Okay North Texans – you have 18 hours to raise more than $25.2 million. That means you need to raise $1.4 million each hour, or $23,000 each minute.
Seem crazy? The Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) doesn’t think so! With this goal in mind, CFT is teaming up with cities across Dallas-Fort Worth for the 6th annual North Texas Giving Day, on September 18.
An Easy Way To Give
The fundraiser got its start as a project to simply digitally catalog all the non-profits. But CFT soon realized that what began as a simple administration task, could turn into a way to connect North Texans to all the organizations that help make their communities better.
Since then, the fundraiser has raised $60 million for local non-profits, and set a lot of records along the way. Just last year, it set a national record by raising $25.2 million in 17 hours. This year the event already has a record-number of participating non-profits – 1,650 to be exact – and hopes to raise even more money.
“[North Texas Giving Day] has grown so much bigger than they ever expected,” Austin Nichols, CFT’s Digital Marketing Coordinator, said. “It has turned into this rallying-point for North Texas non-profits to try and get the community involved.”
The participating non-profits serve a wide range of communities and address several different issues, including education, civil rights, and the environment. CFT even made sure each charity spends at least 50% of its resources in the metroplex, so most of the money raised during North Texas Giving Day will go right back into the community.
Connecting Charities & Communities
Even though the fundraiser takes place online, residents can connect with local charities IRL (in real life) too at several events across Dallas-Fort Worth. According to Nichols, the events are a new feature, that came about after cities came to CFT, asking for some sort of “rallying point.”
The events also give non-profits a chance to meet with potential supports, and hopefully raise both money and awareness for their causes.
“People can go out to these community events and find non-profits that are participating and informing people about their causes,” Nichols said.
CFT will host an event at its headquarters in Dallas, featuring food trucks, non-profit performers, and hands-on volunteer activities. There’s also events in Fort Worth, Denton, Arlington, and McKinney.
How-To Get Involved
The beauty of this fundraiser is how easy it is for everyone to get involved. All you have to do is go to the North Texas Giving Day website, find the charity you want to support, and donate in just a few seconds. Not sure what charity you want to give money to? You can filter the non-profits by type, location, and size.
North Texas Giving Day begins at 6 a.m. on September 8 and lasts until midnight. To connect, visit the group’s Facebook, or Twitter page. And once you make your donation, don’t forget to share on your own social media pages, using #NTXGivingDay!
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