CFT’s website, they are one of the “largest community foundations in the nation,” helping manage hundreds of charitable funds. In its nearly seven-decade history, CFT has awarded over $2 billion in grants.
While these sums may seem high, Christopher said that charities are finding it challenging to attract attention to the community’s needs. Where the media once highlighted long lines at food banks during the pandemic, the focus has shifted elsewhere, but the lines remain, he explained.
“It’s like the trends in disaster giving … People give immediately because they want to do something to help out. Several nonprofits have said they are concerned that people are not as cognizant of ongoing needs, and that giving will drop off because of economic headwinds,” according to Christopher.
Despite the group’s success this year, the total fell 6% short of 2021’s $66 million.
Fortunately, every dollar generated during the campaign is directly allocated to the registered charities, with minimal additional expenses.
According to CFT’s director of community engagement for NTX Giving Day, Chris McSwain, “This is such an efficient way to raise money … The overhead of fundraising events can be really high, so the fact that Giving Day fees are covered makes it an easy, accessible way to raise dollars.”
The North Texas Food Bank topped the list of groups benefiting from this year’s event. The organization received over $1.5 million in donations from over 4,000 donors. According to the Food Bank’s president and CEO, Trisha Cunningham, the one-day haul will buy 4.5 million meals for food-insecure residents of North Texas.
“Facing a 40-year-high inflation rate, our neighbors in every ZIP code are facing increasingly difficult choices every day — deciding whether to purchase groceries or pay for other necessities such as gas, medicine or utilities” is “a decision no one should have to make. Thanks to [our donors’] big-heartedness, we can provide food for today and hope for tomorrow to neighbors struggling to make ends meet,” said Cunningham.
NTX Giving Day also saw numerous nonprofits receiving matching grants. For example, Soul Harbor, a recovery center helping men fight addiction, raised nearly $11,000 during the event. As a result, a long-time supporter closely matched the day’s total with a $10,000 donation.
According to Soul Harbor’s executive director Brent Burmaster, the organization has participated in NTX Giving Day almost since its inception. “It really helps us out with the rising cost of food and fuel and general expenses. It’s a blessing, and we’re fortunate to participate in it,” said Burmaster.
