Texoma Gives online fundraising event seeking nonprofits

The 16-hour online donation event, Texoma Gives, is looking for nonprofits to join the sixth annual program by their deadline at the end of the month. Organizations in a 24-county area of north Texas and southern Oklahoma are eligible to be a part of the program.

The event was established and is currently organized by the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation to grow philanthropic efforts in the Texoma area. In the past, non-profit organizations which benefit Jack County, such as Concerned Citizens of Jack County, Wise Hope Shelter and Crisis Center and Animal Angels Sanctuary, have participated in the donation day effort. Since the event began in 2016, Texoma Gives has raised over $5.5 million for regional nonprofit organizations.

“Texoma Gives is the perfect way for local nonprofit organizations to raise money to continue their important work, without the time and expense associated with planning a traditional fundraising event,” Leslie Schaffner, President of the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation, wrote in an email. “We provide the platform, the training tools, and the promotion. That leaves plenty of time for organizations to focus on what is most important--connecting with donors to support their efforts.”

Registration for nonprofits organizations to be listed during the online giving event is open through Saturday, July 31. All participating organizations are required to complete their profile by that date. The profile on the Texoma Gives website will have the name of the organization, a description of the nonprofit organization, their brand or logo, a link to the nonprofit organization website and any social media links if applicable.

Organizations must be 501(c)(3) public charities which provide substantial services in the Texoma and surrounding areas. The organization cannot be a church, booster club or parent-teacher organization, but private schools, school foundations and tax-deductible scholarship funds are welcome to participate.

“For nonprofit organizations that do not have a mailing address in the Texoma area, the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation will make a case-by-case determination regarding whether or not the nonprofit provides ‘substantial services’ and qualifies for Texoma Gives,” the Texoma Gives website states.

Texoma Gives provides a nonprofit toolkit, which will help in promoting each organization during the event. The organization also encourages nonprofits participating in the event to host their own events and partner with other organizations in their community who are also participating.

Eligible counties in Texas are Archer, Baylor, Clay, Childress, Cottle, Foard, Hardeman, Haskell, Jack, King, Knox, Montague, Stonewall, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise and Young. Eligible counties in Oklahoma are Comanche, Cotton, Jackson, Jefferson, Stephens and Tillman.

According to the Texoma Gives website, the only organization which benefits Jack County that has signed up is Affirming Texas Families Services.

The online giving event will take place at 6 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, with all donations required to be placed online at texomagives.org by 10 p.m. Early donations will begin to be accepted Friday, Aug. 27 on the same online platform. There is a $10 minimum donation, but no maximum.

Visitors to the Texoma Gives website can search for organizations by name, location, or even by cause. Nonprofits and donors can track the fundraising totals for each organization throughout the day on a leaderboard which is on display on the Texoma Gives webpage.

Donations can be made by anyone with a credit or debit card to a participating nonprofit organization and those donors are not required to live in the Texoma area. The foundation can also be contacted from 8 a.m. through 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at 940-766-0829 to make a donation over the phone. Donations can also be made to the location of the participating nonprofits. Donations made during the event are tax deductible.

For more information, visit texomagives.org.