Minnesotans got off to a generous start Thursday on the state’s annual Give to the Max Day, and by early evening had already slammed past the total raised for the entire day as recently as five years ago.
By 7:30 p.m., donors had directed more than $28 million to nonprofit organizations. That exceeds the total amount raised in 2019 and every year before it, going back to the first Give to the Max Day in 2009.
This year’s Give to the Max broke a second record late Thursday afternoon when it surpassed the total number of organizations receiving a gift in pre-pandemic years, said Jake Blumberg, executive director of GiveMN, which organizes the annual event. More than 5,700 nonprofits had received support.
“Our hope is at this pace we will break our 2020 number of $30.4 million soon,” Blumberg said.
Give to the Max, which runs through midnight Thursday, is the largest fundraising day of the year for many of Minnesota’s nonprofits. This year’s event comes as organizations that feed the hungry or help provide shelter to unhoused people are feeling the pinch of higher costs at the grocery store and on utility bills, Blumberg said.
Donations for Give to the Max Day are critical for Can Do Canines, a New Hope-based assistance dog nonprofit that certifies about 40 to 50 service dogs every year, said spokesperson Caren Hansen. As of Thursday afternoon, they’d raised about $70,000.
“It’s such an important occasion for us because each of our dogs costs about $45,000 to raise and train,” Hansen said. “Aside from a $50 application fee, we give every single one of them away free of charge.”
Can Do Canines is one of just two Assistance Dogs International-certified service organizations in the state, training dogs to work with those with disabilities in mobility, hearing, seizure, diabetes, autism and facilities. Before dogs are placed with their forever humans between 2 and 3 years old they undergo years of training with hundreds of volunteers and partners, including inmates at Minnesota and Wisconsin prisons, college students and corporate employees.
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