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Philanthropists and individual donors from across the country and beyond again came out in force Thursday for North Texas Giving Day, which raised a record-breaking $66 million for nonprofits in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Dave Scullin, CEO of the Communities Foundation of Texas, which hosted the event, said this year’s results were “stunning.” Since launching in 2009, the event has raised more than $440 million, according to the foundation.
“We have an amazing team here. We’ve worked with the nonprofits for years. We’ve seen evidence that this community shows up for each other, and I just had a firm belief that we put all of the pieces in place — between the technology and then the personal connections,” Scullin said.
This year’s event boasted the largest-ever number of participating nonprofits, the foundation said. All of the more than 3,300 nonprofits that registered for this year’s event received donations, the foundation said. More than 100,000 donors from 50 states and 26 countries opened up their pockets for this year’s 18-hour event, according to the foundation.
While the event has raised more money each successive year, Scullin said this year’s event was especially important to nonprofits because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created higher-than-normal demand for services, and also restricted their fundraising efforts and thereby their ability to use volunteers,” Scullin said. “So it’s still a very difficult circumstance, and I think the community knows that.”
Vickie Yakunin, Dallas senior manager of external affairs for Amazon, the event’s first-ever presenting sponsor, said the company appreciates the ability for people to come together to help organizations whose missions are to strengthen the community.
“Amazon is proud to invest in an event that celebrates giving back to the organizations that are doing critical work in making this area a vibrant place to work and live.”