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September 11, 2023

The McKenna Foundation plans to offer The Big Give participants two opportunities to potentially double their donations to their favorite local nonprofit agency during the event later this month.

For 10 years, The Nonprofit Council has presented The Big Give. This annual 24-hour online giving day helps connect South Central Texas nonprofits with new and existing donors through its website at thebiggive.org. Since 2014, The Big Give has helped organizations raise over $40 million from over 283,000 individual donors.

This year, The Big Give will start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 20 and conclude at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21. The McKenna Foundation will support two five-minute “Match Minutes” windows, allowing donors to double their donations to local nonprofits.

The first window takes place from 11:10 to 11:15 p.m. on Sept. 20, with an available fund of $5,000. The Foundation will match all online gifts up to $100 that occur during the designated five-minute window until the $5,000 fund runs out.

The second window runs from 8:10 to 8:15 a.m. on Sept. 21 and includes an available fund of $5,000. Only gifts processed online during the specified window will receive a match.

Jacob Huereca, CEO of Connections Individual and Family Services, said The Big Give allows the organization to leverage matching funds to do more for children and families.

“This event provides a wonderful opportunity to share critical information about what organizations do in our communities as well as give our community members opportunities to support these organizations financially,” Huereca said. “During the Big Give, there are ample opportunities for funds to be matched, which means if you donate $20, that can often mean the nonprofit will receive $40 or more depending on the matching funds available. The Big Give significantly impacts nonprofits that rely upon fundraising dollars to provide critical services in our community.”

Debi Dickensheets, executive director of RecoveryWerks!, said McKenna match minutes are a fantastic way for those supporting recovery for teens and their families to achieve an even greater impact.

“A lot of times, our families are financially strapped when they start coming to RecoveryWerks! but they love jumping into the McKenna match minutes through the Big Give,” Dickensheets said. “It allows them to give back to the program and have a bigger impact. We rely on the donations of our community to keep our program funded. McKenna match minutes through the Big Give are a huge part of maintaining these programs available for our teens and their families.”

Agencies that are current and former Foundation grantees whose operations are primarily located in Comal County are eligible for the matching funds. The Foundation recommends donors have their donation form filled out a minute or two beforehand so that once the five-minute period hits, they can submit their donation for the best chances of being matched.

Agencies eligible for the McKenna match are Any Baby Can, Believe It Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Comal and Guadalupe counties, Bulverde Spring Branch Activity Center, CASA of Central Texas, Children’s Advocacy Center of Comal County, Chosen, Comal County Conservation Alliance, Comal County Habitat for Humanity, Communities In Schools South Central Texas, Connections Individual and Family Services, Crisis Center of Comal County, CRRC of Canyon Lake, EdenHill Communities and Family Life Center.

Organizations also eligible are Headwaters at the Comal, Hope Hospice, NB Housing Partners – First Footing Program, New Braunfels Christian Ministries, New Braunfels Food Bank, New Braunfels Public Library Foundation, New Braunfels Youth Collaborative, RecoveryWerks!, River City Advocacy & Counseling Center, Rock Haus Foundation, SJRC Texas, STEPS Solutions That Equip People for Success and The Salvation Army – New Braunfels.

The success of The Big Give will be measured by the amount of money raised and the tremendous impact those dollars will have when nonprofits across Comal County and South Central Texas put them to work. Join the giving on Sept. 20-21 at thebiggive.org.