April 29, 2024 - East Texas Giving Day, officially slated for Tuesday, April 30, 2024 from 6am to midnight, takes place online at www.EastTexasGivingDay.org. This year’s event features seven nonprofits from Shelby, Nacogdoches and Panola County, Texas.
“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 360 regional 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.
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.” Datacollected in 2023 showed that more than half of all donations on the giving day platform were made on mobile devices.
One of the Shelby County nonprofits participating in East Texas Giving Day is the Happy Tails Adoption Shelter of Shelby County.Happy Tails Adoption Shelter of Shelby County (HTAC) transforms the lives of cats and dogs by providing humane education, affordable spay and neuter services, and by finding loving homes.
“Our community is very giving,” said Michael Elswick, with HTAC. “Giving Day is an opportunity for us to raise general funding while at the same time, raise awareness about animal welfare programs in the City of Center, Texas and Shelby County, Texas. Through the generous support of the community, we will be able to provide pet owners assistance with the spay or neutering of their pet. We will also provide dog and cat food to families struggling to make ends meet thanks to our partnership with local food pantries.”
Donors have the option of joining in on the fun of giving day by creating celebration pages that benefit their favorite nonprofits. “Celebration Pages provide the public an opportunity to be an activeparticipant in the Giving Day experience,” said Penney. “If you feel passionately about a local charity, then this is your chance to get involved. You can create a Celebration Page, set a fundraising goaland share that with your friends and family either by social media, text or email.”
Donors can double their donation by contributing to nonprofits that have secured their own matching funds. Multiple 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 $1 million 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 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.
Shelby, Nacogdoches and Panola County charities participating in the April 30th event include:
- Happy Tails Adoption Center (HTAC) Animal Shelter of Shelby County
- Shelby County Outreach Ministries, Inc.
- Community RX Help
- Solid Foundation Association
- The Helping House
- The Village Nac
- Excellent Teen Choice
