(Seguin) — Get ready to give! Today marks the Big Give 2020. The online day for giving is in support of all the non-profit organizations who even throughout this pandemic have worked 24/7 to still provide services to all of our families.
Leading the effort for the San Antonio region is Scott McAninch, the CEO of The Non-Profit Council. McAninch says the day of giving, which began at midnight, will continue today until 11:59 p.m. He says over the last six years, over $25 million has been given to area non-profits including many of those here in Guadalupe County.
McAninch says only those IRS-approved and compliant 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations located within SA’s 15 county service area can participate in today’s Big Give.
“And, what it is it’s just a day to celebrate non-profits and show awareness of all the work that they do and we have over 500 of them on the BigGiveSA.org website to choose from and search and look for and it’s also a fundraiser,” said McAninch.
McAninch says 2020, no doubt, has been tough on many of the non-profits that operate in the community. He says if there was ever a time to give, it would be now.
“Now, more than ever, this year is so much of a greater need for the non-profits. We originally had our day scheduled in March and had to postpone it due to the closures in the community and all non-profit fundraising events in person were cancelled at that time so we have surveyed our local non-profits of just over 200 members of the Council and they have told us that many of them have reported between 20 and 40 percent losses in individual giving so far this year and that is all tied to those in person fundraisers that were cancelled. So, this is an opportunity for those donors who have not given or maybe want to continue to support non-profits to come to the website virtually and give any amount of donation they can to their favorite non-profit and that’s as little as $10 on up can be given out and those funds go directly through our site to the non-profit of their choice and lands in their bank account within seven days and those funds are critical because they are able to use those immediately for whatever needs are most pressing at the time. They are unrestrictive dollars and those are really really critical for non-profits,” said McAninch.
Joining Guadalupe in the list of counties are Bexar, Comal, Wilson, Karnes, Medina, Kendall, Kerr, Uvalde, Real, Atascosa, Gonzales, Gillespie, Bandera and Frio.
McAninch says in Guadalupe and Comal County combined, there are about 30 non-profits who have signed up to participate in today’s fundraising effort. He says whether it’s the environment, children, arts, animal welfare or other type of interest, there is a desperate need for your help.
“It’s so easy to do. The website is so donor friendly. There may be non-profits that you normally support for year-end giving but you may want to give them a little extra now because the need is so important and also, maybe just search around and see and explore and find a new non-profit that you might want to support through the Big Give on the day that you may have not known existed before. It’s an opportunity to really look for different non-profits that you may have not supported before and for those that you do support, every little bit helps and we just ask donors to kind of step up and give what they can,” said McAninch.
Among the participating non-profits this year in Guadalupe County include but are not limited to the Seguin Christian Academy, Guadalupe Regional Medical Foundation, Guadalupe Valley Family Violence Shelter, Guadalupe Valley Habitat for Humanity, the Society for Animal Rescue & Adoption, Texas Lutheran University, the Mid-Texas Symphony, the Guadalupe County Children’s Advocacy Center and TruLight127 Ministries.
Gifts are not limited to your location. Local donors can donate to non-profits anywhere. All donations made through the Big Give are eligible for a tax deduction. Contributions can be made via credit and debit card, as well as through ACH deposit. The minimum donation is $10. There is no maximum.
The giving also does not have to stop after the Big Give ends as donors are eligible to schedule recurring gifts to any one of the participating agencies. To give, visit www.thebiggivesa.org.