April 13, 2021 - One week into early giving, East Texas Giving Day has generated close to $70,000 in donations and 350 pledged volunteer hours for participating nonprofits through the website, www.EastTexasGivingDay.org. Officially slated for Tuesday, April 27, 2021 from 6am to midnight, East Texas Giving Day is on target to be another record breaking event.
“Last year’s Giving Day was a remarkable success in an incredibly uncertain environment,” said Kyle Penney, President of East Texas Communities Foundation which hosts East Texas Giving Day. “With over 250 nonprofits participating this year, and the incredible support from our media partners, we feel the nonprofit community will benefit greatly from the attention this event generates.”
The purpose of an area-wide Giving Day is to bring the region together on one day and as one community, raising money and awareness for East Texas nonprofits. The initiative, organized by East Texas Communities Foundation (ETCF), provides citizens across ETCF’s 32-county service area an easy platform to support the mission of local nonprofits.
“East Texas Giving Day provides a safe and secure opportunity for our community to help local charities regain financial support that has been lost during the pandemic,” said Penney. “Many of the normal fundraising activities over the past year have been cancelled or postponed leaving a huge funding gap in annual budgets. Giving Day is a virtual event and could go a long way in helping nonprofits continue to provide their services”
A pillar of ETCF’s mission is to provide simple ways for donors to achieve their charitable goals. By providing an 18-hour online fundraising event, ETCF provides the public an opportunity to donate both financially and pledge volunteer hours to a variety of nonprofits through one convenient online platform.
“One of the most attractive components of Giving Day is its convenience,” said Penney. “Donors can access the donation portal from any Wi-Fi-enabled device, including their smart phones.” Data collected in 2020 showed that more than half of all donations on the giving day platform were made on mobile devices.
New for 2021, is a feature that allows donors the option of creating fundraising pages that benefit their favorite nonprofits. “Peer FUNdraising provides the public an opportunity to be an active participant in the Giving Day experience,” said Penney. “If you feel passionately about a local charity, than this is your chance to get involved. You can create a FUNdraiser, set goals and share that with your friends and family either by social media, text or email.”
The deadline to create a Peer FUNdraising page is April 26, 2021. To create a peer FUNdraising page, donors can select any participating nonprofit at www.EastTexasGivingDay.org, create a donor profile and complete a few simple questions. “Peer FUNdraisers have proven in other giving events to really elevate awareness and help nonprofits reach their overall campaign goals,” said Penney.
Donors can double their donation by contributing to nonprofits that have secured their own matching funds. 77 participating nonprofits have secured a match for this year’s event. “Matching funds are a way for donors to make their dollars go further,” said Penney. “Currently there is over $600,000 in matching funds available on the Giving Day site.”
At check out, donors can also make an additional donation to the Community Cares Fund. Donations made to the Community Cares Fund will be divided equally amongst nonprofits that raise funds on the Giving Day site. “The Community Cares Fund works as a bonus fund for the nonprofits,” said Penney. “Last year, donations to the fund reimbursed nonprofits about half of their initial registration fee.”
The minimum donation that can be made at www.EastTexasGivingDay.org is $10. Ongoing updates about the event will be posted on ETCF’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SimplifiedGiving and the foundation’s website www.etcf.org.
About ETCF.org
East Texas East Texas Communities Foundation is a nonprofit corporation serving 32 counties in East Texas. The Foundation distributed $9.2 million in grants in 2020 and currently manages over $124 million in over 400 unique charitable funds which support non-profit organizations and student scholarships. The Foundatio¬¬n, which was formed in 1989, has awarded over $108 million in grants and scholarships since its inception. Philanthropy builds community and changes lives. East Texas Communities Foundation supports philanthropy by offering simple ways for donors to achieve their charitable goals.
The following are non-profits listed which serve Shelby County.
- Alcohol & Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas (https://www.easttexasgivingday.org/ADAC)
- Family Crisis Center of East Texas (https://www.easttexasgivingday.org/fccet)
- Azleway, Inc. (https://www.easttexasgivingday.org/azleway)
- East Texas Food Bank (https://www.easttexasgivingday.org/etfoodbank)
- The Hospice of East Texas (https://www.easttexasgivingday.org/hospiceofeasttexas)
